Solar energy generation increased by 21% last year

Electricity generated from the sun continued to increase rapidly last year with figures out today showing an output that was 20.5% higher than 2019.

The National Statistics Office said that photovoltaic panels generated 233.1GWh in 2020 with the most energy generated in the South Eastern and Northern Harbour regions.

Domestic PV panels accounted for the lion’s share of solar electricity generation.

The stock of PV installations amounted to 29,339 of which 85% were installed in Malta and 15% in Gozo.

The Northern Harbour and Western regions accounted for 37.6% of the total stock of PV installations with 5,692 and 5,339 installations respectively.

When compared to 2019, the stock of PV installations increased by 6.8% with the highest increases in the South-Eastern region and the lowest in the Gozo and Comino.

The domestic sector accounted for 93.6% of the total stock of PV installations, followed by the commercial and public sectors, accounting for 5.5% and 0.9% respectively.

When analysing the results by district, Gozo and Comino had an average of 119 domestic installations per 1,000 population, followed by the Western and South Eastern districts at 80 and 63 installations respectively.

The lowest ratio was registered in the Northern Harbour district, with 31 installations per 1,000 population.