The Planning Authority’s Board will vote on whether to grant permission for the construction of a second interconnector between Malta and Italy in a sitting today.
Plans for a second interconnector between Malta and Ragusa in Sicily were filed in May 2022 having been announced in July of the year prior by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli.
The proposal before the PA includes trenching, laying, cable jointing and installation between the Enemalta132kV Maghtab Terminal Station and the near shore approach, construction of underground joint bays, a trench-less transition from onshore to offshore and the laying and protection of the submarine cable up to the median line between Maghtab, Naxxar Malta and Ragusa, Sicily.
The interconnector is set to be 118 kilometres long with 99 kilometres of that being submerged. The cable will have a 225 megawatt capacity and will be laid in parallel – but a safe distance away – from the existing interconnector which was commissioned in 2015.
It was given the green light by the Environment & Resources Authority (ERA) last summer after its Environmental Impact Assessment found the project to be not objectionable provided that the appropriate mitigation measures and safeguards are put in place.
This being said the EIA found that there would be some environmental impacts: roughly 2,220 square metres of Posidonia bed and 12,500 square metres of sparse maerl lie along the cable route and will most likely be lost.
The Posidonia area set to be lost represents less than 0.1% of the meadows within the Special Areas of Conservation, the EIA observed, which is why the ERA did not object to the proposal.
The EIA also noted that there may be a major adverse impact to seabird colonies at St Paul’s island due to the disturbance and induced mortality caused by artificial light at night. The ERA said that night-time activities should be limited to mitigate this, and light pollution should be kept to a minimum.
The Planning Authority’s case officer gave the recommendation for the PA to grant the permit for the project, saying that “the proposed development is considered as essential infrastructure for the Maltese Islands to increase the electricity interconnectivity with the European electricity network for meeting the forecasted increase in the island’s electricity demand.”
“It also aims for contingency in situations of temporary damage to the existing cable link and interruption of the LNG supply to the domestic power generation plants,” the case officer said, adding that the conclusions of the EIA and other assessments meant that the proposal could be given a favourable recommendation.