The Planning Commission has approved the development of a photovoltaic farm on the roof area of the Gozo sewage treatment plant. Trenching works connecting electricity cables to the existing substation have also been approved.

The site, which is located in Mgarr ix-Xini, lies across the current main sewage outfall for Gozo at Ras il-Hobz.

In a statement, the Authority said that the approved communal solar photovoltaic farm system will cover a roof area of approximately 1600 square metres, with each panel being inclined at an angle of ten degrees. Trenching works shall cover an approximate length of 110 metres and depth of 0.8 metres.

The Authority said that it has permitted a slight inclination to the panels "because there is enough justification to show that such an inclination increases electricity generation by 6% and aides the panels to 'self-clean' to reduce dust and rain accumulation."

"It is also noted that from photomontages the 10 degree inclination does not appear to contribute to any visual impact to the surrounding landscapes," the Authority said.

It added that "this new approved photovoltaic farm is in line with SPED objectives RO1 and RO3 given that the development will not take up additional undeveloped rural/natural land since the roof area is sufficient enough to accommodate this use without resulting in unacceptable adverse environmental impacts."

The approved permit also includes a decommissioning plan to ensure that once the lifespan of the PV farm elapses, the panels will be dismantled and the roof of the buildings shall be reverted back to their original vacant state, the Authority said.

"The draft Solar Farms Policy, launched in 2014, provides guidelines for solar farm development with a priority given to large scale rooftops, car parks, industrial areas and quarries."

The Authority concluded by saying that the policy encourages solar farm development, which achieves dual or multiple uses of land, and one of the preferred sites for solar farm installations is the roof tops and immediate curtilage of sizable farm buildings (including large farm sheds and greenhouses) and other similarly large structures, government buildings and large water reservoirs lying Outside Development Zone.

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