Four years ago the PN government and Enemalta decided that new power generation plants at Delimara would be fired by natural gas as this would mean lower water and electricity bills, much better environmental and public health protection and enough space for future plants to meet growing demand and to replace the existing plant at Delimara that has already been operating for 20 years.
The Enemalta Electricity Generation Plan 2006-2015 on Page 37 says: “Another very important consideration is that the present site at Delimara can only accommodate three more 130MWe Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT) type plants …” and says that it is unlikely to find a new site elsewhere to install new generating plant. The 6 March 2008 dossier by Enemalta makes the same point when it outlines the threats to the corporation: “Delimara Power Station has limited space for expansion, limited reserve capacity available to meet load growth, which creates operational and maintenance problems.” (Page 106).
The same dossier refers to the tendering process for the extension of the Delimara Power Station and states: “Two of the bidders (Bateman and Socoin) have offered gas turbine based CCGT plants which would fit within the allocated site. The other two (BWSC and MAN) have offered medium speed diesel engines, and require twice the area of a CCGT plant, which will result in reducing the eventual capability of Delimara Power Station to accommodate new plant.”
In fact the BWSC bid selected by government and Enemalta is going to need a total of 8430 square metres: 4940 for the main plant and another 3490 for the auxiliary plant as it is going to operate on heavy fuel oil before being converted to gas with an additional cost of at least 27 million euro four years after it starts to generate electricity. The Bateman gas fired plant rejected by government needs only 4409 square metres, half the footprint of the BWSC plant and would leave enough space for two more plants at Delimara that we are going to need in the next 10 years.
I was shocked by the short-sightedness of the chairman of the Malta Environment Planning Authority (MEPA) Austin Walker when at a public meeting to grant the outline development permit for the building of the BWSC plant, he dismissed my question about whether MEPA has considered seriously the fact that the BWSC plant is going to deprive Malta of the needed space for future plants at Delimara. His body language and his tone exposed his arrogant attitude... he acted as if I had just asked a silly question. I asked MEPA to explain how the application was for only 6175 square metres, when the BWSC plant needs a total of 8430 square metres?
What he said was even worse: on that day, he declared ‘ex cathedra’, the MEPA Board was considering that application only and was not going to bother to look ahead at the future expansion needs at the Delimara Power Station site! MEPA is bound to abide by the Structure Plan (1990) which states clearly that “development will be permitted if the proposal is not likely to have deleterious impact on existing or planned adjacent uses.” The BWSC plant does exactly that, by swallowing most of the land needed for future expansion at Delimara.
There is no doubt that in a few weeks’ time MEPA will also grant the full development permit so that all the necessary work can be carried out to install the BWSC plant at Delimara. The usual MEPA charade will take place to give the impression of a transparent decision making process when the decision has already been taken.
MEPA is a partner in the crime being committed at Delimara. It is simply bending over backwards and in every direction to accommodate government and allow the BWSC plant to be built at Delimara, even if it is going to jeopardise future expansions needs and even though MEPA wanted the new energy plants to be fired by natural gas. “Since MEPA is the competent authority charged with this regulation, Enemalta has sought and obtained its guidance in a letter, dated 30th March 2006. It is clear from this letter, that in order to meet EU and international obligations on emissions levels, the new generation plant has to be gas fired.” (Enemalta Electricity Generation Plan 2006-2015, page 23).
When this Generation Plan was drawn up and published in 2006, government and Enemalta were still in time to take the necessary steps to invest and build the necessary infrastructure for the supply of natural gas: “Natural gas may not be available before late 2012 at the earliest.” (Page 15). In 2007 Enemalta issued a public call for proposals for the supply of natural gas for the generation of electricity. These requests were to be sent in by 23rd May 2007. Three requests were received.
But this project was aborted so that during the adjudication of the tender for the Delimara Power Station extension the argument could be made that as Malta did not have a natural gas supply, government and Enemalta had no option but to go for the BWSC plant with diesel engines operated on heavy fuel oil. In the second half of 2007 not only the natural gas supply project was killed, but steps were taken between September and November 2007 to change legal notice 329 of 2002 to enable the BWSC plant to operate at Delimara using diesel engines fired by heavy fuel oil.
During the tendering process government abandoned its policy to have new plants fired by natural gas and changed existing environmental regulation to permit the BWSC plant to operate. Lahmeyer International, blacklisted by the World Bank because of corrupt practices and represented in Malta by the same exclusive local agent of BWSC and involved in joint projects with BWSC, were brought in as “independent” technical consultants to certify as plausible BWSC’s emission abatement technology though it is a prototype. After Alex Tranter was appointed chairman of Enemalta in 2005, BWSC agent Joseph Mizzi approached Zaren Vassallo to take care of the civil engineering part of the Delimara Power Station extension. Tranter works for Vassallo, who is one of the main donors of the PN.
During the tendering process Sumimoto Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Enemalta worked together on hedging agreements, as part of a long ongoing relationship including loans of hundreds of millions of euros for Enemalta. Both SMBC and BWSC belong to the Mitsui family.
There are many partners in this crime happening at Delimara. MEPA is just one of them.
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