Renewable energy from grid-connected PV systems up 20.5% in 2020

Harvesting of renewable energy from grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems increased by 20.5 per cent in 2020 over 2019, estimated to have reached 233.1 GWh.

According to a National Statistics Office release, the stock of PV installations in 2020 stood at 29,339, of which 85 per cent were installed in Malta and 15 per cent in the Gozo/Comino region.

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

When compared to 2019, the stock of PV installations went up by 6.8 per cent. The biggest increases were recorded in the South Eastern district at 7.5 per cent and lowest in the Gozo and Comino district, at 5.4 per cent.

The domestic sector accounted for 93.6 per cent of the total stock of PV installations, followed by the commercial and public sectors, accounting for 5.5 and 0.9 per cent respectively. Most increases in new PV installations resulted from the domestic sector. The Northern Harbour district had the highest stock of PV installations in the domestic sector.

Production of energy from PVs: 2020

Total kWp amounted to 184,563.7, an increase of 19.6 per cent over 2019. The commercial sector amounted to 50.6 per cent of total kWp, followed by 46.4 and 2.9 per cent in the domestic and public sectors respectively. The peak power rating of an average PV system in the domestic sector stood at 3.1 kWp, whereas that for the commercial and public sectors amounted to 57.7 and 20.6 kWp respectively.