Comments on the Provisional Atmospheric Emission License (PAEL) Issued to Thabametsi Power Company (Pty) Ltd.

The report argues that the PAEL for the Thabametsi power plant is based on flawed Atmospheric Impact Reports and permits outdated sub-critical CFB technology that is less efficient and more polluting than super-critical alternatives. It highlights that the license fails to require continuous emissions monitoring and underestimates NOx, SO2, and particulate matter emissions. Furthermore, the author asserts that adding a new coal plant to the Waterberg Bojanala Priority Area is unjustified given existing violations of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in the region.

• The PAEL permits the use of sub-critical circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technology, which the author describes as old and less efficient than super-critical CFB technology available in other countries like China and Poland.
• The Atmospheric Impact Reports (AIRs) supporting the PAEL are described as flawed because they omit crucial modelling data, fail to model emissions from coal mining, transport, storage, and ash handling, and inadequately assess cumulative impacts from the Medupi and Matimba plants.
• The author argues that the PAEL lacks technical support for its claims regarding pollution control efficiency, specifically questioning the 99.9% cleaning efficiency of fabric filters and the 95% SO2 absorption rate.
• The PAEL is criticized for failing to require Continuous Emissions Monitors (CEMs), instead relying on 'daily' sampling which the author claims is meaningless for capturing emissions variations.
• The proposed plant is located in the Waterberg Bojanala Priority Area, where National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM10, SO2, and ozone are already being exceeded, as evidenced by monitoring data from Lephalale between January 2017 and May 2019.

APA

Sahu, R. (. (2019). Comments on the Provisional Atmospheric Emission License (PAEL) Issued to Thabametsi Power Company (Pty) Ltd. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Annexure-A6-Thabametsi-Sahu-Report-2019-10-30-1.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Sahu, Ranajit (Ron). Comments on the Provisional Atmospheric Emission License (PAEL) Issued to Thabametsi Power Company (Pty) Ltd. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Annexure-A6-Thabametsi-Sahu-Report-2019-10-30-1.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sahu |first1=Ranajit (Ron) |title=Comments on the Provisional Atmospheric Emission License (PAEL) Issued to Thabametsi Power Company (Pty) Ltd. |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=30 October 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Annexure-A6-Thabametsi-Sahu-Report-2019-10-30-1.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sahu2019comments, author = {Sahu, Ranajit (Ron)}, title = {{Comments on the Provisional Atmospheric Emission License (PAEL) Issued to Thabametsi Power Company (Pty) Ltd.}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2019}, month = oct, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Annexure-A6-Thabametsi-Sahu-Report-2019-10-30-1.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }