The European Commission has expressed doubts over whether it will permit extending the life of the Marsa power station if emission levels remain above EU standards.
Last week, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech revealed the government may ask Brussels to extend the life of the ageing power station to bide time until an interconnector with Sicily becomes functional.
He said the hours were “clocking up” but, in any case, the Marsa plant would have to be shut down by the end of 2012.
Mr Fenech said he was confident that with Enemalta’s decision to use low sulphur fuel oil, which has reduced emission levels in Marsa, and the government’s commitment to invest in energy sources to replace power generation, the Commission should agree to an extension.
However, according to the Commission, an extension will not be possible beyond the 20,000-hour life-limit if the plant fails to conform to strict EU emissions levels.
A Commission spokesman told The Sunday Times that Brussels was not yet aware of the government’s intention to request an extension but made it clear this would only be possible if the plant reached the required standard.
According to Brussels, the Marsa power station is subject to the provisions of Article 4(4) of the LCP Large Combustion Plants Directive, which allow Enemalta to be exempted from the emission limit values as long as the operator undertakes not to operate the plant for more than 20,000 operational hours, starting from January 1, 2008, and ending no later than December 31, 2015.
Enemalta is also obliged each year to submit a record of the used and unused time allowed for the plants’ remaining operational life. This information is subsequently reported to the Commission.
The government has already admitted that the 20,000 hour-limit will elapse some time during 2012 when the plant will have to be closed.
Asked whether the Commission would accede to the government’s request to extend the plant’s life by months, the spokesman said this would only be possible if the power station did not exceed the permitted emissions levels after the 20,000-hour limit.
“No mechanism exists for an extension of either the number of operational hours of the plant or of the dates applicable,” the spokesman said.
This means that to keep operating, the Marsa power station will have to adhere to even stricter emission rules than those currently in place for old plants.
A government spokesman confirmed Malta is still to submit its formal request to the Commission and said Enemalta would only need a few more months to keep Marsa as a reserve in case of high electricity demands or emergency situations.
“We only need to use Marsa for emergency situations since by the end of 2012 we should have the new Delimara plant on line. When the interconnector becomes available we can also do away with Marsa once and for all,” the spokesman said.
According to the spokesman, the emissions from the Marsa station have been reduced drastically in the past years due to various measures, including the use of less polluting fuel. He said that in its submission the government would be stating that the plant was now within EU emissions levels.
The Marsa station was already on the EU’s radar in 2009 when the Commission took Malta to court over the lack of emission monitoring equipment at the plant.
After a ruling against Malta by the European Court of Justice, the plant was equipped with a new emission monitoring station.