The Ministry for the Environment, Energy, and Regeneration of the Grand Harbour, Miriam Dalli, has officially launched the National Policy for the Deployment of Offshore Renewable Energy at the third edition of National Energy Conference. The policy marks a significant step in Malta’s efforts to harness offshore renewable energy. During the policy launch, Minister Dalli emphasised the importance of embracing offshore renewable energy to meet Malta’s ambitious energy targets. “This policy paves the way for Malta to tap into the vast potential of offshore renewable energy, particularly floating wind and solar projects. By 2030, we aim to increase our share of renewables in the energy mix to 25%, and offshore energy will be instrumental in achieving this goal”. The Minister added that “This initiative not only advances our renewable energy ambitions but also strengthens Malta’s role as a leader in sustainable development within the Mediterranean region.”
The new offshore renewable energy policy identifies six strategic zones for floating energy projects, with Area 3 designated as the preferred site for floating offshore wind energy, following a comprehensive Strategic Environmental Assessment.
The policy reflects the government’s strong commitment to attracting investment in Malta’s offshore renewable energy sector while ensuring minimal impact on the environment and other maritime activities. In parallel, Malta is also assessing the feasibility of floating solar technology, which could be developed closer to the coast due to its lower visual impact.
The National Policy for the Deployment of Offshore Renewable Energy can be accessed from here
Meanwhile, Mr. Manuel Sapiano, CEO of the Energy and Water Agency, highlighted how the National Energy Conference has come to serve as an important forum where local and international experts share their valuable perspectives on the year’s specific theme on energy. This year’s chosen theme “Digitalisation of the Energy system”, brought on the discussion table the intertwined nature of the energy and digital transitions, and how the latter is shaping the former.
The first panel ‘Delivering a Digitalised Power System’ presented global developments and how local operators are preparing for these challenges whilst ensuring robustness and resilience of our power system. Dr Ing John Caruana from Enemalta and Dr Karsten Krause from the European Commission were two amongst the notable speakers on this panel who contributed to the discussion.
The second panel ‘Intelligent energy consumers’ discussed the opportunities and challenges presented to consumers through the digitalisation of the energy system, whether they are indeed taking full advantage of these opportunities, and whether consumers are sufficiently prepared for this twin transition. This panel saw speakers from both industry, Ing Michael Bonello from SENS Innovation Group Ltd. as well as academia, Prof Joshua Ellul, Prof Ing Owen Casha and Dr Stefan Buettner, Director Global Strategy & Impact at the Institute for Energy Efficiency in Production (EEP) contribute to the discussions. Both sessions were moderated by Ms Rachel Bondi Attard, Head of Communications for The Malta Chamber of Commerce.
The third session was dedicated to the showcasing of ongoing research projects by the ISE and MCAST amongst others.
