The Malta Power and Gas project

The government said in a statement it welcomes comments made by the European Commission on the Malta Power and Gas project.

The comments made by the commission demonstrate that the aims for the project were delivered and resulted in reduced emissions and particulate matter, more affordable energy production, and the removal of old and polluting power plants, including Delimara 1 and the Marsa power station.

Salient comments made by the European Commission:

• The project would allow Malta to move

away from its dependency on heavy oils for electricity generation, reducing CO2 emissions and air pollution and, therefore, of benefit to the Maltese citizens and climate as such.

• The project links up several state-of-theart technologies, such as gas to power and the conversion of oil-based power plant to LNG, and can thus serve as a model for future projects.

• The project ties into the emerging global LNG market which plays a significant role in our diversification efforts. In 2017, Malta joined the list of European LNG importers.

• The Delimara project is a welcomed addition to Malta’s energy mix because it improves its energy security by diversify-

ing energy sources.

On Malta’s LNG and decarbonisation efforts, the European Commission mentioned that:

• The European Commission continues to support Malta's efforts to move away from heavy oils towards more carbonefficient electricity generation.

• LNG can play an important role in the fight against climate change. In 2016, the European Commission published the EU LNG and Storage Strategy in which it singled out projects to make our LNG infrastructure more connected and work closer with our international energy partners. • Following the European Commission’s 2050 strategy on climate neutrality presented a couple weeks ago, LNG can play a crucial role in the energy transition.

Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi said that such an endorsement from the European Commission demonstrates that Malta’s energy roadmap and the newly introduced energy mix is the right strategy for Malta as an EU member state.

The new Delimara Power plant paved the way for Malta to have more affordable energy tariffs for both residential and commercial consumers, a reduction of 90% in particulate matter, and 50% in emissions.