Malta has added 35.3MW of photovoltaic energy in just two years, boosting its rank to fourth place in the EU when calculated on a per capita basis.

Germany is well ahead of other member states with 512 watts per inhabitant, with Belgium (338.4W) and Italy (325W) behind, and Malta in fourth with 247.9W.

The island added 19.6MW of solar power in 2016 and a further 15.6MW in 2017, bringing the cumulative total to 109.2MW.

A report published on Thursday by the Eurobserver showed that solar energy use was growing steadily, with the EU reaching 106.6GW by the end of 2017, 5.6GW more than in 2016.

“While at just over 2 per cent in 2017 solar photovoltaic output may still seem negligible on a global level, photovoltaic already supplies about 6% of the electricity mix in Japan, and more than 7% in Germany and Italy,” the Photovoltaic Barometer report says, noting that global photovoltaic capacity passed the 405GW mark at the end of 2017 (306.6 GW at the end of 2016).

According to the 2018 data released by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Centre/
BNEF in the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report, investments in renewable energies production facilities, and solar power in particular, literally eclipsed those of conventional fossil and nuclear power. Leaving largescale hydropower out of the balance, renewable energies accounted for 61 per cent of the net newly-installed capacity worldwide in 2017. Solar power alone accounted for 38%.

A total of 265 billion was invested in green electricity excluding large-scale
hydropower, and of that total, $160.8 billion were invested in solar power.

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