Government explains background to Sargas power station proposal

The government today explained the background of its analysis of proposals by Sargas AS to building a power station. It said that Sargas had proposed a 30 year power purchasing supply agreement to Enemalta. Pre-feasibility reports by KPMG indicated six major issues, namely opportunity cost issues; the fuel used (coal and biopaste); the carbon capture and storage technology; maritime issues, environmental considerations and certain uncertainties including the sale of green certificates, the sale of CO2 and the sale of bed ash and fly ash. As a result, the Government informed Sargas SA that for it to consider its proposal further it required Sargas SA to provide a full feasibility study which analyses and addresses the major issues identified by KPMG. THE PROPOSAL The government explained that the Sargas proposal was made up of a power plant, composed of a coal-fired barge-mounted steam plant (dry docked at Marsaxlokk Bay) complete with emissions abatement and equipped to capture CO2 emissions for eventual storage. This proposed plant would be fuelled with coal or a mix of coals and bio-fuels. The transportation of the CO2 to a storage facility (still to be identified)...