DECISION IN RELATION TO THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI IPP COAL-FIRED POWER STATION ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing Earthlife Africa and groundWork, notified the IPP Office of its intention to review and set aside the Minister of Environmental Affairs' January 30, 2018, decision to uphold the environmental authorisation for the Thabametsi coal-fired power station.

• The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting for Earthlife Africa (ELA) and groundWork (gW), is initiating an application to review and set aside the decision made by the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 30 January 2018, which upheld the environmental authorisation for the Thabametsi coal-fired power station. This challenge is based on the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (PAJA), asserting that the decision is "unlawful and unreasonable".
• Thabametsi and the Khanyisa coal-fired power station were named preferred bidders in October 2016 under the Coal Baseload Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (CBIPPPP). While the initial deadline for commercial and financial close was April 2017, it was postponed throughout 2017. On 4 October 2017, the IPP Office indicated that extensions for Commercial Close and Financial Close were likely because the Minister of Energy had put all future programmes on hold on 1 September 2017, pending the finalization of the Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity and the Integrated Energy Plan.
• To reach commercial and financial close under the CBIPPPP Request for Proposals, preferred bidders must resolve all legal disputes regarding environmental authorisations and obtain a water use licence (WUL), an atmospheric emission licence (AEL), and a licence to generate electricity from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). Thabametsi currently lacks a WUL and a NERSA licence, with those applications still in progress, and has not yet re-applied for an AEL.
• The Khanyisa coal-fired power station, another preferred bidder, is subject to a pending High Court review of its environmental authorisation. Khanyisa has not received a NERSA generation licence or a WUL, and an appeal is pending regarding the transfer of its provisional AEL.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). DECISION IN RELATION TO THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI IPP COAL-FIRED POWER STATION ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CER-Letter-to-IPP-Office-19-2-18.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. DECISION IN RELATION TO THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI IPP COAL-FIRED POWER STATION ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CER-Letter-to-IPP-Office-19-2-18.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=DECISION IN RELATION TO THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI IPP COAL-FIRED POWER STATION ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION |date=19 February 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CER-Letter-to-IPP-Office-19-2-18.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2018decision, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{DECISION IN RELATION TO THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI IPP COAL-FIRED POWER STATION ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = feb, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CER-Letter-to-IPP-Office-19-2-18.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }