Residents of Marsaxlokk and Birzebbugia are adamant in their objections to a Floating Supply Unit moored inside Marsaxlokk Bay. They do, however, approve of the new gas-fired plant. 

Electrogas Consortium  - the company that has won the tender for the construction of the new LNG plant as well as storage unit and re-gasification unit -  plans to store the liquefied gas in a specially converted ship that will be permanently moored alongside a jetty in front of the power station. The ship will be refuelled by other LNG tankers.

During a public consultation meeting organised by MEPA in Marsaxlokk, Architect Paul Gauci, who coordinated the Environmental Impact Assessment, explained that the Electrogas plant will include six chimneys, three of which will be shorter than the existing one. He told members of the public that the Floating Storage Unit (FSU) will be moored at a safe distance from the power plant and Marsaxlokk village. If a leak was to take place the gas cloud would not reach these areas.

But Marsaxlokk Mayor Edric Micallef said that the residents are against the placing of the FSU inside the port, mainly because of the significant visual impact but also for safety reasons. He said that even if a potential gas cloud would not reach Marsaxlokk, fishermen would still be at risk.

Mr Micallef said that the proposal could have been more “visually sensitive” and the residents’ first preference would have been to locate the FSU outside of the port.

Engineer Arthur Ciantar said that there was no objection to a gas-fired plant but insisted that the FSU should not be moored in harbour. He also said the wrong software model had been used when calculating the impact of a gas cloud. For unknown reasons the experts who did the study had used a model based on the port of Cartagena in Spain, where weather conditions are totally different to those in Marsaxlokk Bay.

In reaction to the claim that the probability of a gas leak is one in ten thousand years, Mr Ciantar said that probability is not certainty. Even if the chances of a gas leak are so remote an accident could still happen tomorrow. He said that residents were demanding clear answers. “Could people die from a leak? Could an accident lead to deaths and destruction of property?”

Mr Ciantar said that it seems that a decision has already been taken. “If you have already decided then we might as well go home. 91% do not want the FSU in port. This is a clear sign that you cannot avoid.” The architect also insisted that MEPA has to take such a strong statement into consideration, or else public consultation would be futile.

PN MP Mario Galea asked if it was true that gas shipments would have to be made once a month and where the FSU maintenance would take place. He also asked MEPA to be clear about the consequences in the eventuality of an accident.

Birzebbuga Local Councillor Stanley Zammit said that the social impact assessment had been rushed, as indicated by one of the authors. It also focused mainly on the new turbines, when in fact residents are concerned about the Floating Supply Unit.

Edwin Ebejer, from Environment Group Birzebbuga, asked whether the possible impacts on Birzebbugia are being purposely kept hidden. Birzebbugia residents are also against placing the FSU in port.

Marsaxlokk resident (and ALPA President) Dominic Azzopardi asked whether the possibility of building the new power station elsewhere had been considered. He also asked whether the FSU could be placed near il-Hofriet, with gas pipes being passed through an existing waste water tunnel.

Dutch biohazards expert Hans Pasman warned that LNG is much more hazardous than petrol. The maritime risks have not been assessed yet and the tanker should be moored far out at sea.

PN MEP candidate Therese Comodini Cachia, who grew up near Qajjenza, said that nearby residents live under a constant threat. “I know what it means to live under a fuel tank. Residents are terrified every time they smell gas. Maybe this project considered the financial aspect, but not the impact on families.”

PN MP George Pullicino asked whether cost-benefit analysis on other proposals had been carried out. “Did we consider buying cleaner electricity from countries that produce power from LNG using the interconnector? We will have spent millions on the interconnector and hardly ever use it. Power from abroad can be bought at half, or even a third of the price Malta will be paying to produce it locally.”

Maritime lawyer Anne Fenech said that energy production will all have to depend on whether a refuelling ship can take place. “If these ships cannot enter port, or manoeuvre properly, the power plant will not even work.”

Marsaxlokk resident Paul Dalli appealed for cleaner air, stating that emissions did not do any good to anyone, and PN MP Anthony Bezzina asked how long it would take to get the FSU out of port in case of an accident.    

Offshore FSU ‘not feasible’

Project coordinator David Galea insisted that mooring the FSU out at sea would not be viable and would not ensure security of supply. The FSU would have been subject to harsher weather conditions.

He said that the applicants had sought a balance between clean energy and cost effectiveness.

Quantitative Risk Assessment officer Roberto Vaccari assured those present that he was confident of the gas cloud calculations. He said that the methodology used in this case was based on international models and was used in many European countries.  “Besides, Electrogas will have many safeguards. “

At one point the meeting was interrupted by a fight between a man that had been escorted out by police and another resident. A number of attendees were heard making politically motivated comments throughout the meeting.  The two men almost came to blows just outside the school hall where the meeting was held.