The Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research, and Innovation, along with the Ministry for Gozo and Planning, have issued a complete denial of statements made by Nationalist Party spokesperson Mark Anthony Sammut concerning photovoltaic panels on public schools.
Sammut on Thursday accused the government of serious failings in the management of renewable energy projects in Gozo schools, claiming that the photovoltaic systems installed over the past decade only generated a total of 27% of the electricity they were expected to produce. 
In its reply, the government described the Nationalist Party’s report on solar panels at Gozo schools and the allegations regarding the Siggiewi Primary School as misleading and an inaccurate representation of the current situation. Officials clarified that the roofs of all schools in Gozo, as well as the Siggiewi Primary School, are covered with photovoltaic panels that are fully connected to the national energy grid. These installations contribute to the generation of over 31,940.6 kWp of solar energy annually.
The government noted that the opposition spokesperson failed to mention that several schools in Gozo, including those in Nadur, Kercem, Gharb, Zebbug, and Victoria, have undergone or are currently undergoing renovation. During these works, some panels were temporarily relocated to accommodate the construction process.
Regarding the Siggiewi Primary School, the government clarified that contrary to the claims made by Sammut, the panels are functioning as intended and are providing sustainable energy to the school. To ensure optimal performance, a significant intervention was carried out last June, which included the installation of new inverters to strengthen the efficiency of the existing system.
The ministries further explained that a continuous programme of preventive maintenance is implemented across these facilities to prevent damage or performance degradation. This maintenance is performed regularly by experienced public service officers with technical expertise, with additional interventions carried out whenever necessary.
In a counter reply, the Nationalist Party said ministers are getting confused and exposing just how little they know about what they are talking about.
They claim that “more than 31,940.6 kWp of solar-generated energy is produced every year”. This makes no sense. You cannot measure generated energy in kWp – that is the maximum capacity of what the panels can generate.
A capacity of 31,940.6 kWp is the capacity of all the panels across the whole of Gozo. It certainly would not fit on the roofs of those schools, the PN said.
Perhaps they made a mistake and meant, instead, 31,940.6 kWh of solar-generated energy every year. If that is the case, then the problem is even greater than the PN said, because it would mean that over 10 years they generated seven times less than what emerges from the reply to the Parliamentary Question answered by Minister Clint Camilleri himself. The figures were published by Minister Camilleri in his own reply, and it cannot be the case that the panels are working while, over 10 years, they generated only the amounts given by Minister Camilleri.
Labour’s incompetence and deceit in the energy sector are becoming increasingly clear. Instead of issuing misleading reactions and denying the known truth and the information they themselves published, it would have been far better had the Minister for Education and the Minister for Gozo taken action when these issues were reported, and ensured that these systems were repaired so that they would not continue losing further energy generation, the PN said.
 
 
 
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