The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MPA) is expected to receive application seeking permission to build offshore wind farm on Sikka l-Bajda soon. As per the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs, after the application is submitted, the necessary environmental impact assessments will be carried out and wind-speed measurements will be taken. Experts estimate that about 15 wind turbines could be located on this site, which could produce about 10% of Malta's energy needs.
Sikka l-Bajda is a reef located about 2 km off Ahrax Point, in Mellieha, where there are shallow waters on a stretch of about seven square kilometres of sea.
According to the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs, information about wind resource at a given location can be estimated from a number of sources, including regional climate data and local meteorological data, as well as computer modelling.
This information is sufficient to yield indicative estimates for the likely energy yield from the proposed development. However, these will eventually need to be followed by a site-specific wind measurement campaign to be able to quantify the local wind resource with a higher level of certainty.
The ministry plans to launch a project intended to collect high quality wind data in the area of Sikka l-Bajda, soon.
As per the government, the wind energy farm at Sikka l-Bajda would provide around 4% of Malta’s energy requirements. The project is in controversy because of the chosen location and the fact that offshore wind farms are more expensive and risky than land-based farms.