STANDARD BANK’S ROLE IN FINANCING PROPOSED NEW COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), writing on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, has called on Standard Bank to cease financing the Thabametsi and Khanyisa coal-fired power stations. The CER argues that these projects are not 'procured' due to missing atmospheric emission, water use, and generation licences, and are subject to High Court reviews. The document asserts that the 2018 draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) incorrectly includes these projects despite a 'least cost' option consisting only of solar, wind, and gas. The CER claims the projects would cost South Africa nearly R20 billion more than necessary, increase electricity prices for consumers, and exacerbate severe health issues in the Waterberg-Bojanala and Highveld Priority Areas. Furthermore, the CER highlights that these plants would have greenhouse gas emission intensities 'almost 60% higher than Eskom’s Medupi and Kusile power stations', undermining South Africa's Paris Agreement commitments.

• Standard Bank is identified as a financing contributor for both the Thabametsi and Khanyisa coal-fired power stations, which are preferred bidders in the Coal Baseload Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (CBIPPPP).
• The 2018 draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) includes 1000MW of coal-to-power for 2023–2024 from Thabametsi and Khanyisa, despite acknowledging that the 'least cost' option contains only gas, wind, and solar.
• The CER disputes the claim that the projects are 'procured', noting that Thabametsi lacks an atmospheric emission licence, a water use licence, and a NERSA generation licence, while Khanyisa's water use licence is suspended and it lacks a generation licence.
• The proposed power plants are located in polluted air quality priority areas—the Waterberg-Bojanala Priority Area for Thabametsi and the Highveld Priority Area for Khanyisa—where current pollution levels already cause severe health impacts such as strokes and heart attacks.
• Thabametsi and Khanyisa are projected to have greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensities nearly 60% higher than the Medupi and Kusile power stations operated by Eskom.
• Including these coal projects in the 2018 draft IRP is estimated to cost South Africa nearly R20 billion more than required, with costs expected to be passed on to consumers.

APA

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

Chicago

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

Wikipedia

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

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2018standard, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{STANDARD BANK’S ROLE IN FINANCING PROPOSED NEW COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CER-letter-to-Standard-Bank_Coal-IPPs-and-draft-IRP_12-September-2018.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }