Mediterranean Observer
As part of the WE MAKE Project, the Malta Business Bureau, Malta Chamber and the Energy and Water Agency held a workshop where best practice businesses shared their experience on how they tapped into energy and water financing opportunities in order to complete a variety of energy and water efficiency projects.
The 4th WE MAKE workshop, held on the 28th July, was attended by over 30 business representatives. The event was kicked off by Ing. Anne Marie Grech, from The Energy and Water Agency, and Ing. Patrick Spiteri Staines, Malta Chamber Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee Chairperson.
Deco Manufacturing General Manager, George Mifsud gave examples of energy projects identified through the energy audit grant by EWA. He stated that the energy audit report took around 4 months to carry out, with reimbursement within weeks by EWA as part of the energy audit grant programme. Deco Manufacturing have already actioned some of the recommendations in the report, thus benefitting from energy savings as well as non-energy benefits, such as increased productivity in some cases. He emphasized how useful the audit was in helping Deco Manufacturing understand their consumption and operations, as well as opportunities for improvement, and all this coming at no extra burden or cost to the company. Concluding, Mr. Mifsud stated that they are also looking into other Malta Enterprise funding to continue implementing further energy measures.
Ing. Paul Fenech, Crane Currency, Engineering and Reliability Director, explained how over the past year, Crane has invested heavily in adiabatic cooling, with support from the Malta Enterprise Investment Aid for Energy Efficiency financial support measure. The cooling upgrades have resulted in 30% improvement in energy efficiency, and through the Malta Enterprise financial support the ROI was reduced to 1.7 years.
Ing. Jeanice Mallia, Water Quality Engineer at WSC, explained the corporation tapped the EWA RDI Scheme. The RDI project, PurIlma focused on the implementation of Water Framework Directive, by exploring alternative disinfection measures to reduce chlorine usage on potable water. The project is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Malta. It started in Feb 2021, now in the final stages of the project, carrying out pilot studies.
Oli Vibra General Manager, Charles Spiteri, explained how replacing equipment could reduce cycle time by up to 40% and energy demand by up to 60%. The CAPEX for the investments was supported through the Malta Enterprise Smart & Sustainable Scheme. The Scheme was easy to apply for, and a decision was taken to accept the project application by Malta Enterprise within 2 months.
The final speaker, Chantal Giordmaina Head of Quality Assurance at JCL Holdings,and , winner of the Energy and Water Sustainability Award, spoke about the project implemented by the company that led to winning this award. This was based on the savings JCL achieved through various projects. The project included a large photovoltaic installation coupled with demand management to increase performance, and the coupling of rainwater collection reservoirs and a greywater system. Total savings from the project reached 34% from the photovoltaic installation, and 34% from the efficiency measures. The grant awarded as part of the Energy and Water Sustainability Award is being used by JCL Holdings in order to train personnel to ISO 14000.
Addressing attendees, Timothy Alden, The Malta Chamber Policy Executive, said “The project team is committed to ensuring that each event we organize brings value, which is why we invite companies as case studies as often as possible. In the coming months, we will be organizing more workshops and invite companies to get in touch with us to find out how the project can work for you.”
Through the WE MAKE Project, the MBB and the Malta Chamber are offering networking support for interested businesses, and support in identifying and tapping funds for energy and water R&D industry-academia projects. Interested businesses are invited to contact the MBB or the Chamber via info@mbb.org.mt.
