Residents and farmers from Mġarr addressed a press conference to express their anger at the appeal launched by Electrofix against the decision by the Planning Authority to refuse the company’s application to construct a sprawling solar farm on arable land in the village.

Those who took part in the press conference raised two points of concern related to this appeal:

• The presentation of new plans at the appeal stage is unacceptable, since the appeal is meant to cover the same plans that were initially presented to the Planning Board. The appeal is a legal process in which a person or company appeals to the Tribunal against the decision of the PA, which in this case refused the application. During the appeal, new plans cannot be presented.
• The applicant’s claim that they have met or intend to meet with Ministers in office to discuss and subsequently change the plans is a startling one. Ministers should have absolutely no say in the planning process. Authorities and planning boards should operate without any form of political interference.

Residents also expressed their concerns about the prominent presence of Electrofix at the Agrifair currently in Ta’ Qali, despite the fact that the company does not operate in the farming sector. The fact that Electrofix is trying to depict its activities as agricultural ones, when this is clearly not the case, is highly suspect and a worry to several farmers.

The proposed development in Mġarr would involve the construction of solar panels atop greenhouses, a massive project occupying around 38 tumoli  or six football pitches’ worth of arable land on ODZ. This area is also characterised by traditional rubble walls, carob trees, garigue, protected flaura and fauna, bee colonies, as well as archaeological remains from the Punic and Roman periods.

The project goes counter to the provisions of the document that regulates solar farms in Malta – Solar Farms Policy 2021 – which clearly states that they cannot be built on agricultural and natural land.

Farmers present explained that the solar panels would be detrimental to the growth of any produce, since their installation would mean that the fields would not be exposed to direct sunlight and would instead fall in the shade.

Meanwhile, an archaeologist explained that the project is located in an area of high archaeological importance in Mġarr, with several archaeological remains at its outskirts. The project would also cause run-off rainwater that would otherwise have been absorbed by soil to flow directly down to the Ta’ Haġrat neolithic temples.

More than 1,200 objections to the project were submitted to the PA.

Development on ODZ land cancels out any notion that a project such as this one is intended to contribute towards the reduction of carbon emissions. It is also likely that this application is simply an excuse to develop virgin land that would otherwise be difficult to get a permit to build on.

Solar panels should not be placed on arable land but on the roofs of government and industrial buildings, amongst others. It is ridiculous to think of 38 tumoli of fields in the Maltese countryside as wasted space, when there are plenty of other locations far better suited to generating solar energy.

Diversi bdiewa u residenti Imġarrin indirizzaw Konferenza Stampa sabiex jesprimu r-rabja tagħhom dwar l-appell imressaq mill-kumpanija Electrofix ta’ Joseph Schembri kontra d-deċiżjoni tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar li tirrifjuta l-applikazzjoni għal solar farm fuq ir-raba’ fl-Imġarr.

Il-parteċipanti qajjmu żewġ punti ta’ tħassib serju marbuta ma’ dan l-appell:

• Il-preżetazzjoni ta’ pjanijiet ġodda fi stadju ta’ appell hija inaċċettabbli għaliex l-appell suppost isir fuq il-pjanti eżatt kif ġew preżentati lill-Bord tal-Ippjanar. L-appell huwa proċess legali fejn persuna jew kumpanija tappella quddiem it-Tribunal kontra deċiżjoni tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar, li f’dan il-każ kienet irrifjutat l-applikazzjoni. Waqt appell ma jistgħux jiġu preżentati pjanijiet ġodda.
• L-istqarrija tal-applikant li ltaqa’ jew li kellu ħsieb jiltaqa’ ma’ Ministri sabiex jiddiskuti u jbiddel dawn il-pjanijiet hija waħda allarmanti. Il-Ministri m’għandu jkollhom l-ebda rwol fil-proċess tal-ippjanar. L-awtoritajiet u l-bordijiet tal-ippjanar suppost jaħdmu mingħajr ebda forma ta’ indħil politiku.

Tqajjem ukoll tħassib serju dwar il-preżenza massiċċa tal-Electrofix fil-fiera tal-biedja Agrifair, li qed tittella’ bħalissa f’Ta’ Qali, minkejja li l-prodotti tagħhom m’humiex relatati mal-biedja. Il-fatt li l-Electrofix tipprova tpenġi l-attività tagħha bħala waħda marbuta mal-biedja mentri din ċarament mhijiex, hija mossa tinten u qiegħda tħasseb lil bosta bdiewa.

L-iżvilupp propost fl-Imġarr jinvolvi l-bini ta’ serer u panelli solari u huwa proġett massiv li se jokkupa madwar 38 tomna ta’ raba’ li jinħadem – id-daqs ta’ 6 grounds tal-futbol fuq art ODZ u f’żona b’karatteristiċi rurali uniċi bħal ħitan tas-sejjieħ, siġar tal-ħarrub, xagħri, fawna u flora protetta, kolonji tan-naħal u fdalijiet arkeoloġiċi ta’ żmien ir-Rumani.

Il-proġett imur kompletament kontra d-dispożizzjonijiet tad-dokument li jirregola s-solar farms f’Malta – Solar Farms Policy 2021 – li jgħid b’mod ċar ħafna li dawn ma jistgħux isiru fuq art agrikola u naturali.

Il-bdiewa preżenti spjegaw kif il-pannelli solari, f’dan il-każ, m’għandhom l-ebda vantaġġ għaliex l-uċuh tar-raba’ li beħsiebhom ikabbru fihom ser jaqgħu fid-dell, jiġiferi l-ħxejjex mhux se jkollhom xemx diretta fuqhom.

L-arkeologu preżenti spjega li dan il-proġett jinsab f’Żona ta’ Importanza Arkeoloġika fl-Imġarr bi fdalijiet li jmissu man-naħat ta’ barra tal-iżvilupp propost. L-ilma żejjed li jnixxi fiż-żona minħabba l-panelli jista’ wkoll jikkawża ħsara fuq it-Tempji ta’ Ħaġrat.

Għal dan il-proġett, kienu ġew sottomessi ’l fuq minn 1,200 oġġezzjoni lill-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar.

Żvilupp fuq ODŻ imur kontra kwalunkwe idea li proġett bħal dan huwa maħsub biex Malta tkun tista’ tilħaq il-miri li għandha għat-tnaqqis tal-emissjonijiet tal-karbonju. Hemm ċans kbir li din l-applikazzjoni għall-iżvilupp ta’ solar farm hija biss skuża għal żvilupp fuq art verġni f’żona fejn diffiċli jinħareġ permess ta’ żvilupp.

Panelli solari għandhom jitpoġġew f’postijiet oħra bħal pereżempju binjiet industrijali u tal-gvern u bjut, iżda mhux fuq art agrikola. 38 tomna ta’ art agrikola fil-kampanja Maltija ma jistgħu qatt jitqiesu bħala moħlija u ma jagħmel l-ebda sens li jittieħdu għal panelli meta hemm bosta spazji oħra li huma ferm iktar adatti.