Sargas has issued a statement this evening in reaction to what it says are “misconceptions and incorrect statements about the proposed power plant for Malta.”
Martin Rödén the Director of Business Development at Sargas said in the statement:
“Sargas guarantees reduced cost of electrical energy in Malta. If Malta prefers gas as fuel, the Sargas plant can run on either gas or Biopaste. The plant owner with parties such as DSME and SNC-Lavalin, two multi-billion dollar global corporations, offered to finance the plant. They are not depending on EU or Government funding. The plant will not be a floating plant and it will not replace but instead complement the new HFO plant. Sargas, DSME and SNC-Lavalin propose a Feasibility study to verify all conditions and data.”
“Sargas has been prompted to react to a number of incorrect comments on its proposed technology. Sargas is also concerned about the way the proposal has been debated in political fora. We had never expected such a controversy. We have no agenda, are not linked to any former or present politician or political party and our wish is to steer clear of any political controversy. We have avoided answering the evidently loaded comments which are based on unfounded statements and ideas. So instead we try to clarify some misconceptions.”
The statement continued saying that:
1. “Sargas technology is not in prototype phase, its technology is proven and in full scale operation in a number of countries such as Sweden, Germany and Japan.
2. Sargas technology does not depend on coal. The Bio paste being a wet mix of Biomass and coal may be used to create a carbon negative plant. The plant can however also be fired on natural gas/LNG also with carbon capture.
3. Power price: A pre-feasibility study identifying the site, basic conditions and requirements conducted with Enemalta in February 2011, concluded that the delivered cost of electricity to the grid would be EURc 7.5 cents per kWh, in 2016. Based on today’s consumer tariffs in Malta, this figure would be around half the current cost of electricity produced today. The Pre- feasibility study results should be verified, subject to plant size, load rate, fuel mix, fuel price and CO2 off-take price in a larger study.
4. The plant will not be floating at sea – it will be shipped in once piece to Malta by sea and embedded permanently to the ground 200m south the Delimara power station. Barriers for waves and freak weather will be founded.
5. This power station will complement the new HFO and future wind power plants. It could also subject to technical evaluation, clean the flue gases from the HFO/Diesel plant reducing the cost of emissions of that plant in the future.
6. The proposal does not depend on an EU funding program, we showed interest one year ago in the EU NER 300 round one program but it is not a sine qua non. The project is commercially viable.
7. The new interconnector to Italy creates an opportunity for the power plant for exporting clean carbon negative electrical energy from Malta, increasing export revenues. Italy is one of the more expensive electrical energy markets in the EU and has a great deficit for clean energy.
8. The costs related to capture of CO2 gases and other pollutants are factored in the costs.
9. Radiation issue: Modern plants and energy production facilities have thorough surveillance systems and procedures of all pollutants including any possible radiation. In the Nordic countries we have strict regulations about any pollution. All industrial waste products in Sweden are checked regularly for any type of pollution including radioactivity. Our reference plant Stockholm has certification that no such pollution has occurred for more than twenty years which can be verified. Such verification and certification would be pre-requisites for a plant in Malta.
10. We have proposed to Enemalta/Government to carry out a Feasibility Study stating the scope and requirements and verifying the findings in a Feasibility Study.
11. We are then looking forward to participating in an open and transparent bid in accordance with EU procurement procedures.
The long-term benefit for Malta of Sargas technology is based on four basic understandings:
• Guarantee the low cost of electrical energy in a long term agreement with Enemalta.
• Guarantee the delivery and operation as stipulated and according to the time plan
• Guarantee capturing and remove emissions according to the specification.
• Guarantee that we technically could export surplus energy to Italy subject to agreements and market conditions.”
“To repeat what was presented at the breakfast seminar by Sargas in Malta;”
“The Sargas plant is not only extremely clean, in the proposal to the Malta Government it is Carbon Negative since it also fires renewable Biomass.”
“We would capture 95% of all CO2 including the carbon neutral Biomass flue gas. That means it emits less than zero fossil carbon emission. The reason why Sargas technology can be very clean and still very efficient and produce low cost power is the fact that is works under pressure. Any power plant engineer or chemist can verify the fact that capturing CO2 and other pollutants under pressure is drastically better.”
“The choice of exact fuel and fuel mix configuration of the extremely clean Sargas plant is then basically a question of total cost of ownership and cost of electricity over the 40 years of operation. This question would be part of the Feasibility Study. Sargas technology also caters for Natural gas/LNG as fuel in case the price for Gas can be found producing power to a lower cost than other fuels in the Feasibility Study. The Gas fired plant configuration would capture the CO2 and still have approximately 50% efficiency.”
“In Malta Sargas have presented a brand new plant with the latest technology for cleaning and safety with fossil emissions less than zero. That is why many environmentalists abroad applaud this.”
“Sargas technology is industrially proven with a reference plant in Stockholm using Bio paste which not only is producing power but also heat for the apartments in Stockholm and is one of the reasons why Stockholm became the EU Green Capital 2010.”
“Over 950 plants in operation worldwide are using the HPC technology being used in the carbon capture technology in the Sargas patented combination for pressurized combustion and pressurized capture.”
“Sargas plant would not require any investment from the government. The low cost of electricity to Enemalta would be stipulated in a power purchase agreement which would be negotiated following a Feasibility study. The feasibility study would have as one main purpose to find the best options for low power price for Malta. ”
“The table below illustrates the emissions from different energy sources:
Emissions from EU plants:
(Adding Sargas figures to Mr. Lennon’s table in The Sunday Times, Dec. 4th).”
“We are confident that the government of Malta will look closely at our proposals, we are confident that a due diligence in a feasibility study will ensure that the technology and project being proposed will make long term sense for the local industry.”
“We trust the discussion will proceed in a correct and scientific manner and we are confident as we have seen that Enemalta will see the benefit of this project and proceed with the steps it needs to take to ascertain from its position on the viability of this project.”
“We can understand that decisions of such a nature lead to highly charged debates in Malta. Allow our proposal to be scrutinized by experts with an understanding of our technology and more importantly for those who formulate long-term energy policies versus tariff structures and costings to weigh the long-term benefits. And last but not least to comprehend that the future is in low carbon technologies or in this case Carbon Negative technology,” the statement concluded.