Planning Authority paves way for Enemalta’s rushed power plant

The Planning Authority is set to adopt amendments to planning regulations, allowing an emergency power plant proposed by Enemalta to be built and installed without filing a planning application.

The proposed amendments will mean that “structures required for the emergency generation of electrical power” will only require a Development Notification Order (DNO) – a fast-tracked permit.

This will allow Enemalta to install a new temporary power plant at Delimara quickly, bypassing the usual Planning Authority process.

The Planning Authority quietly launched a ‘public consultation’ to amend the Development Planning Act at the end of 2023. By the beginning of February, the consultation was closed, with the amendments expected to be in place soon.

Billed as crucial for “the security of energy supply” this summer, it must be completed “by May 2024 at the very least,” according to Enemalta Executive Chairman Ryan Fava.

The plant will generate 60MW of electricity through 40 shipping container-sized structures and has already secured an exemption from an Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) environmental impact assessment.

Fava had called for the exemption in a letter to ERA sent last November.

The proposed amendments will see installations approved through a simple notification to the Authority rather than a lengthy and more rigorous application, and “subject to the clearance of ERA,” which Enemalta secured in its exemption, published by ERA this month.

Notably, the exemption does not refer to any open Planning Authority permit process, as is usually the case, since no applications for the power plant have yet been filed. The move was likely done in anticipation of the DNO amendments.

Enemalta Chair Fava was empowered with his executive role following the dismissal of former Enemalta CEO Jonathan Cardona in the wake of severe power outages in July 2023. The outages saw nationwide blackouts, at times for several days, during 40-degree heat.

The Shift has reported how Dalli has openly contradicted Fava, insisting that Enemalta “already has enough energy generation sources to furnish current and future demand”.

In his letter to ERA last November – a month after his appointment – Fava was clear about the crisis facing Enemalta.