ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION ISSUED IN RESPECT OF THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A 600MW COAL-FIRED INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT (IPP) AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KIPOWER (PTY) LIMITED SOUTH AFRICA NEAR DELMAS, IN MPUMALANGA

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) is challenging the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs' decision to authorize a 600MW coal-fired power plant for KiPower (Pty) Limited near Delmas, Mpumalanga. Citing the 'Thabametsi judgment', the CER argues that the law requires a comprehensive climate change impact assessment—covering GHG emissions, water scarcity, and social costs—before such authorization is granted. The CER has proposed a legal settlement to require this assessment and set aside the previous decision.

• The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing groundWork, intends to initiate review proceedings against the Minister of Environmental Affairs' 8 November 2016 decision to dismiss an appeal regarding the environmental authorisation for KiPower's 600MW coal-fired power plant. The appeal was based on the claim that the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) granted authorisation without sufficient information on the project's implications for health and its contribution to climate change.
• The CER argues that the Minister's decision contradicts the 'Thabametsi judgment' (Earthlife Africa Johannesburg v Minister of Environmental Affairs and Others), which established that climate change impacts of coal-fired power stations must be comprehensively assessed before environmental authorisation is issued. The court found that Section 24O (1) of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA) requires the consideration of climate change impacts, regardless of whether there is explicit statutory guidance on how to conduct such assessments.
• According to the CER's interpretation of the Thabametsi judgment, a comprehensive climate change impact assessment must go beyond calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It must analyze broader impacts including water scarcity, the social and environmental costs of these impacts, the project's feasibility in the face of climate change, and how the project might increase the vulnerability of South African communities and the environment by polluting limited water resources.
• The CER proposed a settlement to avoid litigation, suggesting the parties approach the High Court to set aside the Minister's appeal decision and require KiPower to conduct a comprehensive climate change impact assessment per the EIA Regulations, 2010. Additionally, the CER noted that KiPower had not bid to be a preferred bidder in the first window of the coal baseload IPP procurement programme (CBIPPPP).

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2017). ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION ISSUED IN RESPECT OF THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A 600MW COAL-FIRED INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT (IPP) AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KIPOWER (PTY) LIMITED SOUTH AFRICA NEAR DELMAS, IN MPUMALANGA. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter_KiPower-IPP-3-4-17.docx.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION ISSUED IN RESPECT OF THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A 600MW COAL-FIRED INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT (IPP) AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KIPOWER (PTY) LIMITED SOUTH AFRICA NEAR DELMAS, IN MPUMALANGA. 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter_KiPower-IPP-3-4-17.docx.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION ISSUED IN RESPECT OF THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A 600MW COAL-FIRED INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT (IPP) AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KIPOWER (PTY) LIMITED SOUTH AFRICA NEAR DELMAS, IN MPUMALANGA |date=3 April 2017 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter_KiPower-IPP-3-4-17.docx.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2017environmental, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION ISSUED IN RESPECT OF THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A 600MW COAL-FIRED INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT (IPP) AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KIPOWER (PTY) LIMITED SOUTH AFRICA NEAR DELMAS, IN MPUMALANGA}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter_KiPower-IPP-3-4-17.docx.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }