HFO-fired turbines switched off for good

At 7.17pm on Monday, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat officially shut down for the final time the last operating turbine running on heavy fuel oil within the Delimara-1 power plant before going on to inaugurate the new Delimara-4 Electrogas power plant running on natural gas.

The 25-year-old Delimara power plant has been switched off in an event that marks the end of the heavy fuel oil era.

In an event that was transmitted live on PBS, with selected guests invited to witness the switching off from the Delimara grounds, Muscat, accompanied by OPM minister Konrad Mizzi, presided over turning off the old power station and switching completely to the gas-fired power plants.

A number of Marsaxlokk residents turned up at the power station to witness the last puff from the chimney, in what the government is describing as a "historic event".

Muscat visited the plant’s control room where the supply from the last turbine running on HFO was gradually decreased before it could be completely turned off safely.

Two children, a boy and a girl aged 8 from Birzebbugia and Marsaxlokk, were also invited to the televised event where they closed off one of the valves assisted by the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat high fives young girl who helped him shut off one of the valves

Present for the inauguration were representatives of Electrogas, ministers, local councillors and other social partners.

The new Electrogas plant is able to generate 200MW of power and the government has bound itself to buy it all from ElectroGas on a take-or-pay contract. The company has also already converted four of the turbines in the BWSC plant to gas, and is working on converting the other four.

Muscat said that the government had managed, in four years, to take Eneamlta from a €800 million debt to registering a profit.

That was all part of the government’s roadmap for the energy sector, which culminated in the ceremony on Monday, that saw the shutting down of heavy fuel oil turbines, replaced by the inauguration of the new gas-fired power plant.

“The chimney was the cause of several respiratory illnesses and anxiety. We are putting families' minds at rest that we are providing cleaner energy,” he said. “We now look forward to dismantling the chimney once and for all in the weeks to come.”

Muscat said the government had refused to be deterred from its vision.

“It’s true, it took us longer than we planned to have the power plant running at full capacity, but the government has delivered a power plant of international standards with the approval of the European Union.”

Muscat said the government had – in another breakthrough – involved private enterprise in such a major project and sad it would be in a position to withdraw its financial guarantee in the coming months.

The prime minister said that with a growing economy and increased investment, the demand for energy also increased. He said that the power plant was needed not only to ensure security of supply but also to continue attracting investment.

“I think people realise that although we may have some mistakes, we also delivered a lot of good,” he said.  “People now understand that this government will not let anyone turn back the clock on the country’s achievements in the energy sector.”

Muscat thanked “project manager” Mizzi for seeing the project through, Enemalta, Shanghai Electric, Siemens and SOCAR for their commitment to the project.

The new Electrogas plant running on gas can produce 200MW of power

On behalf of previous administrations, he apologised to the families of Marsaxlokk, Birzebbugia and the surrounding localities for the suffering they had to endure.

In his address, Mizzi noted that the gas power plant was a key element in the government’s electoral manifesto and said he felt privileged to have played a part, with the prime minister, in turning that vision into reality.

He said that the government had remained constantly committed to its vow to provide clean energy and had worked tirelessly to ensure the best possible deal for Maltese families and businesses.

“The achievements we have reached are the biggest endorsement for this government,” he said. “We have managed to reduce energy tariffs, provided clean energy, closed down the Marsa power station and did away wit heavy fuel oils.”

Mizzi said the government would now concentrate on getting the gas pipeline to Sicily completed, so that the temporary floating storage unit, anchored off the new power plant, could be removed.

Frans Doffler, Electrogas CEO, said that plant construction took three million man-hours, with the company relying on key partners to bring together state-of-the-art technology as well as exceptional human resources to guarantee the project’s success.

He thanked Enemalta for the company’s continuous communication with Electrogas and said he was looking forward to the exciting future possible also because of the new power plant.

The switch to gas was a Labour Party electoral pledge, with the party pledging a project that would take two years to be delivered and implemented.

The plant is part of the Labour government's plan to drastically reduce energy bills by using liquefied natural gas that will pass through a regasification unit at Delimara.

According to an Environmental Impact Assessment, the shift from heavy fuel oil to LNG will deliver overall positive health impacts for the population. The same report argues that a better use of the Malta-Sicily electricity interconnector would further improve air quality. The use of natural gas is expected to cut CO2 emissions by 28%.