Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1500676
11 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 JUNE 2023 fer from energy output intermitten- cy, requiring additional supply either through local generation or by inter- connection to balance this intermit- tency. In such a scenario energy stor- age systems would also be required to match the output of renewable plants with the electricity demand character- istics of Maltese consumers, increasing the cost of renewable energy sources. Instead, the EIA considers renewables and interconnection cable as "comple- mentary solutions and not direct com- petitors". This is because an Alternating Current (AC) interconnection would provide the necessary spinning capacity for more renewables to be installed over a longer period to cater for intermitten- cy. Therefore, the second interconnec- tor will also facilitate the integration of any potential offshore solar or wind farms, with a stable connection to the national grid, offsetting the intermitten- cy of renewable sources. Impact on climate change Despite contributing to lower emis- sions of locally produced greenhouse gases, the EIA warns that if electricity imported through the cable, is derived from non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels, the second intercon- nector would still have a negative im- pact on climate change. Moreover, the construction of an un- derwater electricity cable can also have negative impacts on climate change be- cause of a loss in marine carbon sinks along the route. But despite these impacts, the second permanent electrical connection be- tween Malta and the main European electricity grid network can still yield beneficial impacts on climate change. This is because the connection will re- duce the need for local electricity gen- eration, which can lead to a decrease in greenhouse emissions. One major stum- bling block for a reduction in overall greenhouse emissions is that Italy, the main country from which the electricity will be imported, "is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels for electricity generation". But if the electricity generation from the main European electricity grid net- work is based on renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro- power, "then the impact of the cable on climate change could be significantly reduced". On a positive note, the EIA notes that Italy has "committed to moving away from the use of fossil fuels in energy pro- duction, placing particular emphasis on solar and wind energy". Enemalta statistics show that 83% of the energy imported from Italy in 2021 was derived from fossil fuels, which in varying degrees contribute to global warming. In contrast, renewable energy only ac- counted for a tenth of imported electric- ity in both 2020 and 2021, down from 15% in 2019. Coal, the dirtiest fuel in terms of car- bon emissions, accounted for one-tenth of the electricity imported by Malta from the European mainland through the interconnector. Nuclear energy also accounted for 6% of imported electricity in 2021, down from 11% in 2020. One of the adverse impacts of the proposed interconnector investi- gated in the report is its effect on cetaceans and marine mammals known to use sound for communi- cation, navigation, and foraging. Electic and magnetic fields from the interconnector can potentially interfere with these activities, im- pacting the survival and reproduc- tion of these species. Research has shown that some spe- cies of cetaceans can detect and respond to EMFs. Sperm whales are also known to avoid exposure to EMFs from power cables, which could affect their feeding and mi- gration patterns. Additionally, EM- Fs from submarine cables may in- terfere with the echolocation and navigation abilities of some spe- cies of dolphins. But the kind of electromagnetic fields from the interconnector is of a low intensity unlikely to be sensed by these animals However, impacts on creatures liv- ing in the bottom of the sea could be greater and this impact is con- sidered to be a minor adverse one. Undersea cable has little impact on whales A fin whale caught off Gozo's Ta' Sanap cliffs by Benjamin Grech in 2021 interconnector necessary demand, study finds Left: Malta already has an interconnector link with Sicily to import electricity and will be installing a second one in the next couple of years Above: Wind turbines create intermittent energy that can destabilise the electricity grid but with a second interconnector, Malta will be able to benefit fully from renewable energy without the pitfalls of intermittency