د . إAEDSRر . س

EU Had ‘Greenwashing’ Concerns When Scrutinising Malta’s Hydrogen-Ready Pipeline Request

Article Featured Image

Malta’s multi-million EU funding request for a hydrogen-ready LNG pipeline was rejected due to a lack of detail in the proposal and concerns of ‘greenwashing’, the European Commission has confirmed.

Contacted by Lovin Malta, a European Commission official explained in some detail why it rejected Malta’s funding request for the pipeline, which could connect Malta to Italy and replace the LNG tanker as the provider of natural gas to the Delimara power station.

This project, which is estimated to cost around €400 million, has been in the works for years and the original plan was for construction to start in 2020 and conclude by 2024.

And after Malta and Sicily signed a letter of intent to work together on this project in 2017, then Minister Konrad Mizzi said the EU considers the pipeline to be an “important project” and that it will benefit from EU funds.

However, the European Commission recently threw a spanner in the works by refusing to fund the pipeline under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) scheme.

The EU official told Lovin Malta that the current priority of CEF funding is for projects in line with the European Green Deal, which aims to make all EU member states carbon neutral by 2050.

Moreover, CEF funding applications are assessed against criteria, including the “extent of the positive externalities provided by the Action and the impact of the action on solidarity”.

Photo: European Commission

Photo: European Commission

What this legal jargon means in practice is that the project must relate to macro-regional security of supply, solidarity between member states, or technological innovation.

An LNG pipeline that would only benefit Malta, therefore, doesn’t qualify, while its hydrogen-ready aspect wasn’t deemed innovative enough because the technology is already available on the market.

Moreover, the EC wasn’t convinced that Malta had explained its rationale behind its proposed switch from an existing LNG terminal to pipeline gas in “sufficient detail”.

“The evaluation of the proposed pipeline concluded that there was not sufficient evidence provided regarding what extent and as of when the pipeline would be used for the transport of renewable hydrogen,” the official said.

“In the absence of clear and robust evidence that the pipeline will in fact be used for transporting renewable and low-carbon hydrogen, there is a significant risk of ‘green washing’ which would result in stranded assets and not contribute to our climate objectives.”

The EC official also said Malta’s application failed to demonstrate its priority and urgency, arguing that its electricity interconnector with Italy and LNG terminal means the island can no longer be considered energy isolated. 

Finally, they said that while Malta’s National Energy and Climate Plan refers to the gas interconnection with Italy in the context of the diversifications of sources and routes, the plan does not consider alternative energy supply solutions to the construction of a new gas pipeline and long-term decarbonisation goals do not appear to have been fully considered. 

Malta has pledged to look into developing offshore wind farms to power all of Gozo

Malta has pledged to look into developing offshore wind farms to power all of Gozo

Asked what advice it would give Malta to be more successful in its funding request next time around, the EC official urged Malta to look into offshore renewable energy projects.

Referring to its recent strategy on offshore wind farms and study on the offshore potential in the Mediterranean, they said Malta may explore opportunities to identify cross-border renewable projects which may be eligible for support under the new CEF window.

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli has stuck by the LNG pipeline plan, pledging to look into alternative funding options.

However, since the EU funding request was rejected, she has also said she’s exploring the development of offshore wind farms with the capacity to power the whole of Gozo. The Nationalist Party has also come out in favour of offshore wind farms.

What do make of Malta’s current energy plans? 

READ NEXT: Sliema Residents Left Traumatised After Alleged Armed Intrusion By Two Men Posing As Couriers

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

You may also love

View All