Solar-power panels in Qawra, Malta district offices
by Alan Fenech, di-ve news
Qawra, Malta (di-ve news), August 21, 2007
http://www.di-ve.com/dive/portal/portal.jhtml?id=285288&pid=1
In an initiative in favour of alternative energy Enemalta has set up a solar panel system in the Qawra district office which is to make it totally self-sufficient. The solar panel system which was launched during a press conference on Tuesday morning, is the second on the island, with a slightly smaller version having been installed in Sliema a few months ago.
Enemalta chairman Ing. J. Tranter, said that “Enemalta is taking small initiatives in favour of alternative energy. Such initiatives not only serve as an opportunity to make districts self-sufficient but also to communicate to the people the use of this source of energy.”
The system which consists of 20 photo-voltaic panels and has cost the corporation Lm7,000 will generate approximately 7000 kilo-watt hours of energy and would be enough to supply a household of four. The system comprises a monitoring device which measures wind speed and ambient temperature and the results and readings made from the device are available for the general public on the website of the corporation with reports being made available on a monthly basis.
Ing. Tranter stated that the Sliema system, which has been in operation since February and which produces approximately 16 kilo-watt hours of energy per day, has proven that the summer months are not the best months for such a system, contrary to what most people believe. In fact the best months up to now seem to have been those of May and June with September expected to exceed these results. This is due to the fact that in the summer months, the high temperatures cause the panels to heat and hence reduce efficiency.
The Qawra panels are expected to produce around 21 or 22 kilo-watt hours of energy per day. The intention of such installations is to save energy from the power-stations and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In fact it is calculated that the Qawra installation will be reducing CO2 emmissions by 6000 kilos while the one in Sliema will be reducing such emissions by 4000kg.
When asked about the viability of such a system for normal households the Enemalta chairman stated that “Up to now there are not enough incentives for private owners since the payback period is still very long (around 14 years) however I am convinced that the government is working on the issue and hope that there will be certain initiatives taken in the coming budget. Even though small installation wouldn’t make a household totally self-sufficient, would help reduce energy consumption.”
Enemalta is presently using a net-monitoring system which would allow the individual to pay for the energy used by means of a meter which reads the units consumed and those made up for by solar energy production.
The life-span of such a solar-panel system is that of around 20 years. Ing. Tranter concluded by saying that this is not the only initiative taken by Enemalta towards alternative energy. In the coming weeks the corporation will in fact launch an electric car and a wind power installation in the Marfa district.