Planning Authority refuses permit for massive Mġarr solar farm

The Planning Authority’s board has unanimously refused a massive solar farm on an area the size of six football grounds of agricultural land in Mġarr.

The proposed solar farm in an area known as Tar-Ragħad foresaw the installation of over 5,700 photovoltaic solar panels on the rooftops of 90 greenhouses.

But the proposed development was deemed to be in breach of the solar farm policy, which bans solar farms on protected or sensitive locations and within areas of archaeological, cultural or scientific interest and limits such developments to disused quarries. 

The case officer also found the project to be in breach of the rural policy and the local plan. 

The project, proposed by Electrofix Ltd, is owned by Joseph Schembri and has caused uproar in Mġarr, attracting over 1,000 objections from the general public.

Heritage Malta, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and the Environment and Resources Authority also objected to the development. 

Heritage Malta had warned that “the proposed development may increase the risk of flooding at Ta’ Ħaġrat due increased rainwater run off resulting from the extensive soil-cover associated with the proposed greenhouses.” 

Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia had also gone on record saying that the solar farm policy doesn’t permit their construction on agricultural land. 

A decision on the development has been due since January when the Planning Authority’s planning commission decided to refrain from taking a decision because the scale of the project merited a hearing by Planning Authority board.

Moviment Graffitti, which campaigned against the development, welcomed the rejection of the proposed solar farm congratulating farmers and the local community for teaming up with different NGOs to explain the negative consequences of the project.

“This is another case which shows that resistance is not just important but also effective.”