Malta International Airport’s investment in photovoltaic panels allows the airport to contribute to the curbing of CO2 emissions, with structures such as the new 998-kilowatt peak photovoltaic (PV) system, the airport says. The system is located on the airfield and is roughly 2,000% greater than the peak power rating of the average photovoltaic system for the commercial sector for 2018.

In 2018, a PV system with a considerably lower peak power rating than the recently installed system led to the generation of over 602,000 kWh of clean energy, which is approximately equivalent to the yearly electricity consumption of 40 average Maltese households, the airport says. A PV system utilises solar modules that comprise several solar cells generating electrical power.

Furthermore, the airport has taken up other initiatives to be more environmentally sustainable, such as the gradual replacement of lighting and equipment with more energy-efficient alternatives and the rolling out of a vehicle fleet replacement programme, says the press release. In fact, MLA saw a drop of 12% in greenhouse gas emissions and a decrease of 11.6% in total water consumption in 2018.

Additionally, Malta International Airport has signed Airport Council International (ACI) Europe’s resolution to become a net-zero carbon industry for emissions under its control by no later than 2050. Malta International Airport is also a member of ACI’s Carbon Accreditation Programme at the mapping level.

The post MLA invests €1.2m in PV panels 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.

The post Malta harvests 16.9% more energy from PV systems in 2018 first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.