Malta kicks off offshore surveys as gov’t pinpoints two floating wind areas (Video)

InterConnect Malta (ICM), a government entity responsible for Malta’s energy interconnection projects with Italy and offshore renewable energy, has appointed Fugro Italia to survey two areas which the Maltese government plans to put out to tender for floating wind development. Fugro has now started the survey campaign.

The two areas are located within Malta’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and are a result of narrowing down from the previously identified six areas following consultations with international experts, strategic environmental evaluations, and detailed desktop studies.

Fugro’s survey scope in Malta includes mapping the bathymetry, locating and identifying seabed and man-made features, and gathering high-quality sub-bottom seismic data.

Back in 2022, before starting detailed work on the future offshore wind tender, the Maltese government launched a preliminary market consultation, inviting companies to propose economic activities that could be carried out in an EEZ area beyond the territorial waters of Malta. Fifteen of the proposals submitted from the private sector targeted the development of offshore wind farms on Malta’s continental shelf, according to InterConnect Malta.

In the summer of 2023, a bill facilitating the country’s first offshore wind and floating solar tender reached the Parliament and in September 2023 Malta’s Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise issued a draft National Policy for the Deployment of Offshore Renewable Energy. The draft policy, which was put up for public consultation, outlined the initial six potential floating offshore wind development areas.

“The Maltese Government is committed to pursuing offshore renewable energy opportunities. In 2022, the Government issued a Preliminary Market Consultation for economic activities in Malta’s EEZ. In 2023, we then launched the ‘National Policy for the Deployment of Offshore Renewable Energy’ for public consultation. This survey signifies another important step in preparing the island’s attractiveness to potential investors for developing offshore floating wind systems”, said Miriam Dalli, Malta’s Energy Minister.

According to estimates by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), Ocean Renewable Energy Action Coalition (OREAC), and World Bank-funded ESMAP, Malta has 25 GW of technical offshore wind potential. All 25 GW are said to be best suited for floating wind technology.