Maltese Government to Issue Pre-Qualification Questionnaire for Floating Wind Developers

October 29, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

The Maltese government is expected to soon publish a pre-qualification questionnaire for parties interested in floating wind development in the country.

This is according to a consultation document issued this September, prior to the country’s Budget 2025 that was announced on 28 October.

As reported earlier, the government first identified six areas for floating wind development and later pinpointed two which are planned to be put out to tender. This summer, offshore surveys started in the two areas.

In the pre-budget consultation document, the Maltese Ministry for Finance said the government was “finalising preparations to issue a prequalification questionnaire to attract parties interested in supplying renewable energy through floating wind turbine technology”.

In addition to floating wind farms off its coast, Malta is also looking at developing nearshore solar energy projects and already initiated a preliminary market consultation to evaluate market readiness for this technology at the beginning of this year.

Both floating wind and nearshore solar have been highlighted by the country’s Finance Minister Clyde Caruana in his Budget 2025 speech.

Minister Caruana said the vision to tap into Malta’s wind and sun resources was a strategic one and implemented in steps, starting with the implementation of the second interconnector to continue strengthening the stability of the network, investing in battery energy storage, launching the national policy to spur renewable energy projects, and preliminary consultation to assess interest and market preparedness.

In terms of floating wind, most of these are now in place as a national policy for offshore renewable energy, which highlighted Malta’s potential outside its 12-nautical-mile territorial waters and within the Exclusive Economic Zone, was issued in 2023. The government then appointed consultancies to identify which sites of the six identified in the national policy were the most suitable for floating wind farms.

As for Budget 2025, the Ministry for Finance estimates renewable energy schemes will require EUR 4.1 million next year.

According to an assessment by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), Ocean Renewable Energy Action Coalition (OREAC), and World Bank-funded ESMAP from 2021, Malta has 25 GW of technical offshore wind potential. All 25 GW are said to be best suited for floating wind technology.