FIRSTRAND BANK’S ROLE IN FINANCING THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), writing on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, urges FirstRand Bank to withdraw financial support for the proposed Thabametsi coal-fired power plant. The letter argues that the project is economically unnecessary, environmentally damaging, and legally precarious, contradicting the bank's own commitments to a lower-carbon economy.

• The 2018 draft Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (IRP) includes 1000MW of coal-to-power for 2023–2024 from preferred bidders Thabametsi and Khanyisa, despite acknowledging that the 'least-cost' option contains only gas, wind, and solar.
• The CER disputes the claim that Thabametsi and Khanyisa are 'procured', noting that neither has reached commercial or financial close due to outstanding or challenged legal authorisations. Thabametsi specifically lacks a NERSA generation licence, a water use licence (WUL), and an atmospheric emission licence (AEL).
• The proposed Thabametsi plant is located in the Waterberg-Bojanala Priority Area, a polluted air quality priority area where current ambient air quality standards are already exceeded, leading to severe health issues such as respiratory infections, asthma, and cognitive decline in children.
• Thabametsi and Khanyisa are projected to have greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensities nearly 60% higher than Eskom’s Medupi and Kusile power stations, which the CER claims will lead to irreversible climate impacts and hinder South Africa's Paris Agreement commitments.
• The CER asserts that financing Thabametsi contradicts FirstRand Bank's stated commitment to help clients build climate resilient infrastructure and contribute to a lower-carbon society.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). FIRSTRAND BANK’S ROLE IN FINANCING THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CER-letter-to-FirstRand-Bank_Coal-IPPs-and-draft-IRP_12-September-2018.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. FIRSTRAND BANK’S ROLE IN FINANCING THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CER-letter-to-FirstRand-Bank_Coal-IPPs-and-draft-IRP_12-September-2018.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=FIRSTRAND BANK’S ROLE IN FINANCING THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT |date=12 September 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CER-letter-to-FirstRand-Bank_Coal-IPPs-and-draft-IRP_12-September-2018.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2018firstrand, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{FIRSTRAND BANK’S ROLE IN FINANCING THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CER-letter-to-FirstRand-Bank_Coal-IPPs-and-draft-IRP_12-September-2018.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }