UPDATE ON THE THABAMETSI POWER COMPANY (PTY) LIMITED AND ACWA POWER KHANYISA THERMAL POWER STATION (RF) (PTY) LIMITED INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER PROJECTS

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing Earthlife Africa Johannesburg and groundWork, sent a letter to the South African Department of Energy's IPP Office on 6 April 2017. The letter alerts the Department that two preferred bidders under the Coal Baseload Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (CBIPPPP)—Thabametsi Power Company and ACWA Power Khanyisa—appear unable to meet the legal qualification criteria for financial and commercial close due to missing or contested environmental and generation licenses.

• On 8 March 2017, the North Gauteng High Court ruled that Thabametsi's environmental authorisation (EA) was invalid because the project failed to conduct a climate change impact assessment. Consequently, the court set aside the Minister's decision and suspended the EA until a fresh decision is made based on a final climate change impact assessment report.
• The Thabametsi judgment established three critical precedents for coal-fired power stations in South Africa: they contribute significantly to climate change and pose risks to sustainable development; they are themselves vulnerable to climate change-induced water scarcity; and all new proposed coal plants must fully assess climate change impacts within an EIA before authorisation.
• A draft climate change impact assessment for the 1200 MW Thabametsi project indicates the plant wouldS would emit 8.2 million tons of CO2 equivalent annually, a level described as "very large" by international standards. The report also notes that the plant does not improve the emissions intensity of South Africa's grid, only performingSSS compared to the country's three oldest coal plants (Camden, Hendrina, and Arnot).
• The Thabametsi project faces significant operational risks from climate change, specifically regarding water availability, quality, and temperature increases. Drought conditions in the Lephalale region may increase community tension and threaten the project's "social licence to operate."
• The Khanyisa project, proposed by ACWA Power, is challenged on the grounds that its EIA failed to adequately consider climate change impacts. Additionally, its provisional atmospheric emission licence (PAEL) is contested because it was issued for a 450 MW plant rather than the current 600 MW capacity, and the project lacks an integrated water use licence (IWUL) and a NERSA generation licence.
• Under the CBIPPPP Request for Proposals (RFP), preferred bidders must provide proof of environmental consents (EA, WUL, AEL, and heritage approvals), a NERSA generation licence, and proof of resolved legal appeals at least one month before commercial close. The CER asserts that neither Thabametsi nor Khanyisa meet these criteria as of April 2017.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2017). UPDATE ON THE THABAMETSI POWER COMPANY (PTY) LIMITED AND ACWA POWER KHANYISA THERMAL POWER STATION (RF) (PTY) LIMITED INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER PROJECTS. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter-to-IPP-office_6-April-2017-1.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. UPDATE ON THE THABAMETSI POWER COMPANY (PTY) LIMITED AND ACWA POWER KHANYISA THERMAL POWER STATION (RF) (PTY) LIMITED INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER PROJECTS. 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter-to-IPP-office_6-April-2017-1.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=UPDATE ON THE THABAMETSI POWER COMPANY (PTY) LIMITED AND ACWA POWER KHANYISA THERMAL POWER STATION (RF) (PTY) LIMITED INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER PROJECTS |date=6 April 2017 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter-to-IPP-office_6-April-2017-1.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2017update, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{UPDATE ON THE THABAMETSI POWER COMPANY (PTY) LIMITED AND ACWA POWER KHANYISA THERMAL POWER STATION (RF) (PTY) LIMITED INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER PROJECTS}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter-to-IPP-office_6-April-2017-1.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }