Managing the energy transition in a tourism-driven economy: The case of Malta

The aim of this paper is to assess Malta's government capacity to manage the possible environmental and social conflicts arising from the implementation of its renewable energy agenda to comply with EU's 2020 energy package. The country has targeted photovoltaic technologies to achieve a 10% of renewable energy share in the final consumption of energy by 2020. Malta is a popular tourist destination, it hosts three UNESCO world heritage sites, and it is one of the smallest, although densely populated, countries in the European Union. From the encroachment of PV parks with the existing urban/rural landscape, we found a number of issues worth to be investigated such as the location of solar power plants, participatory planning mechanisms, and aesthetic-design considerations for integrating photovoltaic into the existing urban fabric. The study is based on exploratory interviews with institutional stakeholders and document analysis.