As she grapples with some of the country’s hottest controversies, Energy and Environment Minister MIRIAM DALLI tells Mark Laurence Zammit she is convinced her work will improve people’s lives.

MLZ: A lot of efforts are being invested into improving energy provision and yet, we continue to experience frequent, frustrating power cuts every summer. If this happened under a PN government, you would have been one of those calling for the resignation of the PN energy minister. Why didn’t you resign?

MD: There were many power cuts during the PN’s time but I won’t even compare... The difference is that this government is carrying out the biggest investment in the distribution system.

MLZ: That means your failure is even bigger, because we continue to experience power cuts despite the biggest investment.

MD: We invested more than three times the money on the distribution system this year compared to last year.

MLZ: How is that supposed to make the people suffering from power cuts feel better?

MD: In the first six months of this year, we laid 82 kilometres of cables in 19 localities – 14 in Malta and five in Gozo. I’m happy to say those localities didn’t experience last year’s issues.  Work is carried out in phases, just as there are ongoing works in Marsa, Qormi, Siġġiewi, and Żebbuġ as we speak. More work will start in other localities in the coming weeks, where we will be laying a further 60 kilometres of cables. There is also a lot of ongoing work on a number of distribution centres. We’re building two new distribution centres in Siġġiewi and Naxxar, and we’ll double capacity in St Andrew’s, Msida and Mosta.

MLZ: Will there be power cuts next summer?

MD: Seeing what we have done, I’m convinced that wherever we carried out works, there won’t be issues like the ones we experienced last summer.

MLZ: So maybe you should tell us in which localities you won’t manage to carry out works, so that residents there can brace themselves.

MD: That’s not the case because we’re carrying work on several layers – distribution, provision, renewable sources, battery storage systems – the mix will help our distribution system to be more resilient. The demand is growing, summers are getting hotter, households are increasing, and the energy demand in each household in increasing as well. And with our plans, we’re addressing all these factors to make the system more resilient.

MLZ: You still haven’t told me whether there will be power cuts next summer.

MD: Nobody can guarantee you that, and if anyone does, they can’t be telling the truth. What I can guarantee is that wherever we are carrying out works, people will not be facing a situation like last year’s summer.

Wherever we are carrying out works, people will not be facing a situation like last year’s summer

MLZ: You recently issued a tender for the transportation of generators for the next two or three years. Does that mean you are resigned that, for the foreseeable future, you will be forced to park generators outside people’s doors to deal with power outages?

MD: That’s completely unrelated and you’re not looking at the big picture. We want to get to a point where we offer electricity to people during maintenance works in their neighbourhoods.

MLZ: So those generators will be used during maintenance works?

MD: I want us to reduce people’s inconveniences that way. And it’s not even a scandal to use a generator anyway. They’re even used in Rome.

MLZ: I’d expect better from what you often call “the best country in Europe”. People shouldn’t contend with a noisy generator parked outside their houses in the middle of summer.

MD: Why shouldn’t we provide electricity to residents during maintenance works?

MLZ: That’s fine, but last summer generators were rolled out because of power cuts, not maintenance works.

MD: If I have to choose between leaving people without electricity and providing them with electricity, I will choose to provide them with electricity.

MLZ: Ideally, there’s no power cut in the first place.

MD: But to create a stable electricity provision, we must do the works we’re doing now. This government never wanted to shove the burden of energy problems on to people. Rather, it gave them the peace of mind of stability.

MLZ: On the very first day of the 2022 election campaign, during a press conference with the prime minister and then minister Aaron Farrugia, you promised greening projects so massive they would “change the face of the country” if people trusted you with another term. You promised to transform a Cospicua car park into a garden and create an underground car park, pedestrianise the San Ġwann main road and reroute traffic from underground tunnels, take a massive Gozo car park underground and transform the land into a massive garden, and, in Ħamrun, you promised to convert the milk factory into a 10-tumoli garden with an underground car park. That same day, Farrugia told us about feasibility studies to create a roof garden over the Santa Venera tunnels. Another dream that was soon to materialise, he said, was the pedestrianisation of Floriana’s St Anne’s Street, with traffic being rerouted underground. It has now been two-and-a-half years and you did absolutely none of these. Greening projects were, so far, mostly pocket gardens. And recently we discovered the government realised it can’t reroute traffic underground Floriana and it’s not so sure about San Ġwann either. So, when you promised them that first day of the election campaign, you had no plans.

MD: With regards to the Cospicua site we already filed the planning application and we will issue a tender in November. So we’re moving on that one.

MLZ: Will it be done by the end of this legislature?

MD: We plan to finish it as soon as possible.

MLZ: But you promised these projects to people as part of the electoral manifesto.

MD: Listen, you can’t just do these projects overnight. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Let me tell you what we’re doing with the other ones. In San Ġwann, we filed a planning application for a car park and we’re trying to avoid digging a tunnel.

MLZ: Where will traffic pass from?

MD: That’s why we’re doing a traffic impact assessment with Transport Malta right now. In Floriana, we’re carrying out a traffic impact assessment because I want to avoid the tunnel, as it’s close to the granaries and there might be granaries underground as well.

MLZ: When you promised these massive projects, you told us you had already carried out the necessary studies and that you knew they could be done. So, that wasn’t true.

MD: That’s absolutely not the case. When you have massive infrastructural projects, you must work around them in a way that doesn’t negatively impact the community, and we’re discussing with residents to make sure anything we do does not affect them. Honestly, the only project I feel we haven’t made as much progress as I’d like is the milk factory. Because the factory must be relocated and that process hasn’t yet been successfully concluded.

MLZ: From all of these promised projects, can you at least tell me which one, two, maybe three, will be completed by the next election?

MD: We’re working to have Cospicua and San Ġwann in an advanced stage, if not completed.

MLZ: Meanwhile, it didn’t take you very long in cabinet this week to approve a review of the St George’s Bay local plans that might allow the Villa Rosa project to be multiplied. It’s not right that everything seems to move much faster when it’s about construction, but much slower when it’s about the environment.

MD: With all due respect, that’s absolutely not the case. Let’s talk Project Green first, and I’ll get to Tal-Franċiż later. Project Green is currently working on 118 projects with a budget of €350 million. Twenty of them will be completed next year, by which point we will have kicked off another 20 projects...

MLZ: Are these pocket gardens? They’re nice, to be honest, but they’re very small and often empty of people.

MD: When you say they’re empty and small, you’re ridiculing them.

MLZ: Not at all. The whole point of Project Green was to make Malta green, not to create a few-and-far-between patches of greenery here and there.

MD: What about Bengħisa? It’s a space of 25,000 square metres. Go see it and then tell me if that’s a small patch. Families go there often in the autumn, a part of it used by the girl guides, and we plan to extend that. The San Klement park is another one – a 40,000 square metre park that we extended by a further 5,000 square metres recently. Another one is Tal-Glacis in Vittoriosa – 10,000 square metres of space that was known to be a magnet for addicts. The former Sant’ Antnin waste management plant will be turned into a garden within the next three years – 25,000 square metres of open space that was a dump and will become a garden. And there’s more.

MLZ: They’re all beautiful projects, and yet, if you had to go outside and ask people now, they won’t tell you that the environment in Malta is getting better, despite all these thousands of square metres you speak about. Something’s wrong.

MD: When we speak about the environment, it’s these projects we’re talking about and others that are still in the pipeline to create more green spaces. This government turned two dump sites – Tal-Qortin in Gozo and Wied Fulija – into green parks. This government also made strides in waste management. We implemented waste collection measures, albeit unpopular, that yielded positive results – an increase of 266 per cent of recycled waste in a decade. I am satisfied to see that the black bag of mixed waste has reduced by a third in recent years. That’s also about the environment.

MLZ: That’s true, and yet, people still complain of dirty streets in several localities.

MD: That’s where we are making efforts, thanks to Parliamentary Secretary Glenn Bedingfield, so that our localities become cleaner. But we must all do our part. When we implemented mandatory waste separation, many complained. You don’t take decisions like that to win votes. Those decisions take courage but they yield positive results, and we must have the courage to take more of those decisions. For instance, I’m against development on virgin ODZ land or in valleys.

MLZ: The Villa Rosa project is OK though?

MD: I’ll tell you about that. A very positive thing I saw Clint Camilleri do was to take measures that preserve the character of Gozo buildings – a measure that should be extended to Malta. We must preserve our village cores and construct new, environmentally friendly buildings that are efficient and aesthetically pleasing. Now, about Tal-Franċiż. The prime minister already spoke about the cabinet meetings. But a public consultation is yet to kick off and that process must be meaningful, and the people’s say must be given a strong weight before a final decision is taken.

MLZ: So, what is your opinion about it? Because we know some ministers were not happy about the proposal during the cabinet meetings.

MD: Any government or party that doesn’t take people’s concerns seriously would be making a mistake. That’s why I told you the public consultation process must be meaningful and the people’s will must be given weight... especially in an area where residents already have a certain amount of development.

MLZ: This week you launched the Climate Action Authority, to coordinate and oversee measures to ensure Malta reaches its climate targets. Don’t we have enough authorities?

MD: It’s not a new authority, but a replacement of what used to be the Malta Resources Authority. We felt there should be a bigger focus on climate. Circumstances are changing rapidly and we must make sure we meet our climate targets through ambitious and courageous changes. And we wanted it to be an authority – not even an agency – to have the regulatory power to take the necessary action to bring together different policies from different entities and streamlines them into one, effective vision. Ultimately, we must reach a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. Some will say that’s too far away, but it’s not too early to take the decisions today to get there by then.

MLZ: How will Malta be concretely better in one, three, or five years from now, thanks to this authority?

MD: What sectors contribute mostly to emissions? Energy is one of them – we managed to reduce emissions by 60 per cent when we shifted from heavy fuel oil to LNG. Transport is another sector – perhaps the most problematic because people love their cars, and we’re speaking with Chris Bonett on measures that can help, like increased use of ferries and public transport and village square pedestrianisation.

There’s no point thinking only until the next election

MLZ: Will Malta be less polluted in five years? Because despite all our efforts, our air is among the most polluted in Europe.

MD: I cannot agree with you here. I was recently looking at the EU’s impact assessment. In 1990, Malta generated 7.1 tons of emissions per capita, and that was down to 4.2 tons in 2021. Of all the other counties, we have the least per capita. Is it enough? No. More initiatives are needed, but if we look at renewable energy – we went from generating 10 megawatts 10 years ago to 230 megawatts today. We’re now working to increase renewable energy generation on land. We are identifying government buildings over which we can install solar panels and public car parks that can be covered in structures that provide shading but also have solar panels. Why haven’t they already been installed? Because the metal structures that need to hold the panels are quite expensive.

MLZ: So will they be up and running by the summer at least?

MD: They won’t be ready by then. Every process takes its time. But we’re working on it and it seems there is goodwill from all involved.

MLZ: What about those offshore wind turbines that never happened?

MD: There were many developments there, actually. We are in the process of identifying the optimal sites and it’s not easy, because the sea is deep and several areas are affected by movement of the seabed. We will kick off the expression of interest process in the coming weeks. This will take time, which is why we issued a separate, pre-market consultation for near-shore solar panels. They would be installed in the sea but close to the coast. We’ll be moving forward on that soon.

MLZ: When will they be up and running?

MD: As for the wind turbines, 2030. It looks far away, but we need to do fundamental work now. There’s no point in thinking only till the next election.

MLZ: So, by 2030, they will be rotating and generating energy?

MD: We will have started to see the first works happen. Maybe construction will stretch to 2032. If nobody starts the foundations now, they will never be completed.

MLZ: How much of Malta’s energy will they produce?

MD: The wind farm would generate 300 megawatts. By comparison, the interconnector generates 200 megawatts, and the two LNG plants generate 200 and 150 megawatts. But we also need to make sure that when there’s no wind, we still don’t stop generating energy, which is why we are complementing it with solar farms.

MLZ: Would the turbines and solar farms be enough to generate all of Malta’s electricity?

MD: They would generate a substantial amount.

MLZ: More than half?

MD: If we complete all the projects along with the second interconnector...

MLZ: But the interconnector is not a renewable source. Isn’t the whole point of carbon neutrality to run on clean energy?

MD: Yes, but you must always think of a security of supply – my vision for the energy is the renewables complemented with the interconnectors, because if something happens to the renewables, we must have other ways of providing energy to people.

MLZ: But those would be spare, no?

MD: No, they cannot be spare. They must be part of the country’s energy mix. And besides, when we’re connecting to other countries, we’re connecting to ever more renewable sources on their side as well. We must have interconnectedness as a small island.

MLZ: How much of Malta’s energy would the panels and turbines generate?

MD: Our plan is to be able to generate 25 per cent of our energy in a renewable way by 2030. We’re at just over 12 per cent now, which means we will take a significant leap forward.

MLZ: Why didn’t you run for Labour deputy leader?

MD: I have absolute faith in Ian Borg and Alex Agius Saliba, and I know they will do a good job. I am focused on my own work here because I want to do a good job and I’m convinced all of us are doing that, and if we continue to do that, we will be giving the best results to the PL and the country.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.