The Marsa power station will be partially shut down next year when the new Delimara plant starts operating but smoke will still bellow from its chimneys for at least another year.

During a press tour of the Delimara power station extension yesterday, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said the old Marsa plant would be completely shut down when the interconnector cable with Sicily becomes operational in 2013.

This may necessitate the government asking the EU Commission’s permission to extend the life of the Marsa plant beyond the 20,000 hours it was allowed to operate since 2004. Mr Fenech said the hours were “clocking up” but, in any case, the Marsa plant would have to be shut down by the end of next year.

“I am confident that with Enemalta’s decision to use low sulphur fuel oil, which has reduced emission levels at Marsa, and the government’s commitment to invest in energy sources to replace power generation at Marsa, the Commission should not find a problem to give us an extension,” Mr Fenech said.

The tender for the interconnector cable, which will deliver 200MW of energy, has already been awarded and seabed studies are under way to determine the best path to lay the cable between Malta and Sicily.

The Delimara extension has eight diesel engines that will be fully operational by May next year with the first two expected to start generating electricity by the end of this year.

The extension will generate 144MW of electricity, which is less than what the Marsa plant produces. However, as soon as it is in service, part of the Marsa plant will be switched off.

The construction of the new plant is at an advanced stage and the eight engines are already in place.

Enemalta engineer Albert Farrugia, who is responsible for the project, said the new plant would be 47 per cent efficient apart from having cleaner emissions that conformed to EU standards.

The Marsa plant had an efficiency level of 23 per cent while the various components at the old Delimara power station had efficiency levels that ranged between 33 and 39 per cent.

Mr Farrugia said the extension would have four chimneys, each 65 metres high. The chimney at Delimara stands at 150 metres.

The extension’s air filters will trap tonnes of hazardous waste that will have to be exported in specialised containers. However, the tender for waste disposal was still being drafted, Mr Fenech said when asked about the matter.