In the past ECO organised various campaigns as part of its Use Solar Energy campaign. Nonetheless as from the year 2000 one of the priorities of ECO is the use of all alternative sources of energy, obviously including solar energy.

The campaign will deal with alternative sources of energy, mainly wind energy and solar energy.

Till the year 2000 only around 3000 solar water heating systems were installed in Malta and wind energy was only used to pump water in a few bore-holes. ECO has contacted the private industry locally and abroad to collect the revenant data. The campaign will take place over the period of three years and will include personal contact with all the beneficiaries as explained below.

The Objectives

- to inform the general public on the economic and environmental viability of alternative sources of energy
- to raise awareness and increase knowledge regarding alternative sources of energy
- to conduct a viability study on wind energy in view of a proposal to have a 10MW wind energy farm in Malta
- to increase the use of solar water heating in the Maltese Islands from 3000 households to 10,000 household
- to ask for alternative sources of energy to be imported tax free, and for legislation to promote the installation of solar water heating in all new households

Beneficiaries

The Ministry of Environment , 67 local governments , 120 schools, 5 TV stations, 10 radio stations, Daily and weekly newspaper, and NGOs. All the above will enable us to reach the total population of 380,000 persons. The campaign co-ordinators will visit all the beneficiaries twice, to talk about:

- alternative sources of energy
- the advantages of solar water heating
- the advantages of wind energy

They will be assisted by a technician who will set up a solar water heating plant and explain how it works. During the second visit the advantages of wind energy will be outlined. In three years time the data regarding wind energy collected will be published and given to the government the increase in use of solar water heating will be calculated with the help of the government an evaluation process will take place

Materials

- 2000 colour posters and 2000 on wind energy
- 5,000 colour educational leaflets on solar energy and 30,000 on wind energy
- visual aids like a power point presentation and boards.

Advantages of Wind Energy

1. Clean up Malta’s air. Buying wind power reduces smog, acid rain, and air pollution.

2. Renewable energy. Wind is inexhaustible.

3. For kids' sake. Our oil, natural gas, and coal won't last forever. We need to begin to develop our state's wind and solar resources now.

4. Your Liri/Euros count. EneMalta is spending millions of liri (your bills and taxes) to use the power station that pollutes. The time has come to invest in alternative energies.

5. Cheap energy is a myth. Yes, wind costs the same, but think about the hidden costs of oil energy: smog, acid rain and snow, oil spills, climate change, and human health impacts Wind is the real bargain.

6. It's your choice. For the first time in history, you get to choose where your power comes from.

7. Curb your own pollution. Buying wind power is a cheap, easy way to dramatically reduce the environmental impacts of your energy use.

8. Climate change. Each cent you spend on wind power keeps a pound of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, out of the air. Let's be penny wise, not pound foolish.

9. Bang for the lira. For the price of a six-pack of Coke or a single video rental each month, you can save 1,200 pounds of coal and avoid 2,400 pounds of air pollution each year.

10. It's the right thing to do.

The Environmental Benefits of Wind Power

Wind power is clean. Renewable. Good for the air. Good for the Earth.

We have an incredible opportunity to create a cleaner environmental future for ourselves, our children and our communities. It's wind power - and it's up to us!

Today, 100 percent of Malta's electricity is produced by the burning of fossil fuels which contributes to acid rain and hail, climate change, urban smog, and regional haze. Wind power, in contrast, produces no air pollution. It does not deplete our natural resources. No land must be strip-mined to extract it. It does not threaten the earth's climate.

Buying 100 kilowatt hours of wind power each month would cost the same as your current energy. Buying that much wind power for a year will save 1,200 pounds of coal and keep 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, out of the air. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency that's like planting a half acre of trees.

As you can see, choosing wind power is one of the most powerful environmental choices a household or business can make! Buy wind power to reduce your pollution. Energy is great stuff. Who doesn't like hot showers and cold drinks? But although we often don't see it, our use of energy creates air pollution.

The good news is that buying wind power will be cheap, easy, convenient way for a family or business to minimize its pollution.

Now, for the first time ever, Maltese should ask their politicians to propagate the use of wind energy, and take personal responsibility for reducing the environmental impacts of their energy use. By spending your electricity Liri on clean, renewable sources of power, you can begin to change the world!

In December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, more than 150 nations negotiated a treaty to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, with the goal of stabilizing the earth's climate. By using wind energy an average Maltese family can cut its household carbon dioxide production by about 10 percent.

Electricity from wind

Wind power is one of the most promising and cost-effective renewable energy technologies available today.

How do wind plants produce electricity?

Wind plants use large blades to catch the wind, turning rotors that produce electricity. Just as fossil-fueled plants use steam or combustion gases to turn electricity-producing rotors, wind plants use many wind turbines, often assembled on a large single wind site called a wind farm, to generate electricity. The modern wind farm may consist of as nany as 100 wind turbines connected to the electric transmission grid.

Wind turbines commonly begin to produce power at a wind speed of 10-12 miles per hour. Wind plants produce electricity only when the wind blows, so if the wind is not blowing, the plant is not producing electricity. But in Malta we have wind on the majority of days. For this reason, wind is called an intermittent resource. Because wind follows patterns that can be predicted, and because particular locations have more reliable winds and will produce power more regularly, the value of wind for meeting consumer demand can be significant.

Where does wind energy come from?

Wind is a renewable energy source. Because wind is a product of the sun shining on the earth and the earth’s atmosphere, it is a resource that will not be depleted by tapping it for electricity generation. Wind energy is available for electricity generation in locations where the average wind speeds are great enough to drive the fields of wind turbines. While the ability of wind technology to produce electricity economically at lower wind speeds is improving, areas where average wind speeds exceed 12 miles per hour are currently the most economic locations.

What are the environmental issues involved in using wind to produce electricity?

Wind plants produce no air pollution. They use no water, and there is no need to tear up the land to extract the resource that produces wind power. There are, however, environmental problems associated with wind plants, but they are generally considered small compared with the impacts of conventional coal, nuclear, natural gas and hydroelectric power. Wind power produces three categories of environmental effects: visual impacts, noise pollution and wildlife impacts.

Visual impacts. Because wind farms are comprised of large numbers of turbines each mounted atop tall towers, they can often be seen for a long distance. Where this is true, the question arises as to whether the visual impact is undesirable, something that will vary from location to location.

Noise pollution. Wind turbines emit noise that can be heard in the vicinity of the wind farms. The level of noise produced by one wind turbine is equivalent to that of your washing machine. The frequency and volume of this noise can be controlled but not eliminated by wind turbine design.

Wildlife impacts. Effects on bird populations pose a wildlife concern in some areas. Studies in California show that 183 bird died over a two year period at a wind farm and not all of those were attributable to the wind turbines. In contrast, automobiles are responsible for some 57 million bird deaths a year, more than 97 million birds die by flying into plate glass each year, and about 1.5 million birds die from collisions with structures (towers, stacks, bridges, and buildings) every year.