Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1250967
JAMES DEBONO MALTA may not be able to meet electricity demand in peak hours if the Delimara power station had to shut down due to unfore- seen circumstances like extreme weather, disruption of the LNG supply or sabotage. A risk assessment, carried out the energy ministry in December, concluded that in such an ex- treme case the country would still be able to produce just enough energy to function on an average day. "The exceptional high de- mand may not be met in extreme circumstances due to the lack of alternative capacity when peak demand occurs," the report con- cludes. The risk assessment was carried out in compliance with the EU's Gas Security of Supply Regula- tion. It said the loss of Malta's gas fa- cility would have a significant im- pact on the social and economic wellbeing and security of the Mal- tese islands, making it important to secure the site against natural hazards or man-made threats. The risk assessment considered the likelihood of the loss of the gas facility at Delimara on a day of peak demand as a low one, one that has a likelihood of occurring "once in 20 years". As the only use of gas in Malta is for electricity generation, the risk assessment considered how the loss of the LNG facility would affect the supply of electricity to the archipelago. The report, carried out before the COVID-19 crisis, notes that the steep increase in population, growing demand in the housing market, increasing immigration from demand in the labour mar- ket, and growth of tourism have intensified pressure on land and scarce water resources. This has led to an increase in energy demand which is expected to continue growing in the future. Moreover, Malta's potential for renewable energy deployment is limited by physical and spatial limitations, with the availabil- ity of and cost of land being the main restrictions for further de- ployment of renewables. The report even says that solar PV energy is leading to grid sta- bility issues, because with a pro- jected capacity of circa 260MW in 2030, rapid fluctuations due to cloud coverage would need un- precedented "online" back-up of around 20-25% of Malta's peak demand in 2020. Given the limited options for cost-effective, indigenous sourc- es, Malta's reliance on energy im- ports is expected to remain high in the near future. Malta's strategy to achieve greater security of supply is based on the diversification of energy sources in terms of procurement channels, exporting country and supplier, as well as contingency planning in case of a disruption in supply. The risk assessment identifies a series of scenarios which can lead to a shutdown of the Delimara power station. These include gas disruption in third countries or a commer- cial dispute with suppliers; sab- otage, vandalism or industrial disputes affecting the gas facility; an explosion, fire, leak or lighting strike at the Delimara site; and a failure of electricity supply to LNG jetty and regasification fa- cility. The possibility of an ICT failure or cyber-attack to gas fa- cility is also assessed. One major shortcoming identi- fied in the report is the "limited visibility" of information on the mid-term gas supply situation about stock levels. The report recommends "rou- tine monitoring and reporting to the ministry" to monitor gas sup- ply and demand and stock levels after noting lack of information on this aspect. The risk of the cancellation of near-term (within a month) LNG shipments is deemed acceptable although "within-day demand may not be met on extreme summer demand day-in-day and evening". To avert this risk the report notes that the operator has identified and sourced alternative LNG supplies like Algeria. 6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 MAY 2020 NEWS LETTER OF INTENTION 13 May 2020 RE: CapConnect Limited Jurg Peter Hirschi and Andrew Farrant of CapConnect Limited, declare their intention for the company to register for an Employment Agency licence in accordance to article 23 of the Employment and Training Services Act, 1990 (Act XXVIII of 1990). The activities proposed to be carried out are the following: 1) Recruitment Consultancy 2) Interviewing, selection and placements of candidates in employment 3) Recruitment of persons from abroad to employment in Malta or in an EU member state 4) Recruitment of persons in Malta for employment in Malta or in an EU member state 5) Advertising of the filling of vacancies 6) Keeping a register of applicants for employment Official Registered Office Address: Unit E205 The Hub Workspace Triq Sant' Andrija San Gwann SGN 1612 Malta Company Registration Number: C95482 Not enough energy for peak hours if Delimara shuts down Wied Babu plans spiked JAMES DEBONO THE owners of the Garden of Eden wed- ding hall, who also own most of Wied Babu, have withdrawn plans for a holiday village over the site of the hall. They planned to re- place the Zurrieq hall with 14 new units, re- ception area and ten- nis court, and parking. Eight of the cabanas were to be sited on the car park, still subject to an enforcement no- tice issued in 1998. The wedding hall, nightclub and an old farm-house were to be demolished and replaced by other bungalows scattered over a more extensive area. But the Environment and Resources Author- ity had immediately objected, since it pro- posed the additional commitment of unde- veloped land. The ERA said the de- velopment was being proposed on a make- shift car park, and that the disturbed state of the site could not justi- fy further development. The 1998 enforce- ment order is over the abusive levelling of the site to construct the car park. The ERA said the 'disturbed' area should be restored to its pris- tine state, in line with a method statement approved by the same authority. The developers in- voked the infamous 2014 rural policy guide- lines which allow the redevelopment of ex- isting buildings outside development zones. But the policy forbids states redevelopment with "substantial lateral or vertical extensions and/or substantial re-building." The 14 'luxury' bunga- lows in Zurrieq's Wied Babu was linked to an "environment man- age-ment plan" for the valley, most of which is owned by Baldacchino Holdings, the owners of the Garden of Eden wedding hall. They claimed the pro- ject would comprise of "unique, short-term accommodation units within the beautiful setting of Wied Ba- bu", attracting a niche market by providing high-quality accommo- dation. "The scheme will be providing tour- ist accommodation in a rural setting and in an area that has many tourist attractions but has limited accommo- dation available." Each of the 170sq.m cabanas would have pool area, and breath-taking views of the Blue Grotto, It-Torri ta' Xutu at Wied iż-Żurrieq, the open sea and Filfla. The site is partly located in the vicinity of a Natura 2000 site.