In 2018, the electricity supply in Malta was generated by power plants (67.7%), supplied from net imports (24.5%) and harvested from renewable sources (7.8%), the most recent NSO figures reveal.

While electricity produced by power plants grew by a year-on-year 19.2% in 2018, imported electricity dropped by 29.6% when compared to the previous year.

Albeit performing a gradual growth, renewable energy sources only grew by a year-on-year 15.4%, lagging behind in growth and final amount of electricity generated (198.6 GWh) , when compared to power plants (1,763.5 GWh) in 2018. Most of the renewable energy (95.5%) was produced from photovoltaic panels.

The highest amount of electricity supplied during 2018 happened in August, claiming a share of 10.5% of the total, and July, with a share of 10.2%.

Malta’s electricity production comprised of output of power stations in Marsa and Delimara in 2014, which was complemented by imported electricity through the Malta-Sicily Interconnector in 2015 and 2016.

Starting from 2017, electricity was produced by Enemalta power station (Delimara), D3 Power Generation, D4 Electrogas Malta, as well as was imported from the Malta-Sicily Interconnector, the NSO says in a note. The same year, Malta started exporting electricity through the Malta-Sicily Interconnector, however, the levels have stayed relatively low; at 35,695 MWh in 2017 and 10,549MWh in 2018.

Renewable energy produced from photovoltaic panels (PV), micro wind turbines and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, the NSO notes.

The post Despite growth, renewables stay low in Malta’s electricity supply mix first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The EU statistics office recently published a set of statistical articles on the Europe 2020 strategy, which is the European Union’s agenda for jobs and growth for the current decade. The Eurostat offers an analysis of Malta as of 2017.

Malta met its primary energy consumption target of 0.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) in 2016. One toe is the amount of energy released when burning one tonne of crude oil. It approximately equals 42 gigajoules or 11,630 kilowatt-hours.

Additionally, Malta increased its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in non-ETS sectors by 20.3%, significantly exceeding its Europe 2020 target of limiting such emissions increase to 5%. Non-ETS emissions include transport, agriculture, waste and industrial emissions outside the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the municipal and housing sector with buildings, small sources, households and services.

The number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion in Malta increased by 4.9% between 2008 and 2016, which the Eurostat says has moved the island nation further away from its Europe 2020 goal.

Malta’s steady employment rate increase since 2014, however, helped the island nation reach its respective Europe 2020 target in 2017, the Eurostat publication says.

Due to continuous increases in the share of the 30-34 age group with tertiary education 2008 and 2017, Malta has come within 3 percentage points of its national target by 2020. Nevertheless, a significant drop in the share of early leavers from education and training since 2008 to 2016, Malta had further to go to reach its national 2020 target, when compared to other member states.

Europe 2020 emphasises smart, sustainable and inclusive growth as a way to strengthen the EU economy and prepare its structure for the challenges of the next decade, the Eurostat says in its publication. The strategy aims to drive high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion in EU member states while also reducing the impact on the natural environment, the publication adds.

The post Malta lags behind in renewable energy, R&D spending first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

In 2018, the stock of PV installations amounted to 25,007 of which 84.5% were installed in Malta and 15.5% were in Gozo and Comino. The Northern Harbour and Western districts in Malta accounted for 37.5% of the total stock of PV installations with 4,831 and 4,544 installations, respectively.

When compared to 2017, new installations increased by 9.5%. The percentage increases were highest in the Southern Harbour district (11.7%) and lowest in the districts of Gozo and Comino (8.3%), according to the NSO figures.

In addition, the domestic sector reported 93.9% of the total stock of PV installations. The commercial and public sectors accounting for 5.1% and 1%, respectively.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

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On the one hand, decreases of 16.5% and 2.5% were recorded in the consumer and capital goods sectors, respectively. On the other hand, increases of 4.2% and 0.8% were recorded in the energy sector and intermediate goods sector, respectively, as the NSO press release says.

Seasonally-adjusted industrial employment increased by 0.1%, while hours worked decreased by 0.2%, and gross wages and salaries increased by 2.2%, according to NSO’s statistics.

Year-on-year increases of 9.4% and 7.8% were recorded in the intermediate goods and energy sectors, respectively. Meanwhile, respective decreases of 3.3% and 0.1% were recorded in the capital and consumer goods sectors, in Q1 2019, according to the NSO press release.

A decrease of 0.6% was recorded in the year-on-year unadjusted industrial employment. Working-day adjusted industrial hours worked decreased by 1% while working day adjusted industrial gross wages and salaries increased by 3.6%.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

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“Malta presents an effective case-study of water management under severe water stress, arising due to our semi-arid Mediterranean climate which significantly limits the availability of natural freshwater resources,” minister Mizzi said. “Climate change projections indicate that this, unfortunately, will increasingly be the case in Europe,” he added.

The minister emphasised the importance of ensuring a common regulatory framework, which could provide that water demands are met while keeping a high level of protection to the water environment even under conditions of chronic water unavailability, according to the DOI press release.

In addition, Minister Mizzi mentioned the significant improvements in the quality of Malta’s marine waters and the increased emphasis on demand management and water reuse which is leading to important reductions in national use of natural water resources.

Such efforts are supported through European Union funds such as the Cohesion Fund, the Regional Development Fund, and the Rural Development Fund.

The post Maltese energy minister urges European water management framework first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Speedcast has been partners with Fred. Olsen for more than three years and has served its related companies on a global scale in both the Cruise and Energy segments. Under the recently signed contract, Speedcast will provide Fred. Olsen Windcarrier’s two offshore assets, Brave Tern and Bold Tern, with unique communication solutions, such as combining VSAT and 4G/LTE to deliver data and voice services for corporate, operator and crew welfare networks. Additionally, Speedcast will deploy an SD-WAN solution integrating multiple carriers to deliver improved connectivity and network efficiency.

“We look forward to serving as the trusted communications provider on Fred. Olsen Windcarrier’s jack-up installation vessels for the wind power market,” says Keith Johnson, EVP of Energy at Speedcast. “Our partnership has been strong in the Cruise and Energy drilling segments for years. We have made significant investments in our robust, multi-access network technology and performance optimisation solutions and both will be used onboard these jack-ups to provide reliable, secure connectivity for both Fred. Olsen Windcarrier and other onboard operators’ personnel. As one of our most-valued global customers, we are proud to continue adding services throughout Fred. Olsen-related companies’ diverse set of assets and building our customer base in other subsegments such as wind energy,” he adds.

“The Fred. Olsen-related companies’ relationship with Speedcast is a critical component of our daily operations in multiple business segments,” says Svein Bjørnstad, CIO of Fred Olsen & Co. “We have worked together on IT solutions and fully-managed communications onboard our drilling vessels and cruise ships for a number of years, and Speedcast’s trusted global network will now give us the multi-carrier solution we need in the dynamic, growing market where Fred. Olsen Windcarrier operates,” he adds.

Fred. Olsen Windcarrier has an office in Malta’s Pieta, in addition to ones in Norway, Denmark, United Kingdom and Germany.

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