Offshore wind farms in Malta and their implications on oil imports and the balance of payments

Abstract

This dissertation evaluates the case for the implementation of an offshore wind farm in Malta, and the impact this will have on the country's oil imports and Balance of Payments. It also examines how an offshore wind farm will reduce harmful C02 emissions into the atmosphere. From statistical data it can be clearly seen that the Maltese economy will continue to grow and evolve into a more complex one. This automatically will increase the demand for electricity, as considerable increases have been recorded in recent years. This means a higher dependency on imported fuel, causing further strain on Malta's Current Account situation and on its foreign reserves. This will also result into enormous amounts of pollutants emitted, leading to a substantial degrading of air quality. The introduction of an offshore wind farm will have significant positive effects on all the factors above; that cannot be ignored. Using information obtained from the Malta Resource Authority and the Institute of Energy Technology and statistical data provided by the National Statistics Office, the impact of increasing electricity consumption and the introduction of an offshore wind farm 1mtil the year 2025 were examined. From the results obtained it was concluded that the use of renewable energy, especially wind energy, should be seriously considered, since this will drastically reduce Malta's energy bill and contribute to cleaner air via a considerable reduction in emissions.