Island facts
Malta, an EU Member State in the Mediterranean, is an archipelago covering 316 km² with a population of approximately 550,000 residents, making it the most densely populated country in the EU. Despite its small size—27 km in length and 15.5 km in width—Malta has taken significant steps to enhance energy security and support the transition to sustainable mobility.
The country maintains a 225MW AC interconnection with Sicily, which supplies approximately 20% of Malta’s electricity demand. Malta plans to double its interconnection capacity by 2026 to further strengthen its energy resilience. The national grid operator, which is vertically integrated, oversees electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. Domestic power generation relies primarily on natural gas, delivered via an LNG facility with a floating storage unit located near the power plants. As part of its clean energy transition, Malta has set an ambitious renewable energy target of up to 25% by 2030 and is engaged in non-binding cooperation agreements to support the deployment of offshore renewable generation within its sea basin. Some key policies and measures include legislative reforms to accelerate renewable energy deployment and increased renewable energy targets for heating and cooling (RES-H&C), electricity (RES-E), and transportation (RES-T). These are aimed to be achieved through implementing a fuel supplier obligation for biofuel blending and expanding on-land photovoltaic (PV) installations and its Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network.
Through the Follower Islands Programme, in collaboration with the Climate Action Authority (CAA) and the Energy and Water Agency (EWA), these initiatives have been selected for peer-to-peer coaching, ensuring knowledge exchange and best practices in implementing sustainable energy solutions. These efforts reinforce Malta’s commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 in alignment with EU policies.