OBJECTIONS TO THE INTEGRATED WATER USE LICENCE APPLICATION FOR PROPOSED IPP THABAMETSI POWER STATION

The Centre for Environmental Rights, acting for Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, submitted formal objections on 20 January 2017 to the Integrated Water Use Licence Application (IWULA) for the proposed 1200MW coal-fired Thabametsi power station near Lephalale, Limpopo. The submission argues that the application is fatally flawed due to outdated data, failure to account for climate change, risks to groundwater and wetlands, and a lack of guaranteed water availability for the project's 40-year lifespan.

• The IWULA is legally defective because the applicant, Thabametsi Power Project (Pty) Limited, is not the holder of the environmental authorisation (EA), which was transferred to Thabametsi Power Company (Pty) Limited on 26 August 2016.
• The application relies on outdated water data from 1999-2009 and 2000, failing to reflect current water scarcity or the impacts of climate change in the region.
• There is a significant risk of groundwater contamination because the proposed ash dump and stockpile are planned for deposition on major fault zones, contradicting the project's own environmental authorisation.
• The project poses unmitigated risks to local wetlands; the IWULA claims no impact, but transmission lines and raw water pipelines are planned to pass through wetland areas and buffer zones.
• Water availability for the project's 40-year lifespan is not guaranteed. Phase 1 has a shortfall of 30,000 m3 per year, and Phase 2 relies on the Mokolo Crocodile Water Augmentation Project (MCWAP2), which is currently delayed by technical issues and has not started its EIA process.
• Licensing the plant would not be in the public interest as it would exacerbate water constraints in the Mokolo catchment, where allocations already exceed the historic firm yield of 38.7 million m3 per annum.
• The power station is deemed unnecessary because South Africa faces electricity oversupply and can meet demand through less water-intensive renewable energy alternatives like solar PV and wind.
• The IWULA process is flawed due to inadequate public participation and the use of consultants from M2 Environmental Connections (Pty) Ltd who are allegedly not registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP).

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2017). OBJECTIONS TO THE INTEGRATED WATER USE LICENCE APPLICATION FOR PROPOSED IPP THABAMETSI POWER STATION. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Annexure-1A-ELA-Objections-on-Thabametsi-IWULA.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. OBJECTIONS TO THE INTEGRATED WATER USE LICENCE APPLICATION FOR PROPOSED IPP THABAMETSI POWER STATION. 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Annexure-1A-ELA-Objections-on-Thabametsi-IWULA.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=OBJECTIONS TO THE INTEGRATED WATER USE LICENCE APPLICATION FOR PROPOSED IPP THABAMETSI POWER STATION |date=20 January 2017 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Annexure-1A-ELA-Objections-on-Thabametsi-IWULA.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2017objections, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{OBJECTIONS TO THE INTEGRATED WATER USE LICENCE APPLICATION FOR PROPOSED IPP THABAMETSI POWER STATION}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2017}, month = jan, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Annexure-1A-ELA-Objections-on-Thabametsi-IWULA.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }