Decentralisation of energy in Malta.

An Advocacy Plan

How it started:• No initial intention of choosing the assignment.• Interest was aroused when searching the internet and

stumbled in a particular website.

Steps required:

1. Gathering information:(What is decentralised energy? What are the benefits? Can it really be a solution?)

2. Applying it to local context: (Can decentralised energy be applied in a local context?

What opposition/help could be met in its implementation?What structural changes would be needed for its introduction?)

3. Formulate an advocacy plan: (What steps do I need to take to get the message across?

Who can help me with this? How will I convince people about it?)

Decentralised Energy:

“electricity production at or near the point of use, irrespective of size, technology or

fuel used – both off-grid and on-grid”.

“Centralized renewables are a move in the right direction but decentralized renewables

are the destination”.

World Alliance for Decentralised Energy

A revolutionary concept:

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

• Also known as cogeneration.• Makes additional use of waste heat produced when fuel is

burnt to produce electricity.• Waste heat can be used to heat space/water.• Waste heat can be used in conjunction with an absorption

chiller for cooling or refrigeration.• Can use a variety of fuels (gas-coal-methane-wood chips).

Applying to local context:

o 18 strategically located distribution centreso 1075 indoor substations for domestic use

Applying to local context:• Use current infrastructure by converting these Distribution

Centres and sub-stations for energy production on a localised level.

• These are to act as the heart of the energy centre producing combined electricity and thermal useful energy from CHP generators using renewable fuels.

• These can be used to provide base load to meet electrical demands of three to four surrounding villages or towns.

• Electricity demand is to be supplemented from micro-generation technologies such as PV panels and wind turbines placed on public buildings, private roofs and open spaces, not excluding other forms of energy from waste, biogas from sewage, waves and fuel cells where possible.

• This should be backed with reducing energy consumption strategies like installation of solar water heaters, energy efficient buildings, use of energy efficient bulbs and appliances.

The Advocacy

Plan

Mission Statement:

‘We strive towards achieving the democratisation and decentralisation of energy generation and

distribution based on renewable sources of energy that is owned by residents and businesses

within the locality in order to stimulate social equity and green economic growth whilst taking

care of the environment and enhancing the quality of life of Maltese citizens.’

Goals

Short – Term

By the end of the first six months we will have met twice with political party’s representatives responsible for the environment, health, economy, education, energy and resources.

By the end of the first year we will have organised a set of business breakfasts in various hotels around the island with various institutions and individuals (Political representatives, Chamber of Commerce, ETC, Unions, Local Councils, Suppliers, Businesses, NGOs, CSOs, UOM, etc.) who are key stakeholders and/or will be key actors in the DE process.

In eighteen months’ time we will have started an awareness media campaign on TV programmes, newspapers and the internet.

Medium - Term

By the end of the first two years a delegation will visit 3 foreign cities to see Decentralised Energy in practice in Copenhagen (Denmark), London (England) and Pisa (Italy).

By the end of the third year our premises will be converted to self-sustaining energy generation using renewable sources of energy.

By April of 2017, with the aid of Local Councils, NGOs and CSOs we would have organised family activities in all localities around Malta and Gozo.

By June 2018 the Government would have committed its strategy for democratisation and decentralisation of energy and energy efficiency policy.

Long - Term

By end of 2018 all Local Councils will have submitted the Feasibility Study Report on the best renewable energy mix for their locality.

By 2020 we will have two regions using DE, having more than 15% of electricity generation coming from renewable sources of energy.

By 2036 all localities in the Maltese Islands will be generating their own electricity (in a DE setup) from renewable sources becoming a Zero Carbon Emission Country with regards to power generation.

Budgeting

Goal Cost FundingOrganisation of business breakfast

→ € 3000 → Budget allocated pre-advocacy plan from Good Causes Fund

Awareness and publicity campaign

→ € 90,000 → Fund raising activities within organisation

Visits Abroad

→ € 12,000 → Help from international partners

Conversion of premises

→ € 20,000 → Sponsors from suppliers

Family activities in each locality

→ €15,000 / loc. → Income from activities themselves

Feasibility study reports

→ € 960,000 → EU Funding

Conversion of region to DE → Depends on energy mix adopted

→ Government to apply for EU Funds – Public/Private investing in Green Shares

People Presently Available People Expected to be available Useful Community Links

Our managementOur PROOur Communic. OfficerProcurement OfficerOur clerical staffMembers (approx. 10)International PartnersOur Web designer

Staff from Local CouncilEnvironmental NGOsSuppliers of RE TechnologyLocal businessmanExperts on RE technology and installation to carry out reports

Local CouncilsCivil Society OrganisationsLocal businessesLocal artists

HumanResources

Level of Support

Sources of Support High Medium Low Difficult to decide Rationale

Architects ×

Opportunity of profession to move forward due to designs of efficient

homes.

Chamber of Commerce ×

Reduction in utility tariffs and creation of jobs stimulate economic growth.

Educational Institutions ×

More specialised courses increases academic showcase of educational

institution.

Energy Consultants × Opportunity to expand their business and areas of expertise.

Environment Authorities × Improved state of the environment opens new areas of research on

improved habitats, biodiversity, etc.

European Union × DE provides a means to meet EU aims at securing energy supply and

reducing Carbon emissions.

Local Councils × Overall improvement in community while making LC more autonomous.

Ministry for Environment × Opportunity to make ends meet, creation of green jobs while getting

glorification.

Ministry of Finance × Need to shift their attention from expenditure to money saved.

Ministry of Health × Reduction of emission results in reduced illnesses. Good statistics for a

health minister.

NGOs × Though possibly most agree with project, might need to check the agenda

of others.

RE Suppliers × A breakthrough for the industry.

Residents / CSOs × Difficult to assess due to numbers. Need to focus locality by locality.

Resources Authorities × Though not against might concentrate its efforts on adjusting its operation

rather than offer support.

Unions × Retraining of employees and creation of new jobs giving unions

prominence in negotiating collective agreements.

Level of Opposition

Enemalta Employees × Threats to their jobs.

Oil Suppliers × Threats to their income.

Enemalta Top Management × Threat to their position within power struggle.

Stakeholders Strongly Opposes

Opposes No Commitment Let it Happen Help it Happen Make it Happen

Architects 1 2

Chamber of Commerce 1 2

Educational Institutions 1 2

Energy Consultants 1 2

Environment Authorities 1 2

European Union 1 2

Local Councils 1 2

Ministry for Environment 1 2

Ministry of Finance 1 2

Ministry of Health 1 2

NGOs 1 2

RE Suppliers 1 2

Residents 1 2

Resources Authorities 1 2

Unions 1 2

Enemalta Employees 1 2

Oil Suppliers 1 2

Enemalta Top Management 1 2

Targets andAgentsof Change

Goal 6: Organise family activities in each locality.

Strategy

Aim

With the aid of local councils, NGOs and CSOs to organise whole day family activities within each locality. Activities to consist of entertainment, games, sports, animators, children activities, food and beverage stalls, cultural heritage from within the locality, etc. [Activities to include issues on power generation in the form of games such as treasure hunts, drawings, etc.] Apart from having stands about DE and RE, there should be a discussion area where residents can discuss and share ideas on how DE can be implemented within their locality. With the aid of RE suppliers to organise a lottery where prizes should include solar water heaters, PV panels and energy efficient appliances and lighting.

Strengthen relationships with Local Councils, NGOs and CSOs of localities around the Maltese Islands. Opportunity to meet residents and establish links with the community and local business. Opportunity for residents to have their say in their own village/town making them more comfortable to express themselves. Social activity bringing the whole community towards a common goal. Fund raising activity where profit can be used to carry out feasibility studies and for community projects involving installation of RE technology.

Strategy for each goal:

Action Plan:GOAL STRATEGY BY WHEN BY WHOM TARGETS/

AGENTSACTION STEP INDICATORS

Meeting with political representatives

Meeting with Green Party 1st Exploratory meeting with political representatives. 2nd Meeting with political representatives

11/05/2013 20/06/2013 10/09/2013

Directors within organisation.Advocacy OfficerCommunication OfficerPROMembers/Volunteers

Possible Agents:Green Party Possible Targets:Ministers of Env., Finance & Health

Communication officer to contact politicians. PR and volunteers to prepare relevant information and material to present to politicians. Hold meetings.

All meetings are held as scheduled and obtain 100% attendance. Politicians sign Memorandum of Understanding regarding policies.

Meeting with stakeholders

1st Meeting with stakeholders. Meeting with Enemalta management, employees and Unions. 3rd Meeting with all stakeholders. 4th Meeting with stakeholders and politicians.

10/10/2013 15/12/2013 15/02/2014 30/03/2014

Directors within organisation.Advocacy OfficerCommunication OfficerPROClerical staffMembers/Volunteers

Possible Agents:Architects, Chamber of Commerce, Energy Consultants, RE Suppliers and Unions, foreign expertise Possible Targets:Local Councils, Enemalta management and employees, oil suppliers and educational institutions

Clerical staff to book venues for meeting. Directors to invite foreign expert. Communication officer with volunteers to prepare conference packs. PR to contact and invite various stakeholders and issue press release. Members/volunteers to setup venue.

Attendance by stakeholders to meetings. Handing in of action plans. Educational institutions to open specialised courses by 2015. Unions propose collective agreement. Final strategy presented to politicians. Politicians sign strategy as commitment.

Launch of media campaign

Produce commercial to be aired on TV. Advertise on newspaper. Attend TV/radio stations. Setup website and social media platforms Setup office as centre of information

20/04/2014 20/04/2014 10/05/2014 10/05/2014 10/05/2014

Communication officer. PR officer Web designer Members Clerical staff Celebrities

Possible Agents:Our organisation, Celebrities Possible Targets:Civil society

Identify celebrity for commercial. Designer to work on advertisement. PR to contact TV/Radio stations and schedule interviews. Web designer to upload website. Members to take care of social media and setting office.

Air commercial and advertisement on all local TV and radio stations. Invited to at least five programmes. Website and social media setup and getting response from citizens. Office fully functional and receiving queries from people.

Revisiting the

Journey

Learning :

1. Gathering information:

2. Applying it to local context:

3. Formulate an advocacy plan:

Kicked off the thinking process

Driven by the feeling process

Enabled the action process

Issues:

• In the original assignment the discussion on issues underlying power generation in Malta was dealt with in paragraphs.

• However formulating a concept map for the purpose of this presentation has helped in outlining better the inter-connectedness of these problems.

Thinking Tools:Reflecting back and given the nature of the assignment I realised that I used the following thinking tools:

Consider all factors (CAF):

Developing a successful advocacy plan required considering all factors related to the introduction of DE.

• gaining of knowledge • finding support

• analysing the local scenario • overcoming opposition

• applying knowledge to local context • building strategic alliances

• setting of goals • setting of targets/timeframes/indicators/triggers

• allocating resources • drafting a critique of decisions taken

• identification of assets

Thinking Tools:Other People’s Views (OPV):

It would have been unimaginable for the advocacy plan to take off if it did not consider taking the views of the various stakeholders involved.

These stakeholders would surely have different viewpoints depending on their own needs and interests. This was rendered more difficult given the hypothetical nature of the task.

While the advocacy plan identifies the importance and allots space for meetings and discussions in order to reach a consensus, it does not outline in detail how this is to be reached.

Thinking Tools:

Aims, goals and objectives (AGO):

An effective advocacy plan should :• Aim to offer a positive and credible alternative.• Provide clear goals • Have specific and measurable objectives.

Defining the aims, goals and objectives helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the task at hand through reasoning of decisions taken and formulation of the action plan.

Thinking Tools:

The use of CoRT tools (without ever having heard of them before) in such a case might be associated to coincidence, nature of the task assigned, common sense, convenience association, unconscious prior exposure etc.

Awareness of their existence added to a more conscious rather than unconscious use of such tools could lead to:• making better and more disciplined use of these tools.• including more of the CoRT tools in the formulation of

the advocacy plan to cater for certain aspects that might have been overlooked.

Final Considerations:

The Assignment – Thinking Process:

The advocacy plan provided an opportunity to explore other alternatives with regards to power generation through a critical reflection of the current situation.

The Presentation – Thinking about the Thinking Process:

Helped me appreciate not only the evolution of my previous believes into a new way of seeing things, but also made me appreciate how specifically prepared tasks can engage students in the thinking/learning process.