RESPONDING STATEMENT TO THE APPEAL SUBMITTED BY THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS (CER) INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT, 1998: GN R543/544/545/546 AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL: WASTE ACT, 2008: GN 718 : THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 600MW INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KIPOWER (PTY) LTD NEAR DELMAS, MPUMALANGA PROVINCE

This document is a responding statement submitted by Jones & Wagener (on behalf of Kuyasa Mining and KiPower) to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). It addresses an appeal by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) against the granting of an integrated environmental authorisation for a 600MW coal-fired independent power plant near Delmas, Mpumalanga. The statement denies allegations that the project violates NEMA principles or environmental laws, arguing that the project aligns with the Department of Energy's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and employs Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) technology to mitigate pollutants.

• The project involves the construction of a 600MW independent power plant using Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) boiler technology, which the applicant claims provides environmental benefits over traditional Pulverised Coal (PC) technology.
• The applicant asserts that the project will not result in annual exceedances of national ambient air quality objectives and will only cause nominal daily exceedances of particulate matter (PM10) objectives.
• The project is located within the Highveld Priority Area (HPA), but the applicant argues that the HPA's purpose is to bring existing non-compliant sources into compliance and does not preclude new, compliant developments.
• Water for the plant will be sourced from Rand Water and potentially supplemented by the SamQuarz quarry, rather than being drawn from the Wilge River catchment.
• The applicant claims the plant's water usage is significantly lower than other coal-based power stations due to high levels of re-use and a treatment process for dirty water.
• A wetland offset strategy is included in the Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) to compensate for the loss of wetlands, with projects located on land controlled by Kuyasa Mining.
• The project's need and desirability are based on the Department of Energy's (DOE) Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) document and a call for bids for coal-fired independent power producers (Tender No: DOE/010/2014/15).
• The applicant argues that while South Africa is implementing renewable energy, additional base load electricity must come from coal-based stations, requiring a balance between climate responsibilities and energy needs.
• The applicant states that the 'Polluter Pays Principle' is fulfilled as the costs for mitigation measures are borne by the applicant, and carbon dioxide emissions will be addressed via future carbon taxes.
• The project intends to use run-of-mine coal from Delmas Coal, which includes low-grade coal, thereby eliminating the need to produce discard dumps.
• The applicant denies that the public participation process was inadequate, stating that it included extensions of commenting time, additional advertising, and community visits.
• The project's ash disposal facility (ADF) will partially utilize iKhwezi Colliery’s un-rehabilitated Pit H, which the applicant claims will require specialized rehabilitation prior to use.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2016). RESPONDING STATEMENT TO THE APPEAL SUBMITTED BY THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS (CER) INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT, 1998: GN R543/544/545/546 AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL: WASTE ACT, 2008: GN 718 : THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 600MW INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KIPOWER (PTY) LTD NEAR DELMAS, MPUMALANGA PROVINCE. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/C182_AppealResponse_DEA_28Jan2016.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. RESPONDING STATEMENT TO THE APPEAL SUBMITTED BY THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS (CER) INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT, 1998: GN R543/544/545/546 AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL: WASTE ACT, 2008: GN 718 : THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 600MW INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KIPOWER (PTY) LTD NEAR DELMAS, MPUMALANGA PROVINCE. 2016. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/C182_AppealResponse_DEA_28Jan2016.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=RESPONDING STATEMENT TO THE APPEAL SUBMITTED BY THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS (CER) INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT, 1998: GN R543/544/545/546 AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL: WASTE ACT, 2008: GN 718 : THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 600MW INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KIPOWER (PTY) LTD NEAR DELMAS, MPUMALANGA PROVINCE |date=28 January 2016 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/C182_AppealResponse_DEA_28Jan2016.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2016responding, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{RESPONDING STATEMENT TO THE APPEAL SUBMITTED BY THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS (CER) INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT, 1998: GN R543/544/545/546 AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL: WASTE ACT, 2008: GN 718 : THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 600MW INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KIPOWER (PTY) LTD NEAR DELMAS, MPUMALANGA PROVINCE}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2016}, month = jan, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/C182_AppealResponse_DEA_28Jan2016.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }