The Environmental Impact Assessment on second interconnector is published

The construction of a second interconnector is necessary to keep up with rising energy demand, reduce local emissions and stabilising the grid for offshore renewable plants.

In its absence Malta will “face challenges” in meeting its electricity demand during peak periods, the Environment Impact Assessment warns.

The EIA was commissioned by Interconnect Malta, a company owned by the Maltese government, and conducted by AIS, an environmental consultancy company led by engineer Mario Schembri.

According to the EIA the interconnector will provide Malta with a reliable and stable supply of energy, “reducing the risk of blackouts and ensuring the uninterrupted supply of electricity to households and businesses”.

But its impact on climate change depends on whether the energy bought from Europe is renewable or derived from fossil fuels, an Environment Impact Assessment for Malta’s second interconnector states.

The proposed shift in transportation is also expected to increase the overall demand for electricity by a significant margin.

Whilst it may be possible for Malta to meet the initial surge in demand by operating a combination of the existing power stations and the first interconnector cable, the electrical supply “is unlikely to remain sufficient and reliable to meet the load in the medium to long-term”.

The proposed second interconnector linking Enemata’s Maghtab terminal station to the the TERNA 220kV substation in Contrada Cimillà at Ragusa, is essential to ensure that Malta has enough energy to cater for its increased population, the electrification of its car fleet and sustain current levels of economic growth.

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli during a meeting with Sicilian President Sebastiano Musumeci last year when the second interconnector was discussed (Photo: DOI)

Interconnector ultimately aimed at replacing gas plants

The demand for the project to build the 225 MWe interconnector is also required by the need to “replace old generating plants” and shift to the importation of ‘electrical energy from large-scale renewable sources connected to the European grid”.

According to the EIA in the long-term the proposed new electricity interconnector is designed to meet the future electrical demand whilst simultaneously offsetting the atmospheric emissions that are currently generated from the existing natural gas and diesel oil power stations at Delimara.

The document envisages a future scenario in which the existing Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plants are mostly used “for grid balancing or as backup in case of constraints on the use of the interconnectors”.

EIA dampens enthusiasm for hydrogen-ready plant

The document also assesses several possible alternatives to the investment in a second interconnector to ensure that Malta meets the projected increase in energy demand.

One of the alternatives considered is an additional plant which would necessarily have to be hydrogen-ready to comply with the reduced greenhouse emission limits required by the EU Green Deal policy. But the EIA sounds caution, warning that the technology required for hydrogen readiness is not mature enough, “making it a risky proposition”. Moreover, it warns that experimental plants could become “stranded assets” due to the rapidly evolving technology. Additionally, the increase in  local generation would require additional investment in the source of fuel, potentially through a hydrogen-ready gas pipeline, as well as the availability of hydrogen through the European gas grid.

Decreased emissions

The document refers to statistics showing that in  2021, 71% of the electricity produced was generated from power plants, 19.1% was imported from the existing interconnector, and 9.9% was produced from renewable energy sources. This amounted to an annual total of 2,671.8 GWh, a 7% increase from the previous year which coincided with the pandemic.

Despite the increased demand for electricity, the island reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 4.7% when compared to the previous year. This is mainly attributed to a 30.4% increase in energy imported from the interconnector over the previous year.

Wind turbines create intermittent energy that can destabilise the electricity grid but with a second interconnector, Malta will be able to benefit fully from renewable energy without the pitfalls of intermittency

Interconnector to complement renewable energy

An alternative sscenario considered in the EIA is the “accelerated” installation of renewable electricity generating plants to meet the objectives of the Green New Deal policy. However, according to the EIA  these plants suffer from energy output intermittency, requiring additional supply either through local generation or by interconnection to balance this intermittency. In such a scenario energy storage systems would also be required to match the output of renewable plants with the electricity demand characteristics of Maltese consumers, increasing the cost of renewable energy sources.

Instead, the EIA considers renewables and interconnection cable as  “complementary solutions and not direct competitors”. This is because an Alternating Current (AC) interconnection would provide the necessary spinning capacity for more renewables to be installed over a longer period to cater for intermittency. Therefore, the second interconnector will also facilitate the integration of any potential offshore solar or wind farms, with a stable connection to the national grid, offsetting the intermittency of renewable sources.

Impact on climate change

Despite contributing to lower emissions of locally produced greenhouse gases, the EIA warns that if electricity imported through the cable, is derived from non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels, the second interconnector would still have a negative impact on climate change.

Moreover, the construction of an underwater electricity cable can also have negative impacts on climate change because of a loss in marine carbon sinks along the route.

But despite these impacts, the second permanent electrical connection between Malta and the main European electricity grid network can still yield beneficial impacts on climate change. This is because the  connection will reduce the need for local electricity generation, which can lead to a decrease in greenhouse emissions. One major stumbling block for a reduction in overall greenhouse emissions is that Italy, the main country from which the electricity will be imported, “is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels for electricity generation”.

But if the electricity generation from the main European electricity grid network is based on renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydropower, “then the impact of the cable on climate change could be significantly reduced”.

On a positive note, the EIA notes that Italy has “committed to moving away from the use of fossil fuels in energy production, placing particular emphasis on solar and wind energy”.

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.

Coal, the dirtiest fuel in terms of carbon emissions, accounted for one-tenth of the electricity imported by Malta from the European mainland through the interconnector. Nuclear energy also accounted for 6% of imported electricity in 2021, down from 11% in 2020.