Sun, sea, wind and garbage

One of the principal questions humanity faces is whether we can reconcile our vast population and material appetites with a sustainable environment. We can only succeed if we master our energy use of the world's largest source of pollution and the dominant agent in climate change. Fossil energy has fuelled tremendous economic growth over the last century, but wasteful energy use is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, smog, acid rain, airborne toxins, oil spills, and nuclear waste.

Each day the world produces an energy supply of around 10,000 Mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent), 86 per cent of it from non-renewable sources, mainly oil (35 per cent) and coal (24 per cent). The rest is generated by renewable sources such as hydroelectricity (2.5 per cent), geothermal power, solar and wind generators (0.5 per cent) and biomass technology (11 per cent). Over the last 30 years, renewable energy supply has grown at the same rate as total primary energy supply, but wind and solar energy have grown at rates of 52 per cent and 32 per cent respectively per annum.

It is interesting to note that, while the share of renewables in total energy supply in the OECD area was just over six per cent in 2000, in Africa, Latin America and Asia combined it was an impressive 31 per cent. The EU percentage was six per cent, while that of the 10 acceding countries was 4.5 per cent. On accession, Malta will be the only country in the enlarged EU which does not produce any energy from renewable sources. Even Cyprus produces close to two per cent.

Malta is committed to a number of international obligations, mainly the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that require it to adopt and implement strategies that lead to environmental protection and sustainable development, including a sustainable energy system. Moreover, EU Directive 2001/77/EC seeks the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources (RES) in the internal electricity market.

Up to now, despite its potential to provide significant social, economic and ecological benefits, the use of RES in Malta has been practically insignificant and we are totally dependent on imported oils for power generation. The power generation sector is a major contributor to national greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon dioxide emissions from this sector are estimated to account for about 75 per cent of the total CO2 emissions in Malta, which in 2000 were estimated to have reached around 1,600 Gg. Estimated sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions were 26,000 and 2,000 tons respectively in 2000, while methane emissions were 27 tons.

The EU has established an overall target of 22 per cent for the share of RES in electricity production by 2010, though each member state's target will depend on its particular conditions. According to a recent pronouncement by Resources Minister Ninu Zammit, Malta intends to have five per cent of its electricity consumption coming from RES by 2010, primarily through the installation of more domestic solar water-heaters. This target is, however, subject to revision before 2005 in the light of scientific studies which will determine its feasibility. Malta's reliance on oil imports could also be reduced if a gas pipeline from Sicily would prove technically feasible and cost-effective.

For many years now, the University of Malta's Institute for Energy Technology has been working on various aspects of RES. Its projects include the design of low-cost, locally-manufactured solar water heaters, the climatic monitoring of solar radiation with a view to designing more efficient solar energy systems, the development of a static photovoltaic (PV) system to generate electricity from the sun, the development of a PV system which tracks the sun's path throughout the day, research to identify measures which improve energy use in our buildings (keeping in mind that 30 per cent of our electricity consumption relates to buildings), feasibility studies on wind turbines for electricity generation, and studies on solar desalination of sea water (keeping in mind that our reverse osmosis plants consume 12 per cent of electricity supply).

However, we now need to move beyond studies and slick presentations to concrete measures. In April 2002, the Malta Resources Authority (MRA) launched its Consultation Paper on the development of a strategy for the exploitation of RES, and in October of the same year it published the feedback it received from various parties. Various promises or commitments were made at the time, but remain unfulfilled.

We were promised a First National Communication (as required by Article 12 of the UNFCCC) about the inventory of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, and outlining policies and measures to implement Malta's commitments under the convention. The MRA assumed responsibility for the finalisation, in conjunction with the Malta Council for Science and Technology, of a national energy policy by the end of 2002. Consultants were envisaged to be engaged to develop a strategy and implementation programme for the introduction of renewable energy production and distribution in Malta. This timeframe has slipped considerably, since the MRA is still in the process of assessing offers from consultants. Even if the tender is adjudicated by the end of July, it will doubtless be a few months before we see any results.

In Malta, the incentives for RES are minimal. Enemalta waives the connection fee of Lm70 for the installation of electricity services for domestic consumers when solar war heaters are installed, but this incentive applies to new services only. Consumers also benefit from a reduction in VAT from 15 to five per cent.

One measure we could copy from Cyprus is a scheme which subsidises the installation of PV panels by 40 per cent. The Cypriot government has created a special fund, financed by a two per cent levy on electricity bills, which will be used to fund incentives for the exploitation of RES and to encourage energy savings. Households or other consumers who install PV panels to produce electricity will be subsidised, and any excess energy produced by them will be fed into the public electricity grid and bought by the energy company at an attractive price.

Can one imagine a world where energy is produced without negative environmental impacts? The answer to this questions is 'yes'. This is the prospect offered by renewable energy generation.