Maghtab to host 22,000 solar panels

22,000 photovoltaic panels installed on the former Maghtab landfill – over an area larger than five football grounds – will be producing enough energy to cater for the needs of 850 households.

Plans for Enemalta’s 5 MegaWatt solar farm are to develop the installation over 36,000 square metres, to become Malta’s largest installation, occupying 14% of the Maghtab surface area.

Originally the plan was for a larger site area of 84,300 square metres.

The solar farm will be located on land previously earmarked for landscaping with indigenous shrubs, and trees following the completion of capping work to limit the production of leachate (chemicals unleashed by the former dump).

The permit for the rehabilitation of the Maghtab landfill was issued in 2009.

The Enemalta spokesperson confirmed that the area earmarked for this project has already been closed and capped in works carried out during the last decade.

Despite the massive land take-up, the solar farm will contribute only a fraction of the energy, which would have been produced by the aborted wind farm once proposed at the Sikka l-Bajda area, which was estimated at between 72 MW and 95 MW.  

The PA rejected the wind farm in 2015 because of its visual impact and its impact on bird colonies.

Since the change in government, Malta has shifted its energy policy from wind to solar power in its bid to reach a renewable energy target of 10% by 2020. 

Costs for solar energy dropped considerably over the past years, becoming more competitive when compared to both fossil fuels and other renewable sources such as wind.  

But solar farms require a massive land take-up, which may exacerbate Malta’s land scarcity problem. 

The PA is also considering a policy regulating solar farms, with a draft policy emphasising the potential of already developed areas such as quarries, roof space, open car parks, greenhouses and industrial land – as well as outside development zones.

It is estimated that Malta needs 2.7 square kilometres of solar farms to reach its renewable energy targets.

The Maghtab solar farm is part of Enemalta’s commitment to diversify the electricity generation mix and reduce carbon emissions. It is preparing detailed studies requested by the Planning Authority as part of the permitting process. “If requested by the authorities, site-suitability studies will be conducted once further information about the type of photovoltaic cells and installation methodology is confirmed,” a spokesperson said.

The solar farm is to be sited on a disused part of the Maghtab landfill, which has been closed and capped in the last decade. 

Asked if the farm would restrict a future demand to expand the landfill, Enemalta said that all stakeholders were presently being consulted and “the impact on all adjacent sites and operations will be adequately considered.”

Enemalta is not excluding the possibility of giving the public the opportunity to invest in the renewable energy sector.

The Environment and Resources Authority has asked Enemalta for details on the feasibility of the solar farm and for a justification of the development in relation to previous plans for the rehabilitation of the site.