The Norwegian energy company, Sargas, is planning to build a new power plant in Malta that will use biomass from waste from olive production as fuel and will also incorporate CCS technology. It is understood that the CCS plant would make the Mediterranean island nation the first country in the world to boast carbon negative energy.
The combination of biofuels and CCS technology is magical, said Paal Frisvold, Chairman of Bellona Europa, an environmental NGO based in Norway.
According to Bellona Europa, Sargas presented its biomass-CCS project at a meeting in Malta on 25 November. The company plans to construct the new plant next to one of its existing power stations in Malta’s Deli Mara.
Sargas’s CEO, Henrik Fleischer, laid out his company’s plans before a select group of businessmen, politicians, environmentalists and officials from Enemalta, Malta’s electricity corporation.
Fleisher believes that the island’s citizens could enjoy 50% cuts in the electricity bills if the plant, which would run on biomass and coal, is built. According to a report by the Times of Malta, Sargas promises to deliver the “cleanest energy for the best price”.
The company has received widespread recognition for its patented CCS designs, which capture 95% of carbon dioxide and virtually eliminate NOx, SOx and Hg emissions, whether applied to green-field or retro-fitted plants. “Sargas has the necessary patented knowledge, IP and commercial know-how to turn carbon dioxide emissions from a liability into an asset,” says the company on its website. “I am very eager to see CCS in practice. Malta can be the first country to pave the way for carbon negative energy production,” Frisvold was quoted as saying by The Malta Independent.
Sargas plans to use waste from forestry operations, particularly olive tree cultivation, to reduce the need for coal to fire the new plant. It would then incorporate its carbon capture technology to further reduce carbon emissions from the plant by capturing 95% of the emissions, with waste being transported to Denmark where it will be stored in empty oil wells.
Carbon negative
As carbon dioxide is actually absorbed as the biomass feedstock grows, Sargas argues that the entire energy producing process applied on Malta would actually give rise to less carbon dioxide at the end than before the process began, making it carbon negative.
Sargas plans to finance the new clean energy plant, with Fleischer telling The Malta Independent that the project, which is pending approval from the Maltese authorities, will not require investment from the Maltese government.
“We have done a preliminary study showing that the plant could produce electricity for about half the cost that the Maltese power company Enemalta is now doing so, and we are waiting patiently for a response from the government to proceed with a feasibility study together with Enemalta,” Fleischer told the local paper.
“Malta is currently producing electricity by burning diesel oil, which not only emits carbon dioxidce but also a number of other toxic gases such as NOx, SOx and particulates,” said Paal Frisvold. “With Sargas' technology Malta can go from being one of the EU's worst students to straight As. Clean energy and air will also make Malta more attractive as a tourist destination,” he concluded.
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