Delimara LNG plant: studies for pollution permit still not ready

Despite clear indications by the government that the new Delimara gas power station owned by the Electrogas consortium will be operational during the summer, no date has been set yet by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for the approval of its Integrated Pollution Prevention Control Permit (IPPC). 

“The authority is currently awaiting the outcome of studies following which it will continue processing the IPPC application for the new gas power station,” a spokesperson for MEPA told MaltaToday.

Installations like power stations and large chemical plants have to obtain an IPPC permit from MEPA to be allowed to operate. The permitting process ensures that these plants make use of the best available technology in their operations. In the case of new installations an IPPC permit has to be approved by the MEPA board before the commencement of operations.

The spokesperson failed to elaborate on which studies have been undertaken so far and when these will be issued for public consultation. 

In February, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi reiterated that the new gas-fired power station would start producing energy “during the summer”. He had announced a June 2016 deadline for electricity to begin flowing to homes in an announcement in Parliament in December 2014. The government was originally committed to having the new power infrastructure finalised by March, 2015.

In October, 2014 a MEPA spokesperson confirmed that a formal application for this permit had yet to be submitted even if the technical documentation relating to the IPPC application “had been submitted and was being reviewed”. 

The IPPC assesses the whole environmental performance of the plant, including matters like emissions into the air, water and land, generation of waste, use of raw materials, energy efficiency, noise, prevention of accidents and risk management. 

A planning permit was approved by MEPA in February, 2014 but a number of reports, including a nautical risk assessment and a cost benefit analysis being carried out as part of the IPPC process have not yet been published. 

The Cost Benefit Analysis will reveal the percentage of national demand provided by the new privately owned powerhouse and the share of energy from other sources like the interconnector. 

The temporary use of heavy fuel oil for the BWSC-constructed Delimara power plant was approved through an IPPC permit granted during a stormy meeting of the MEPA board in December, 2011. The permit was subsequently extended by MEPA under the present administration.