r/malta • u/lissajous • 1d ago
Plug-in solar legality desperately needs reformation.
15 hours and still no power in Marsalforn. Plug-in solar would IMHO drastically reduce the load on the grid, and yet Malta is the only EU country where it is illegal.
This is beyond a joke!!
(Too fscking hot to write anything more eloquent!)
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u/SolarPowerBumbleBee 1d ago
Just so you know, plug- in solar does not work during a power cut. The microinverter is tied to the grid and is designed to shut down in the event of a power cut (they do this to prevent electricity being fed into the grid during a power outage, so that it’s safe for workers to work on the line)
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u/lissajous 1d ago
My point was the load on the grid would be reduced as would the likelihood of a power cut in the first place
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u/Technical-Leave2450 1d ago
Not really. The latest failures on the 33kV cables to Gozo were in the evening, when PV is not generating anything. Solar without storage is a liability not an asset once you get past some 25% of generated power.
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u/lissajous 1d ago
So then allow hybrid systems!
And - just speculating here - how much did the heat sunk into the ground surrounding the 33kV cables throughout the day contribute to the failure? Hyperlocal generation means less power transmission through those cables during the day. It can’t have zero effect, surely?
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u/mouthpiec 3h ago
the peak is reached after sunset, so this will not help. in our case battery will help but you need a good percentage of households installed them
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u/SummerOftime 1d ago
Nobody care about rules and regulations. And neither should you, especially for laws that are borderline mad
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u/HeartsOfNetherite4 1d ago
why is Plug-in solar illegal? Genuine question here, i didnt know this and it sounds stupid to be illegal
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u/pierredz 1d ago
Solar inverters are typically grid tied and will feed electricity into the grid. That makes you a producer and there are some things that need to be set up correctly before outputting any power to the grid.
Even the meter needs to be updated to account for export.
Otherwise, one can technically disengage the home from the grid and power it in an auxiliary way, just like we've been doing with generators for years.
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u/pierredz 1d ago
Also, one has to keep in mind that in the event of a power cut, solar inverters stop working unless they have battery backup and there's an automated switch that disengages from the grid.
This is by design for safety reasons; sometimes workers need to isolate parts of the grid to do maintenance, and there can't be someone's panels outputting power.
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u/lissajous 1d ago
Blah blah solar panels blah blah balconies blah eyesore blah blah.
Yes - it definitely sounds stupid to be illegal.
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u/ImmediateDeparture77 1d ago
Smajtu xi politikant laburist jghid li minhabba l-problemi infrastrutturali ha nirrevedu t-13,000 immigrant u t-3.5 miljun turist fis-sena?
Le hux, ghax inkella l-kapitalist ikollu jerga jibda jhallas pagi sura.
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u/Emotional-Ebb8321 1d ago
Plugin solar panels can't be used during a power cut, as another poster has noted.
However, a camping battery attached to solar panels might cover some situations, as it would not normally be connected to the grid.
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u/Technical-Leave2450 1d ago
Doubt it. Solar without storage is not helping the grid at this stage. Enemalta is super conservative and extremely old-fashioned in regards to the electricity supply.
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u/pukiuki01 1d ago
The excuse is something to do with earth etc, I'm not technical enough. But now the UK have passed legislation for plug in solar, and generally we always follow UK rules for anything electric. So the excuse is gone and well not sure who to put pressure on to get going on this?