Last Updated on Friday, 1 March, 2024 at 2:16 pm by Andre Camilleri
The Ministry for the Environment, Energy and the Regeneration of the Grand Harbour and the Regulator for Energy and Water Services (REWS) are issuing new calls for offers for investments in new renewable energy systems, with more advantageous grants and increased capacities.
From tomorrow, the Regulator is launching the process for private investors to submit offers for medium-sized renewable energy systems, with a capacity ranging from 40kWp to a maximum of 1MWp. Meanwhile, it will also issue another call for larger systems, greater than 1MWp.
The details of these new initiatives were announced during a press conference addressed by Minister for the Environment, Energy and Regeneration of the Grand Harbour Miriam Dalli and REWS CEO Ing. Marjohn Abela.
The calls for systems between 40kWp and 1MWp are offering a total capacity of 15MW. This will generate clean energy for 5,500 homes, reducing carbon emissions by 9,150 tonnes every year.
The Government is also doubling the allocation for the call for systems greater than 1MWp, up from 19MW in 2023 to 38MW this year. This allocation can provide renewable energy for 14,000 homes, decreasing carbon emissions by 23,000 tonnes every year.
Four calls for offers will be issued:
| Call | Submissions opening date | Closing date |
| 1 | Friday 26th April 2024 | Friday 3rd May 2024 |
| 2 | Monday 17th June 2024 | Monday 24th June 2024 |
| 3 | Monday 26th August 2024 | Monday 2nd September 2024 |
| 4 | Monday 4th November 2024 | Monday 11th November 2024 |
Minister Miriam Dalli explained that the Government is continuing to incentivise families and businesses to adopt more renewables. These calls for offers are encouraging more enterprises to invest in the green economy, with projects that contribute to Malta’s decarbonisation objectives.
“Our country’s vision for the energy sector includes investments in large renewable energy systems, including offshore installations. The sea will help us attain our ambitious targets, to decarbonise the country by 2050. However, floating offshore renewables are only one part of this ecological transition and investments by families and businesses in land-based renewables are also very important,” the Minister said.
Through the systems installed with the support of different REWS schemes and calls for offers during the last four years, Malta and Gozo installed enough clean energy systems to power 32,000 homes, leading to a 54,000 reduction in carbon emissions every year.
Last week, REWS also announced grant schemes and feed-in tariffs to help families and businesses invest in smaller renewable energy systems. The first scheme, aimed at residential buildings, offers grants of up to €3,000 for photovoltaic systems, and up to €7,200 for battery energy storage systems. The Government is doubling this grant, up from €3,600 in 2023. Families benefitting from these schemes for renewable energy systems will get a guaranteed feed-in tariff of 10c5 per unit (kWh) for 20 years.
REWS is also issuing a scheme for families and businesses that wish to invest in renewable energy systems of up to 40kWp, without receiving a grant, but with a feed-in tariff of 15c per unit (kWh) for 20 years.
Ing. Marjohn Abela, Chief Executive Officer of REWS, said that in recent years, Malta witnessed a major transformation in electricity generation. Different initiatives and policies, increased public awareness on sustainable energy systems, encouraging a quicker transition to cleaner technologies, while helping families and businesses reduce their energy costs. These initiatives are also helping the industrial and commercial sectors invest in renewables as an alternative source of clean energy for their operations.
For more information about these renewable energy initiatives visit rews.org.mt.
