Sargas to build first biomass-fired power plant with CCS technology

Norway’s Sargas plans to build a new biomass-fired power plant with carbon capture and storage technology in Malta. The CCS plant would make the Mediterranean islands nation the first country in the world operating on carbon-negative energy as it combines CCS technology with the incineration of waste from olive harvesting. Around 95% of CO2 emissions will be captured and transported to Denmark, where it will be stored in empty oil reservoirs.

The proposal by Sargas includes fully funding the new power station, without assistance from the Maltese government. Sargas CEO Henrik Fleicher told the Malta Independent Newspaper that the company is now awaiting approval from the authorities: “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.”