Malta’s first offshore wind farm is facing a dilemma as the proposed site encompasses a reef which could hinder the project altogether. Mellieħa was chosen as the ideal place to set up the island’s offshore wind project as it was the only shallow location suitable for today’s offshore wind technology.
However, a recent study by Oxford graduate and marine geologist from the University of Malta Aaron Micallef showed that the reef held two large perfectly circular sinkholes. "The problem is that there may be more where these came from. It is likely that along the reef there are other caves that have not yet collapsed. And this may create problems for the wind farm project. The reef is full of fractures, probably because it is made of upper coralline limestone overlying a layer of blue clay, causing the limestone to slip along the softer clay, as happens in various parts of Malta‘s cliffy coast,” Micallef said.
He continued, "I don’t want to be alarmist. For all I know these could be the only caves and we would be able to work around them. Further studies would obviously have to be carried out, but at least we know beforehand that we could encounter difficulties."
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