EIA leak suggests 50% less emissions from Delimara gas plant

The new gas plant proposed by the Labour government will result in a 50% decrease of unspecified emissions and a 90% decrease in airborne dust (particulate matter), according to a leaked excerpt of the Delimara gas plant's draft environmental impact assessment carried in the General Workers Union daily l-orizzont.

The report in the Labour-leaning newspaper suggests that the new gas-powered plant will lead to massive halving in emissions, through the conversion of the existing BWSC turbines to gas, and the combined closure of the Marsa power station and the Delimara phase-one power plant.

But in its reaction to the draft EIS, environmental NGO Din l-Art Helwa had already criticised the EIS for assuming that the closure of the Marsa power station would come as a result of the new LNG (liquefied natural gas) power station.

DLH referred to an EIA study, previously submitted by Enemalta in its application for the submarine interconnector cable to Sicily, which stated that it would be the Malta-Sicily interconnector cable that will enable the closure of the Marsa power station.

Under the EU's Large Combustion Plants Directive, the Marsa power station exceeded its 20,000 allotted hours of operation in 2011. It is also the most inefficient and polluting of Malta's existing power stations.

According to the EIA for the Malta-Sicily interconnector, the Marsa power station cannot be fully decommissioned before the undersea cable link is connected to the European power grid by 2013.

Din l-Art Helwa contends that any benefits of the new gas plant as presented in the EIS should be compared to a scenario which excludes the Marsa power station, which is due to be shut down as soon as the interconnector is in place in 2013/14, well before this proposed new plant is operational.

In its report, l-orizzont says that it has seen the EIA.

MaltaToday has made an official request to view the draft EIA to MEPA and the Ministry for Energy and Water Conservation. MEPA replied that "as with all other projects, the EIS will be made available once it gets certified and issued for public consultation."

The EIS was presented to MEPA on 2 September and is currently being assessed by MEPA directorates, public authorities, local councils and NGOs. It is only after the conclusion of this stage that the EIS can be certified and issued for public consultation.