Dirty coal accounts for 23% of inter-connector’s electricity

Nearly 23% of energy imported through the interconnector that links Malta to the Italian energy grid was derived from coal-fired power stations in 2023, doubling from the previous year’s 12% share of the make-up of imported electricity.

Since the interconnector accounted for 22.9% of the energy supplied by Enemalta in 2023, this means that approximately 5% of energy consumed in Malta is derived from coal.

In terms of carbon emissions and impact on climate change, coal is considered to be the dirtiest of all fossil fuels even when compared to natural gas and oil.

Fossil fuels – coal, gas and petroleum – as a whole, accounted for around 85% of the interconnector’s energy,a slight drop of one percentage point over 2022.

But the share of fossil fuels in the imported energy mix remains significantly higher than in 2021, when fossil fuels accounted for 81% of imported electricity.

The major change in 2023 was that Malta imported less electricity produced from natural gas, down from 69% to 58%, and more from coal. 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.

Only 7% of imported fuel comes from renewables

Significantly, Malta imported three times as much energy from coal-fired power stations than from renewable energy sources (7.3%) through the interconnector, staying at the same level of 2022 after dropping from 11% in 2021.

The share of electricity generated from nuclear power stations in mainland Europe increased from 2.6% in 2022 to 4.4% in 2023 but remains lower than in 2021 when 6.4% of all imported electricity was derived from this source.

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.

Overall, Enemalta has registered a second consecutive increase in carbon emissions up from 388 grams of carbon dioxide per kiloWatt-hours in 2021 to to 391gCO2/kWh in 2022 and to 396CO2/kWh in 2023.

Interconnector use stable

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.

Official statistics for 2023 show that the interconnector accounted for 23% of the fuel mix used to generate electricity in Malta, as was the case in 2022.

Natural gas used in the Delimara power stations accounted for 69% of the energy mix, up from 68% the previous year. The share of local renewables in the energy mix remained stable at 7.5%.

Emissions from energy sources imported through the interconnector are not released locally but still contribute to global warming, unlike renewable and nuclear energy whose carbon footprint is negligible.

MaltaToday is informed that Enemalta has no say in determining the type of fuel used to generate electricity imported from the interconnector which depends on Italian sources.

A second interconnector linking Enemata’s Magħtab terminal station to the the TERNA 220kV substation in Ragusa has already been approved by the Planning Authority.

The second interconnector is deemed essential to ensure that Malta has enough energy to cater for its increased population, the electrification of its car fleet and to sustain current levels of economic growth.

In its absence Malta would “face challenges” in meeting its electricity demand during peak periods, an environmental impact assessment for the cable project warned. The EIA says 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. Despite contributing to lower emissions of locally produced greenhouse gases, if electricity imported through the cable is derived from fossil fuels, the second interconnector would still have a negative impact on climate change.

According to the EIA 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”.