Beware using Karpowership as a temporary electricity solution

Good Governance Africa argues that while South Africa requires urgent electricity solutions to mitigate load-shedding, the proposed deal with Karpowership is problematic due to high costs, lack of transparency, and environmental concerns. The author suggests that natural gas should only be a temporary transition fuel and that priority should be given to grid reconfiguration and renewable energy to meet the 2050 net zero emissions goal.

• Karpowership, a Turkish company, proposed supplying 1.2 gigawatts of electricity via floating gas-to-power plants in Richards Bay, Saldanha, and Coega. Under the RMIP4 programme, it could supply 2,000 megawatts, while Nersa granted three licences for over 1,200 additional megawatts via a 20-year contract estimated to cost more than R200 billion.
• The Karpowership project is criticized for a lack of transparency regarding its R200 billion cost, which Nersa has refused to disclose. Additionally, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment has refused environmental authorisation, alleging that the company misled the department and misrepresented the views of small-scale fisheries.
• South Africa's energy transition is hindered by a national transmission grid designed for coal power from Mpumalanga. Upgrading the grid to ingest power from efficient solar sites like the Northern Cape would cost approximately R16 million per kilometre of cable.
• The Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) has struggled; in the last bid window, only 860MW of the nearly 9.6GW bid was approved, representing only 17% of the 5.2GW envisaged for that round.
• The author contends that short-term natural gas supplementation from Mozambique would be more cost-effective than the Karpowership deal, and that renewables should remain the priority investment for long-run returns according to the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research.

APA

Maluleke, L. (2023). Beware using Karpowership as a temporary electricity solution. Good Governance Africa. https://gga.org/beware-using-karpowership-as-a-temporary-electricity-solution/

Chicago

Maluleke, Leleti. Beware using Karpowership as a temporary electricity solution. Good Governance Africa, 2023. https://gga.org/beware-using-karpowership-as-a-temporary-electricity-solution/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Maluleke |first1=Leleti |title=Beware using Karpowership as a temporary electricity solution |publisher=Good Governance Africa |date=5 May 2023 |url=https://gga.org/beware-using-karpowership-as-a-temporary-electricity-solution/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{maluleke2023beware, author = {Maluleke, Leleti}, title = {{Beware using Karpowership as a temporary electricity solution}}, publisher = {Good Governance Africa}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://gga.org/beware-using-karpowership-as-a-temporary-electricity-solution/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }