The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) Board today approved permits that will lead to the demolition of the Delimara power station chimney and the dismantling of remaining structures at the old Marsa power sation.
Demolition of the 130-metre high chimney, which was built in 1993, is expected to start next month and the process should take around a year.
The removal of the chimney, an electoral pledge, follows the conversion of the power station to LNG gas. Enemalta Chairman Frederick Azzopardi this morning said the structure, which can be seen from all parts of the island, will be dismantled by Italian contractors that were chosen following a public call issued last December.
All steps will be taken to ensure that there is no contamination.
The chimney is more than 50 storeys high and its base is 12 metres wide. At the bottom, the concrete shell is 2 metres thick. Inside the concrete casing are two steel exhaust pipes 2.3 metres wide.
The metal parts will be removed first. An auto-lifting platform and remote controlled robots will be employed to dismantle the outer structure.
In a statement ERA said the permit for the Delimara Power Station, covers the dismantling of the chimney and structures related to the operations of the Delimara Phase I plant together with the continued operations of Delimara 2a and 2b (gas turbines) operated by Enemalta Plc., Delimara 3 (diesel engine) operated by D3 Power Generation Ltd., and Delimara 4 CCGT and LNG Terminal operated by ElectroGas Malta Ltd.
The permit for the Marsa Power Station covers the dismantling of most of the structures remaining on site, together with the continued operation of one open-cycle gas turbine and the retention of the associated gas oil storage tank for use as an emergency back-up plant.
The IPPC permits granted cover a number of monitoring obligations, which operators are to fulfil throughout the 4 year validity of the permits, as well as specific conditions related to the dismantling operations so as to ensure the required level of environment protection, ERA said.
Reacting to the decision, Energy and Water Minister Joe Mizzi said this showed that the government was in favour of a clean energy policy. “We want to give clean air to residents of the south, particularly those who live in Marsaxlokk and nearby areas, who have suffered for years because of this environmental wound.”
All public consultation documents are available on the ERA website on https://era.org.mt/en/Pages/Delimara-Power-Station.aspx for Delimara Power Station and https://era.org.mt/en/Pages/Marsa-Power-Station.aspx for Marsa Power Station.