Ian Borg, the minister for transport, infrastructure and capital projects, announced that a sizeable investment has been secured, which will see Malta’s public transport vehicles go electric, as the islands acquired a fund packet from the European Union, as they work towards recuperating from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The €40,000,000 investment will also be contributing to the installation of solar panels on the roofs of a number of public transport vehicles. By means of the hefty investment, the vehicles will effectively reduce the levels of C02 emissions, as well as cut back on yearly diesel expenses. In this way, diesel consumption, on a local level, will decrease by 8-10% on an annual basis.
The 800Wp solar panels, which will be installed on the buses, are expected to produce approximately 1000kWh annually, from CIGS solar cells. Every kWh is expected to save a litre of diesel, or 2.68kg of C02 emissions. Therefore, this could see a reduction of up to 1000 litres or 2,680kg of C02 emissions annually.