In its reaction to the statement made recently by government informing us that the long-term goal of the government was to have our power station running on natural gas, Friends of the Earth Malta believes that besides being no news, contained statements which were inaccurate.

Reducing our dependence on oil and transferring it to natural gas does not do much to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. A more rapid and fuller development of our wind power potential would lead to a quicker improvement in that respect. A switch to a natural gas source in either of its current forms – liquid tanker or gas pipeline – requires an expensive infrastructure with a long construction timescale. Between the Scylla of the EU deadline on Marsa and the Charybdis of the government’s muddle over its energy planning, there was not the slightest chance of us getting a timely gas supply.

If government was really serious about producing less polluting emissions, Friends of the Earth recommends something concrete straight away: run the Delimara Extension on gasoil (diesel) rather than Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO). That will get round the need for the elaborate and costly process of removing sulphur from the chimney gases, and avoid producing those 30 tonnes daily of hazardous waste which have to be transported and exported. Government can also forget about the 1 tonne of toxic sludge per day, for which no plan for safe disposal has yet been devised. Friends of the Earth also questions the statement by the Ministry of Finance stating that use of gasoil “will lead to an immediate rise of 30% in electricity bills”. This has not stood up to serious scrutiny.

Friends of the Earth understands that one possible way of making use of natural gas fairly quickly is by arranging for the Inter-Connector, which will connect Malta to the European electricity grid, to take all or most of its power from gas-fired stations in Sicily. This is a far more modest (and feasible) proposal than the past suggestions made by government that the Inter-Connector would unlock the gates of the French nuclear heaven for us.