Delimara needs gas, not hot air

Abstract

Energy generation in Malta has been firmly entrenched on the political agenda for many years now, mainly in terms of utility tariffs, security of supply and its air pollution impact. So one can understand why political squabbling and fire-fighting trumps rationality in debates and proposals for the future of this essential sector. The Nationalist Party’s choice of heavy fuel oil (HFO) was almost exclusively motivated by cost-cutting considerations, as gas-powered generation is purportedly more expensive, a claim refuted by a small number of experts. This dented the party’s environmental credentials at Delimara. So the ball was in the Labour Party’s court to rectify the PN’s shortcomings through its proposals.