Works on the foundations of the quay where a storage tanker will be moored to supply the new Delimara power station with gas will start in two months time, the Energy Minister said yesterday.
During a detailed overview of the energy sector, Konrad Mizzi yesterday told the Malta Council of Economic and Social Development that all onsite preparatory work had been completed and a number of contracts had been awarded.
“The next step is to start drilling the pile foundations of the jetty, sometime in April,” he said. As for the power station itself, this is being assembled in Sweden.
The plant was originally planned to be in operation next month, but late last year the government acknowledged that work had fallen behind and it was forced to postpone the completion date to June 2016.
The next step is to start drilling the pile foundations of the jetty
Meanwhile, the Marsa power station is one step closer to decommissioning, as preliminary tests are expected to establish that the Delimara plant is able to carry the entire load by itself. Testing has also started on the electricity interconnector with Sicily.
However, the Energy Minister said Malta’s energy generation would not be dependent on this link, as the Delimara 2 plant would be kept for emergency situations. He pointed out that this plant would operate on gasoil, as conversion to gas would not be financially viable.
Touching on Enemalta’s financial situation, Dr Mizzi said there was a dramatic improvement following the cash injection of €250 million by Shanghai Electric Power late last year. The transaction followed an agreement through which the Chinese company acquired a 33 per cent stake in the company.
He said this would allow Enemalta to focus more on its distribution network and avoid power disruptions, especially in Sliema and Mellieħa. This will involve an investment of some €21 million in a number of distribution centres including at Manoel Island and St Andrew’s.
Commenting on Malta’s EU commitment to raise electricity generation from renewable sources to 10 per cent by 2020, Dr Mizzi said Labour had ditched plans to invest in wind farms.
While an offshore facility in the area known as Is-Sikka l-Bajda posed environmental problems and would be too costly, the Bengħajsa proposal had been shelved due to safety concerns – from its close proximity to the flight path of aircraft approaching Malta.
As a result, Malta was aiming to achieve half of its target from photovoltaic panels, 22 per cent from bio-fuels, and the rest from waste-to-energy systems.