Updated August 26 with detail

Plans for a second electricity interconnector were given the green light by the Environmental Resources Authority on Friday. 

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli had announced plans for the interconnector in July of 2021. She had said the project was set to cost €170 million and was expected to be completed in 2025. 

The 225-megawatt cable will run parallel to the existing interconnector infrastructure, which is already equipped to accommodate a second cable. It will be developed by Interconnect Malta, a government-owned company under the responsibility of the Energy Ministry.

The proposal includes trenching, laying, cable jointing and installation between the Magħtab terminal station in Naxxar and a facility in Ragusa, Sicily - stretching some 121km. 

It will allow the country to purchase additional electricity from the European grid, meeting a projected increase in demand for electricity while also bringing Malta closer to its greenhouse gas targets.

Proponents say a second interconnector will also make it easier to develop large-scale renewable energy products locally, by providing reserve electricity supply when the output from those products drops intermittently.

Interconnect Malta commissioned AIS Environment Malta to carry out the EIA, which was completed earlier this year following a 10-month process and approved by the ERA board at a meeting held on Friday.

The project's environmental impact assessment found that between 2014 and 2020, Malta’s population increased by 73,500. In 2021 energy production levels increased by 7% when compared to 2020 levels. 

The report also found that Malta managed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 4.7% when compared to 2020, with 71% of energy produced from local power plants, 19% from the first interconnector and 10% from renewable sources. 

Duration of works

It is estimated that onshore excavation works will take roughly eight months, with drilling set to take around two months and the laying of the cable four months. Works carried out to ensure the protection of the submarine cable are estimated to take some two months. 

Offshore work will be conducted on a 24-hour basis, while onshore work will be carried out during normal hours. 

The underground cable will connect to Enemalta’s terminal station in Magħtab. It will pass by the Ecohive waste complex being developed in area and under the Coast Road before moving offshore.  

Magħtab was favoured over Delimara as a connection point for the cable as the former already has much of the infrastructure necessary for the interconnector cable and because running the cable to Delimara would involve further risks due to the offshore LNG tanker docked there. 

Shielding cable from damage

The offshore cable will be buried at a depth of 1.5 metres where possible. In other areas, where it must be exposed, the cable will be encased in cast iron shells.

The plan is to also protect the cable using rocks in such exposed areas, to minimise the risk of damage similar to that sustained by the original interconnector some years ago.

Workers will place rocks on the seabed using a tube from a large vessel, to create a rock berm that covers and shields the cable from anchor dropping and dragging.  

The cable will also be surveyed for damage or risks using a ship with video recording equipment every 18 months.

The EIA states that the cable will have a minimum lifespan of 40 years and should be kept in place if it is ever decommissioned.

Environmental impacts

In all, the project’s construction phase is expected to generate around 4,500 m3 of excavated material that will need to be disposed of. A proposal to reuse that material, mostly soil, as backfill was discarded after thermal tests indicated that the material would lead to the cable overheating.

That excavated material will negatively impact habitats in the affected area, which mostly falls within the confines of the Ecohive complex in Magħtab, the EIA concluded. 

It advised a number of mitigation measures to minimise those impacts. 

The project is also likely to damage to roughly 2,220 square metres of Posidonia bed as well as 12,500 square metres of sparse maerl along the cable route. 

Works are also expected to disturb the habitats of eight terrestrial songbird species known in the area, particularly if these are carried out during the breeding season between March and August. 

ERA did not find the proposal to be objectionable provided that the appropriate mitigation measures and pre-emptive safeguards are put in place prior to the start of construction. 

Among its recommendations, the authority said that all measures must be adopted to avoid overspills and pollution in the adjacent rural, coastal and marine environment. 

Works taking place at night time must also make every effort to reduce light pollution and avoid the avifaunal reproductive season whenever possible. 

Having secured ERA’s approval, the project’s permitting process with the Planning Authority can move ahead. Work is also under way on the tendering front. Technical information for the final call for tenders is currently being finalised, the company said, noting that it issued a prior information notice (PIN) to procure two shunt reactors and one transformer earlier this month.

That equipment will be installed at the interconnector’s terminals in Magħtab and Ragusa, Sicily, where the cable will connect to Europe’s electricity grid.

In a statement on Saturday, Interconnect Malta said the conclusion of the EIA process was an important step forward for the interconnector project.

Interconnect Malta CEO Ismail D’Amato said the company had discussed various mitigation measures with ERA and will be making sure they are integrated in the final implementation plans.

“Interconnector 2 is an important project for the future security and environmental sustainability of Malta’s energy sector, as it meets future demand requirements, including increased electrification, while paving the way for the government’s ambition to continue increasing Malta’s share of grid-connected renewables on land and offshore, in coming years. In this regard, the second interconnector is a major enabler of investment in green energy. Through this environmental impact assessment, we wanted to make sure that the project will safeguard our environment even during its construction,” D’Amato said.