Reflections - A 2023 PKF conference on Renewables
Can renewables in Malta ever grow in strength enough to produce hydrogen commercially?

It was two years ago that PKF organized a conference on Malta’s preparedness on renewables. A lot has been discussed in the media since then, particularly on progress achieved and the rate of investment on climate change. Indeed, ten years ago the Commission was critical of Malta’s lack of preparedness for a comprehensive medium-to-long-term strategy for climate change and energy.
Given Malta’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change and its reliance on fossil fuels for energy, this is particularly lax. It was ten years ago, that the Sikka il-Bajda offshore wind farm proposal has been turned down wind as a resource. Since then, Enemalta invested millions in a controversial wind farm located in Montenegro - yet we are among the countries that uses the least renewable energy, according to new EU figures.
Eurostat statistics show Malta’s share of renewables in final energy consumption was at 13.4 per cent, the second lowest proportion in the EU. At 13.1 per cent, Ireland was at the bottom and Sweden, with over two-thirds of its energy coming from renewables, was top among the EU’s member states.
The report, looked at energy consumption in 2022, showed that nearly a quarter of the energy consumed in the EU came from renewables. Observers have been vocal in pushing for generation of more Green energy and notable progress was registered in places such as Norway, Sweden, Spain and Portugal. More investment needs to be secured to reach Net Zero in 25 years.
Together with renewables, comes the need for batteries to store energy that is generated. Up until now, households which locally generate solar power on their rooftops have had to sell to the grid the energy that has not been immediately consumed. It is a pity that statistics discussed by experts speaking at the PKF Hilton conference, reveal how, Malta’s performance on renewable energy has been abysmally slow. With only about 3.8 per cent of energy being produced from renewable sources up to 2013, (this grew up to 13% now) it was stuck in the bottom group of the EU league table.
The island needs several years in which to come up with answers. Other countries, have made considerable progress in the same period. Overall, experts (CCPI) panned the theory saying "insufficient ambition and implementation" of climate policy in Malta. They recommended that fossil fuels should be phased out as soon as possible, and that public funds should be invested in renewables, energy savings, batteries and community energy.
The experts agree that protecting citizens from fuel poverty is important, but they criticise that energy subsidies by finance ministry to cover electricity/ fuel prices in effect, advocate higher energy consumption and waste. The experts also criticised the fact that offshore wind energy in Malta has not moved beyond the planning stage, while only last year a tender was sued to generate 300 megawatts from future offshore floating farms. In reflection, wind energy has been discussed in Malta since the late 1990s, but this has yet to result in the installation of a single turbine.
The government also comes under fire for failing to reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels - it actually paid €37 million to rent used diesel generators - this as a remedy to fight power cuts in summer. One notes, there is little to no political will for actual LNG phase-outs, citing the government's 2024 hire of used diesel-powered plant is expected to remain in operation until a second undersea inter-connector linking Malta to the European power grid is completed.
The inter-connector is likely to be completed towards the end of 2026 or election time in 2027. The wheel of government grinds, but rather slowly. Last year, saw the inauguration of yet another State authority. Climate Action Authority (CAA) has been tasked with coordinating and overseeing measures related to climate change. Its main function will be to provide strategic advice to the government and ensure that Malta meets local and international climate change targets, including being carbon neutral by 2050.
The authority will also monitor climate change effects on the Maltese islands and establish strategies and measures to combat climate change effectively and sustainably. Growth in the use of renewable energy sources (RES) has diverse benefits for society such as mitigating climate change, reducing the emission of air pollutants and improving energy security. The concept is topical; given that the EU formally adopted an update of the Renewable Energy Directive.
Can renewables in Malta ever grow in strength enough to produce hydrogen commercially? This is hydrogen gas separated from oxygen in water, through solar-powered electrolysis. Naturally, as was the case in the past decade with the polemical Electrogas electricity plant, readers may now be familiar with the drill. Most, are aware about wind and solar initiatives by the number of countries and corporates that have committed to back a ‘green recovery’.
At the PKF conference, the primary emphasis was on future energy needs. In fact, Europe’s total energy needs are continuing to rise. Economic growth, and rising use of air-conditioning, are pushing up demand in member states. Experts inform us that the decarbonisation of electricity generation is one crucial factor for Europe. But nothing comes without problems, as adding offshore wind and solar power, in remote islands, requires extending power lines and investing in hardware and software to manage their intermittency.
In Britain, the government’s ambition to achieve a net-zero grid by 2030 has prompted network operators to submit investment proposals amounting to nearly $100bn over five years. Spending by tech giants on AI is contributing to rising energy demand, flowing through to increased electricity consumption and investment. Latest data centres, now gobble up as much energy as a nuclear-power plant generates, requiring network operators to upgrade transformers, power lines and control equipment.
The IEA forecasts that demand for electricity, both from clean and dirty sources, will increase six times as fast as energy overall in the decade ahead, as it powers a rising share of cars, home-heating systems and industrial processes. In Europe (as in Malta) the infrastructure is old, on average, as facts show how grid infrastructure was not built for resilience but for transmission. In fact, readers are constantly informed how locally, Enemalta keeps spending on upgrading its infrastructure to guarantee minimum power cuts.
Investment shows no sign of easing, as grid requirements grapple with rising power consumption, population explosion pointing to a changing generation mix running on an ageing infrastructure. Folks, it seems time looks ripe for, PKF to organize a follow-up conference on RES.