Dirty coal accounts for 13% of imported electricity

Coal, the dirtiest fuel in terms of carbon emissions, has accounted for one-tenth of the electricity imported by Malta from the European mainland through the interconnector.

And with 6% of that electricity derived from nuclear power stations, the imported mix is radically different from 2020’s figures, when coal accounted for 17% and nuclear over a tenth.

Malta is powered by both a liquefied natural gas plant (LNG) as well as an electricity interconnector that provides energy from the European mainland by subsea cable from Sicily.

Natural gas is estimated to emit 50-60% less carbon dioxide (CO2) when combusted by new and efficient plants, compared to emissions from a coal-burning plant.

But while the emissions from these imported fossil fuels are not produced in the Maltese plant, they still contribute to global warming, unlike renewable and nuclear energy whose carbon footprint is negligible.

Energy from the interconnector accounted for one-fifth of the total energy mix of the island in 2021, which means the actual share of coal in Malta’s energy mix in 2021 was 3%. Nuclear energy also accounted for 6% of imported electricity in 2021, down from 11% in 2020.

Nuclear energy is cleaner than coal and natural gas in terms of carbon emissions, but is shunned by environmentalists because of the radioactive waste it produces and fears of nuclear fallout from major accidents like Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011.

Enemalta statistics show that 83% of the energy imported from Italy in 2021 was derived from fossil fuels, which in varying degrees contribute to global warming. In contrast, renewable energy only accounted for a tenth of imported electricity in both 2020 and 2021, down from 15% in 2019.

According to a Central Bank study based on 2019 statistics, when imported renewables are added to locally produced renewable energy, Malta would exceed the EU mandated 10% threshold for electricity being supplied from renewable sources.

But the report also called for more investment in renewable energy because Malta still failed to reach the mandatory threshold to have 10% of its total energy supply from locally produced renewables in 2020, having to resort to buying energy credits from other countries. In 2020, Malta acquired €2 million in renewable energy “credits” from Estonia to reach its EU targets for that year, and it had previously also entered in a €1.4 million seven-year deal with Bulgaria for 2013-2020.

Suzanne Mass, Climate Campaign Coordinator of Friends of the Earth Malta

Malta should stop importing coal and nuclear energy – Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth, one of the few local environmental groups focused on energy issue is calling on the Maltese government not to accept coal and nuclear as part of the country’s energy mix.

“Fossil fuels are proving unreliable, expensive, and incompatible with greenhouse gas emission reduction targets to avoid climate catastrophe. Nuclear energy remains a challenge, due to safety risks, the lack of solutions for the long-term waste problem, and the dangers of proliferation,” Suzanne Maas, the Climate Campaign Coordinator of Friends of the Earth Malta told MaltaToday.

But with the rise in the cost of energy triggered by the invasion of Ukraine, governments across Europe are scrambling to find alternatives to Russian gas. Faced with increased reliance on coal the German government, which includes the Green Party, has reluctantly slowed down the closure of nuclear plants and more EU governments are investing in offshore LNG plants like the one in Marsaxlokk.

But FOE opposes further investment in fossil fuels, including the EU-approved gas pipeline from Malta to Italy, which it fears will further lock Malta’s fossil fuel dependence, and argues that the only way to  really safeguard Malta’s energy security and “protect people and businesses from external shocks” is for government to invest in the energy of future: “energy savings, renewables and community energy”.

Reducing energy use in buildings, operations and transport may well be “the cheapest and fastest way to decrease energy consumption and save money”. This can be achieved through building renovations, stricter standards for the energy performance of new buildings, and a modal shift to cleaner modes of transport (public transport, walking, cycling), supported by the right fiscal incentives to reward the positive shift and tax wasteful behaviour.

Moreover, Malta also needs to urgently increase its share of renewable energy. “We need an ambitious plan for a fossil free Malta, based on increased renewable energy sources in Malta and agreements to import electricity from renewable sources through the interconnector(s),” Maas said.

An electrification of transport should come from renewable sources to signify a real reduction in carbon emissions, instead of shifting emissions from tailpipe to power station, she added.

FOE is also calling for a legal framework for renewable energy communities to enable citizens to supply, share and save energy and have a say on the energy system. “The uptake of PV in the built environment needs to be ramped up, including on public buildings and multi-story apartment blocks, which could be enabled through renewable energy communities”.