Thabametsi Power Station, Limpopo Province Motivation for amendment of Environmental Authorisation

The document requests four primary amendments to the Environmental Authorisation (EA) for the 1200MW Thabametsi Coal-Fired Power Station: extending the EA validity until 25 February 2023, switching the preferred power line to Alternative 2 for technical feasibility with Eskom, listing all affected properties, and incorporating conditions from a March 2016 Minister's Appeal Resolution. Specialist assessments conclude that these changes, particularly the power line shift, do not significantly increase ecological, heritage, or wetland impacts compared to the original plan, though Alternative 2 increases impacts on protected trees and some pan systems. The report argues that the technical necessity of connecting to the national grid outweighs the marginal environmental disadvantages.

• The project developer requests an extension of the Environmental Authorisation (EA) validity period by five years, from its original lapse date of 25 February 2018 to 25 February 2023, due to delays in financial close caused by appeals and ministerial reviews of impact assessments.
• The preferred power line corridor is proposed to change from Alternative 1 to Alternative 2 because Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd determined that Alternative 1 is not technically feasible as it connects to a power line providing electricity across a national border.
• Ecological assessments indicate that Alternative 2 will result in a numerical increase in impacts on protected trees due to its longer route and will cause unavoidable impacts on natural depressions, wetlands, and pans.
• Despite some increased impacts, the ecology specialist concluded there is no significant difference in the overall ecological impacts between the original Alternative 1 and the proposed Alternative 2 power line routes.
• Heritage and archaeology specialists found that the Alternative 2 route is located in an area without focal points for historical human settlement and will not impact the only recorded archaeological site at Nelsonskop, which remains outside the 100m buffer.
• A freshwater habitat impact assessment determined that the amended Alternative 2 route poses a low risk to freshwater habitats, provided specific mitigation measures are implemented, such as not fencing off wetland systems and using running blocks for stringing.
• The developer seeks to incorporate specific conditions from the March 2016 Minister's Appeal Resolution into the EA, including requirements for treating or evaporating runoff water and establishing surface water monitoring points.
• The report concludes that the advantages of the amendments, specifically enabling the power station to connect to the national grid, outweigh the environmental and technical disadvantages.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). Thabametsi Power Station, Limpopo Province Motivation for amendment of Environmental Authorisation. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Thabametsi-Amendments-Motivation-Report-03.04.18.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Thabametsi Power Station, Limpopo Province Motivation for amendment of Environmental Authorisation. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Thabametsi-Amendments-Motivation-Report-03.04.18.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Thabametsi Power Station, Limpopo Province Motivation for amendment of Environmental Authorisation |date=April 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Thabametsi-Amendments-Motivation-Report-03.04.18.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2018thabametsi, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Thabametsi Power Station, Limpopo Province Motivation for amendment of Environmental Authorisation}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = apr, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Thabametsi-Amendments-Motivation-Report-03.04.18.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }