Emissions from power plant sources increased by 25.3 per cent last year over 2016, official data issued on Monday by the National Statistics Office shows.
Emissions dropped by half in 2015 when the Marsa power station was closed, compared to 2014. That was the year when the interconnector was commissioned.
They dropped even further in 2016, the first full year without the Marsa power station.
But the CO2 equivalent emissions they rose again in 2017, the year when the new gas power station was inaugurated.
Asked for an explanation, the National Statistics Office said: “In 2017, D3 Power Generation (the BWSC plant converted to gas) and D4 Electrogas Malta started operation when compared to 2016 when the only power station in Malta was the one in Delimara. Besides in 2016, a higher percentage of the electricity generated was through the interconnector.
“Thus there was a significant increase in indigenous electricity generation in Malta, reflected in the increase in local consumption of fossil fuels for the generation of such electricity, between 2016 and 2017. On the other hand, it is also worth noting the substantial increase in efficiency, in terms of the emissions intensity of…
