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The Centre for Environmental Rights submitted two expert reports to the South African government detailing severe particulate matter (PM) limit exceedances and associated health impacts at Eskom's Kendal power station. Dr. Ron Sahu's analysis found 2,712 PM exceedances between April 2016 and March 2020, noting that electrostatic precipitators are failing. Dr. Andrew Gray's report estimates that emissions caused between 61 and 144 premature deaths annually between 2018 and 2019 and severely exceeded WHO air quality guidelines for SO2, PM2.5, and NOx in the Highveld Priority Area, particularly affecting sensitive receptors like primary schools.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing the Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle Campaign, submitted detailed comments on the Climate Change Bill, 2018. The CER argues that the Bill focuses too heavily on government bureaucracy and fails to address the urgency of the climate crisis or provide sufficient mechanisms for holding emitters accountable. Key recommendations include setting a strict, legally binding emissions trajectory aligned with the Paris Agreement, ensuring full public disclosure of carbon budgets and GHG reports, and establishing independent oversight and appeals bodies.

The Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of the Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle Campaign, urges the Portfolio Committee on Energy to compel the Department of Energy to release key technical data and conduct fair public consultations before finalising the IRP Update and IEP. The submission highlights the Department's failure to respond to PAIA requests for modelling assumptions and tariff implications. It further argues that the current planning ignores the health and water costs of coal, the emissions of nitrous oxide from CFB technology, and the financial viability of new coal and nuclear plants. Citing studies by Meridian Economics and the Frankfurt Institute, the document asserts that accelerating the decommissioning of older coal stations and prioritising wind and solar PV is the most cost-effective path for South Africa's energy future.

An independent review finds that the Water Use License issued to KiPower (Pty) Ltd by the South African Department of Water and Sanitation is legally and technically flawed. The review concludes that the DWS failed to correctly identify and authorise necessary water uses, provided incorrect property and location data, and included compliance specifications that are largely invalid or unmeasurable. Furthermore, the DWS is accused of ignoring critical resource quality objectives for the Wilge River and attempting to shift historic mining remediation liabilities to KiPower, rendering the decision to issue the license unreasonable and an error in law.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting on behalf of groundWork, is requesting clarification from the Department of Water and Sanitation regarding the "minimum requirements" used to recommend the issuance of an integrated water use licence (IWUL) for the proposed 600MW KiPower coal-fired power station near Delmas, Mpumalanga.

This case study details legal challenges brought by groundWork and the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) against the environmental and water authorizations granted for the proposed KiPower coal-fired power station in South Africa.

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 submitted an Answering Statement on 4 March 2016 on behalf of groundWork to appeal the authorisation of a 600 MW coal-fired power plant for KiPower (Pty) Ltd near Delmas, Mpumalanga. The submission was four days late, and a request for condonation was included.

This Answering Statement, filed by groundWork through the Centre for Environmental Rights, challenges the environmental authorisation granted to Kuyasa Mining (Pty) Ltd for a 600 MW coal-fired power plant near Delmas, Mpumalanga. The Appellant argues that the Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) lacked independence, the project's location in a Highveld Priority Area hotspot will exacerbate air pollution, and the environmental impact assessment failed to adequately address climate change and water scarcity.

This document is a responding statement submitted by Jones & Wagener (on behalf of Kuyasa Mining and KiPower) to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). It addresses an appeal by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) against the granting of an integrated environmental authorisation for a 600MW coal-fired independent power plant near Delmas, Mpumalanga. The statement denies allegations that the project violates NEMA principles or environmental laws, arguing that the project aligns with the Department of Energy's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and employs Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) technology to mitigate pollutants.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted objections to the Final Integrated Water Use Licence Application (IWULA) for KiPower's proposed 600 MW coal-fired power station in Delmas, Mpumalanga. The CER and expert reviewers argue the application is fatally flawed, citing incorrect legal classifications of water use, insufficient groundwater baseline data, failure to address public concerns, and a lack of adequate monitoring and mitigation strategies. They recommend the application be rejected.

This document consists of a formal submission by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and an accompanying independent peer review by Carin Bosman Sustainable Solutions (CBSS). It critiques the Integrated Water Use Licence Application (IWULA) Report prepared by Jones and Wagner for KiPower's proposed 600 MW coal-fired power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The CER and CBSS conclude that the IWULA is 'Inadequate' due to significant procedural and substantive failures, including the absence of a practical Integrated Water and Waste Management Plan (IWWMP) Action Plan and a failure to adequately assess impacts on groundwater and other water users.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted comments to the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources regarding the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill, 2013. The CER criticizes the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) for failing to meaningfully consult civil society and mining-affected communities, identifies numerous drafting errors in the Bill, and provides detailed legal objections to proposed changes concerning environmental authorizations, penalty regimes, and the granting of mining rights.

This Record of Recommendation (RoR), dated 25 January 2017, provides the assessment by the South African Department of Water and Sanitation regarding an Integrated Water Use Licence Application (IWULA) for a 600 MW coal-fired power plant proposed by KiPower (Pty) Ltd near Delmas, Mpumalanga.

The Department of Environmental Affairs of South Africa has granted an integrated environmental authorisation to Kuyasa Mining (Pty) Ltd on behalf of KiPower (Pty) Ltd for the construction of a 600MW coal-fired independent power plant and associated infrastructure near Delmas in the Mpumalanga Province.