No studies on gas pipeline alternative in Delimara EIA

The Environment Impact Assessment for the new gas-fired power station does not assess any technological alternatives to the government's decision to import liquefied natural gas through sea tankers, on the premise that this would constitute a "government policy decision".

The government previously excluded any changes to Malta's national energy policy in a bid to avoid a time-consuming and mandatory strategic environmental impact assessment, which would stall the government's tight energy plans by a number of months.

The EIA study on the Delimara gas plant and LNG terminal states clearly that it will not assess alternatives like importing gas from a pipeline - the favoured option of the previous government, which however depends on EU funding due to its prohibitive infrastructural cost.

The pipeline was not excluded by the Labour government. But it plans to complete the new gas terminal infrastructure by March 2015 and is now pressing ahead with its preferred option, which includes dredging and land reclamation works to accommodate LNG tankers berthed on a 7,300 square metre jetty, as well as gas storage facilities on land or on a ship permanently berthed along the same jetty.

No such facilities will be required if gas is imported through a pipeline.

But environmental NGO Din l-Art Helwa contends that the government could be in breach of EU law if it refuses to assess other alternatives like the gas pipeline in its studies.

The EIA Directive specifies that such studies must include "an outline of the main alternatives studied by the developer, and an indication of the main reasons for his choice, taking into account the environmental effects." 

The EIA Directive does not exempt any developer from assessing alternatives due to a policy decision. "This argument would exempt all government projects from the EIA Directive, which is certainly not the case," a Din l-Art Helwa spokesperson told MaltaToday.

Furthermore, according to the EU Directive on Strategic Environment Assessments, any government policy on energy which has an impact on land use must first be assessed through a strategic environmental impact assessment.

Despite a major policy change such as the development of the new Delimara gas plant and LNG terminal, the government will not be amending the national energy policy approved in December 2012.

The new gas plant will alter the energy mix, especially in the balance between the Malta-Sicily electricity interconnector and other components.

But even the EIA on Delimara's gas plant fails to throw light on Malta's new energy balance. According to Din l-Art Helwa, the EIA does not contain any data on the expected utilisation rate of the interconnector, year by year, from 2014 to 2020.

 "What will be the default pecking order of the various power plants and the interconnector?" Din l-Art Helwa asked. No answer has been given in the EIA.

Moreover, by not amending Malta's energy policy despite the push towards gas, the government is also excluding any impact studies on its plans to hive off 40% of the island's energy supply to the new private operator who will supply LNG to Enemalta for the operation of Delimara phase 2 - currently running on heavy fuel oil - and the new gas power station that will be privately owned.

Another deficiency in the report identified by Din l-Art Helwa is that the EIA assumes that the closure of the Marsa power station, which has overrun its maximum hours of operation, will only be made possible by the development of the new gas-fired power station. In fact the closure of the Marsa power station can only take place whan the Malta-Sicily interconnector is in place.