A sustainable energy plan for the land observatory at Kunċizzjoni, Malta

Abstract

This dissertation serves to define a roadmap for an Energy Plan for a proposed Land Observatory to be located in a British era isolated fortification at Ta' Kalumia, limits of Kunċizzjoni in the northwest of Malta. This will be a one of a kind sustainable centre in the Maltese Islands and will be used as a 'Land Observatory'. Due to this, a sustainable and reliable electrical and water supply capable of satisfying the energy demands of the centre need to be identified. The plans for the centre are at an early stage which is advantageous as it allows for forward planning and identification of key areas that should be addressed. It also makes this dissertation more challenging as the exact use of the different areas within the centre still need to be defined. Therefore, various meetings were held with people of different backgrounds in order to identify factors such as the planned utilisation factors and future prospects of the Land Observatory. Furthermore, a questionnaire was formulated together with a visit to a similar centre to help identify and envisage a list of possible electrical equipment/appliances needed at the Land Observatory. Thanks to this list, several different scenarios of energy consumptions were calculated. Several options of electrical and potable water supply systems were introduced and analysed depending on the energy consumption figures. A SWOT analysis was performed to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each system and in the case of the electric supply options, several quotations were obtained from entities around the Maltese Islands.