Unanswered Questions On Electrogas Studies

On the subject of the Electrogas Delimara Power Station public consultation, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar poses the following questions:

• Has the Planning Authority appointed its own experts to study the Electrogas reports?
• In the case of the reports prepared by Marin, the Electrogas consultants, there seems to be a serious problem with the moorings in case of extreme weather conditions, since anchors, no matter how heavy, are not enough to hold the tanker.  Moorings are the key element in embedding anchors in the seabed, as the forces exerted by the tanker during extreme weather far exceed the weight of 35 tonne anchors.
• The conclusions of some of the Marin reports clearly show that the moorings may fail in some particular instances. How is the Planning Authority and ultimately the Government going to respond to these safety questions being raised in the reports forwarded by Marin, who are the experts appointed by the developer and operator. Has the Planning Authority appointed its own experts of the same  stature as the consultants appointed by Electrogas? If not, how can the Regulator and, ultimately the Government be 100% sure of the safety of this project?
• Which regulators will be in charge of the safe operation of the plant once it becomes operational?  What experience levels do these regulators have to be able to guarantee the level and quality of inspections? What is the level of experience of the persons carrying out the inspections on behalf of the regulatory bodies on similar plants.

The answer to these questions are required before this project can go ahead.

The FAA Committee