Malta’s fully government-owned company Interconnect Malta (ICM) has launched a preliminary market consultation (PMC) to gather information from the market on the feasibility of large-scale importing of renewable energy from North Africa to Malta via a cable link.
The PMC is seen as a formal, non-binding “market sounding” exercise that will help in understanding the initiative’s feasibility, with the purpose of gauging market interest by seeing which global developers are interested in investing, as well as in understanding the mix and types of technologies being proposed to achieve this large-scale energy transfer, together with their projected resultant energy supply profiles.
The consultation further seeks to obtain non-binding estimates to procure this large-scale renewable energy to help the Maltese government make informed decisions about the country’s future energy policy.
This will help the Government of Malta assess the market’s preparedness and investor interest and obtain indicative unit prices for renewable electricity that is generated and imported from North Africa to be able to carry out economic and financial feasibility assessment based and alternative assessments.
The project would include a submarine power cable that would enable the direct injection of solar and wind energy from North Africa into Malta’s national power grid.
According to ICM, the main goal is to leverage the vast renewable energy potential in North Africa to secure a cleaner and more resilient energy future for Malta.
The PMC explores the feasibility of importing 0.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of clean energy annually, which would cover approximately 25% of Malta’s total electricity demand, based on 2025 energy demand, with a 25-year fixed-price mechanism contract for difference (CfD).
The deadline for submitting proposals is May 5 at 11:00 a.m.