Maltese ports clean up

The project is led by Transport Malta with the support of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the Port Authority of Catania and the Province of Caltanissetta.

Funding has come from the EU with its Operational Programme Italy-Malta 2007-2013 providing 85% of the budget.

As part of the project, Transport Malta has added 13 fully electric vehicles to its general fleet. These range from crew and panel vans to passenger vehicles and quadricyles and will be used for a number of activities, namely enforcement, maintenance and courier duties.

The project has also enabled Transport Malta to install a 1,290sqm photovoltaic plant at the Malta Transport Centre together with three solar electric car charging stations at Ċirkewwa ferry terminal, Ta’ Xbiex Marina and Deep Water Quay car park.

Charging stations provide direct sun-to car electricity through the solar power produced on site which is then stored in 24kWh lithium-ion batteries. Any residual energy is absorbed by the grid. The stations are able to produce over 3000 charging events per year at full carbon neutrality.

It is hoped that these changes will save over 200 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The project’s successes so far were announced at the second national electromobility conference held at the Phonenicia Hotel in Valletta.

The conference was held on 28-30 October and focused on promoting an interdisciplinary approach between the key areas of transport, energy and water.