The Limitation of Emissions of Certain Pollutants into the Air from Medium Combustion Plants Regulations (SL 549.122) were signed into law in April 2018. Their purpose is to limit emissions to atmosphere from boilers and other stationary combustion plants with a rated thermal input (RTI) between 1-50 MWTH. It covers all fuel types. The Regulations transpose the Medium Combustion Plant (MCP) Directive (EU 2015/2193) which was adopted in 2015.
Medium combustion plants are used for a wide variety of applications (electricity generation, domestic/residential heating and cooling, providing heat/steam for industrial processes, etc.) and are an important source of emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and dust.
The regulations distinguish between existing and new plants. Existing plants are those which were put into operation before 20 December 2018 or for which a permit was granted before 19 December 2017. The remaining are being classified as new combustion plants. New MCPs are required to obtain a permit to operate immediately. For existing MCPs are also required to have a permit by the deadlines below:
- 1 January 2024 for MCPs with an RTI of more than 5MW
- 1 January 2029 for MCPs with an RTI of less than 5MW
The Regulations also stipulate applicable emission limit values for such plants depending on the type of fuel used and their capacity in terms of Rated thermal input.
Applications to register an MCP may be submitted through the ERIS System which may be accessed from here.
A methodology document containing important information and guidance as to what a monitoring method statement should contain and how monitoring should be done can be found here.
For submission or assistance, the Environmental Permitting Unit is to be contacted on 2292 3500 or on https://era.org.mt/contact/.
