Construction work for the laying of an interconnecting submarine power cable between Sicily and Malta and the building of a Terminal Station in Maghtab has got underway.

Through this planning permit, which was approved by MEPA in April, as of next year, Enemalta will be in a position to start the process of shutting off and decommissioning the Marsa Power Station. The cost of the interconnector project is €200 million.

This interconnector will able Malta to use energy generated in Europe, which is then distributed through the European grid and will reduce Malta’s dependence on oil.

MEPA said in April that “through this project, Malta will benefit from being connected to a much larger power system, which will supply an appreciable overload capability that will improve the stability of the local power system in case of local generation plant failure. Additionally, through this connector, Malta will facilitate its renewable energy programme. Large scale renewable energy generation, especially wind, is known to be intermittent, and so the country needs to have a sufficiently sized and stable source to cater for the intermittent supply.”

“The project will also ensure that the Island’s local generating plant could be used more optimally to reduce emissions and improve local air quality,” MEPA said.

At the present time the electricity generated at the Delimara Power Station is 571MW, with the interconnector it will be increased to 685MW. The interconnector could, in an emergency, boost the power by an extra 100 megawatts for an additional hour.

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