Gas plant will be in line with EU directives
The Labour Party has accounted for the studies that need to be made for its proposed gas-fired power plant to be in line with European environmental directives, Joseph Muscat insisted yesterday.
Dr Muscat acknowledged that part of Labour’s proposal to have two new storage tanks with a capacity of 36,000 metres cubed at the Delimara power plant site, would need to be regulated under what is known as the Seveso Directive but insisted that the party had accounted for this.
The Times asked whether the study requirements of the directive would jeopardise the target date, which Labour itself acknowledged was “tight”, but Dr Muscat stuck to his line, stressing that a Labour government would make sure the deadline is met.
He also said the party had no intention of bypassing the planning authority in the process but would insist on an expedited process similar to the Smart City project.
“I am not aware that there were any problems with the way the Smart City process was conducted yet it was an expedited process, because the Government demanded it to be so and it did well,” he said, also referring to the permits issued for the City Gate project in the same vein.
Dr Muscat also pointed to the environmental impact studies that had been carried out for the new power plant developed by Danish manufacturer BWSC, pointing out that these also dealt with the option of having a gas-fired plant.
However, in this case, the Seveso directive, which regulates large scale industrial installations that store large quantities of dangerous substances, would require specific research of the proposed gas tanks and part of the infrastructure that would convert the stored fuel from liquefied to natural gas.
Dr Muscat was also asked about a claim by the Prime Minister yesterday morning that Labour’s campaign had cost €1 million.
The Nationalist Party has been linkingthis criticism to suspicions that the Labour Party may have been financed by interest groups with whom it is committed should it win election.
Dr Muscat denied the claim, arguing that it was worrying that the Prime Minister appeared to be unable to make certain calculations.
He pointed out that unlike the PN, his party published its accounts, and argued despite having been in government for 25 years, the Nationalist Party had failed to introduce a party financing law.
The enactment of such a law was one of the Labour commitments so that all parties would be required to publish their accounts, he said.
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pat muscat
Jan 12th, 18:52
Jekk bil-gas velenuz l-power station tal-BWSC tilhaq l-istandards ewropej: ahseb u ara bil-gas nadif ! Prose PL!
John Bonello
Jan 12th, 16:27
PT4.They promised us that “transparency is the key” but they failed on this too, as there is no transparency on this proposal, they want to hid the fact from you, they don’t want you to know the real cost for this project alone and the risks involved, they don’t want you to know that they cannot keep their election promise that the E&W bills will be reduced from the day they are elected.
John Bonello
Jan 12th, 16:27
PT3. They’ve misled us to believe that Malta was doing badly were independable agencies Moody and other told them otherwise, they voted against the budget so they would claim it theirs in this election, they convinced us that we need a change, but our country survived the worst recession since the 30’s, were thousands of jobs were saved and thousands more created.
John Bonello
Jan 12th, 16:27
PT2. If proven that this is another Gimmick and we have no doubt about it the MLP should be condemned to the opposition benches for another 5 years, they’ve already lied to us about the living wage and the minimum wage, they were wrong on the Cyprus model and they are wrong again on this proposal..
John Bonello
Jan 12th, 16:26
PT1.All those who’ve seen yesterday xarabank program are convinced that the MLP proposal is another gimmick and I appeal to all those who have this country at heart not to vote Labour, unless they publish their studies , in doing so they would be insulting your intelligence and beign disrespectful towards all of us.
Antoine Vella
Jan 12th, 16:00
Joseph Muscat doesn't know what he's saying regarding MEPA. City Gate project took over 8 months to be approved. There were several applications for Smart City and most took many months. The Labour power plant will take longer because there will be many objections. I (and thousands of others) will certainly exercise my civil right and object. It will take months for all objections to be cleared.
J. Pace
Jan 12th, 12:04
Bi Tkaxkira li qala l-bierah Konrad Mizzi waqt Xarabank fejn zgur mhux forsi regghu tilfu hafna voti, interessanti xse tkun l'mossa li jmiss mil PL
Minn ghandu tikka common sense jinduna li ma sar l'ebda pjan fid-dettal mil PL. Konrad Mizzi qal li jekk l-vapur ma jidholx habba l-fond, jinbena pipe. Mela tista tghidilna liema figuri hadd fil-project plan li suppost ghamilt? Bil Pipe jew le?
M Portelli
Jan 12th, 16:30
Yes right I guess your type of common sense found in the Yellow Pages too is it? Konrad Mizzi is a breath of fresh air not just to the air quality round Marsaxlokk but to Maltese Politics in general. I can understand the anxiety Dr Mizzi precipitates in stale politicians with a proven track record in failure with regards to energy policies and decision making.
pat muscat
Jan 12th, 17:22
@ Jpace.
'Jinbena dolphin 'qal Dr Mizzi. Dan id-dolphin u l- pipe mieghu jigi jiswa ferm anqas mill- Parlament li m'ghandnix bzonnu!
U l-Parlament mhu sejjer inaqqas l-ebda kontijiet tad-dawl u anqas inadaf l-arja.
Sadanitant, nitolbu u naghmlu is-sagrificji biex l-EneMalta ma tfallix, la Tonio Fenech ghabbija b'800 miljun ewro dejn!
Il-credit rating agencies qalu li d-dejn mhux gimmick!
charles v schembri
Jan 12th, 11:57
Is the fact that the plant would be EU Acquis compliant anything for which PL expects to be cdommended?
The present site is Seveso compliant. The problem lies with the stringent operational and safety standard of LNG terminals. As of today there's albeit limited know-how on LNG terminals on the island. And the learning curve is not that short. Operations cousts would hence increase.
Anton Attard
Jan 12th, 16:28
Such sweeping statements Mr. Schembri make me sick.
I am a PN voter and as things stand at the moment I haven't yet decided between not going to vote or voting for Labour in the coming election.
Mr. Konrad Mizzi had a flawless performance yesterday. On this energy sector i trust Labour much more than the PN.
Jonathan Scerri
Jan 12th, 10:40
The Delimara site is already a COMAH (Control of Major Accident Hazard) Tier II (most dangerous) site as per the Seveso Directive (refer to MEPA website). So any additional/new fuel stored on site will have to comply with existing directives and regulations. In my opinion, if LNG is to be stored on site, the existing risk assessment can be updated to account for the new fuel storage.
Joe Tabone
Jan 12th, 09:46
There is NO way that this project will be completed within 2 years and pass through the planning process (including the Seveso Directive) and construction process!
Another GIMMICK!
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