The plan by the department of mineral resources & energy to procure emergency electricity from four gas-powered power ships to relieve SA’s stressed electricity grid has hit another obstacle, with all three projects failing to get environmental authorisation.
The company, Karpowership SA, which is majority Turkish-owned, said it would appeal against the decisions, which were announced by the department of fisheries, forestry & the environment on Thursday.
Resources & energy said it would not comment on the future of the programme until it had heard from Karpowership.
The power ships are part of the government’s emergency or risk mitigation procurement for 2,000MW from independent power producers. The idea was to initiate projects that could come online by the end of 2022.
The successful bidders were announced in April, with Karpowership SA winning 1,200MW of the round. Its proposal is for four floating power stations, which will be moored at the port of Ngqura, where there will be two, Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay.
The failure to obtain environmental authorisation, which is essential to the project going ahead, is the second blow to the project. The first came at the end of April when unsuccessful bidder DNG Power Holdings took mineral resources & energy minister Gwede Mantashe to court to overturn the entire procurement programme, alleging that officials had solicited a bribe from him.
The proposed contract has also come in for criticism for the 20-year length of the proposed contract and the cost of more than R200bn.
Mantashe has also had to fend off accusations from the losing bidder that he was involved in the evaluation of the bids, or that his family members interfered in the tender process.
Environmental groups and scientists had strongly opposed the proposal on the grounds that the ships are dirty and noisy, emit greenhouse gases and are damaging to marine life.
In all three cases, the department of fisheries, forestry & the environment denied the authorisation for the same reasons.
The first was that Karpowership failed to adequately consult with the public. It had, for instance, removed its environmental assessment proposal from its website after a short time. Second, it failed to undertake a proper underwater noise impact study to assess the effect on marine life. This had implications for the environment and for communities that make their living from the sea.
It had also failed to explain discrepancies and contradictions with expert reports.
“Under these circumstances, it is not possible to make a determination with regard to the significance of potential impacts or consequences for the environment, the effectiveness of potential mitigation measures or whether the project under consideration will constitute a sustainable development,” the department said.
Karpowership SA said that it believed that the department had been influenced by a misinformation campaign. “Karpowership SA, with its three projects, will provide 800,000 SA homes with cleaner, reliable and affordable power, and South Africans should understand that the decision on behalf of the [department] threatens the delivery of this power and will extend load-shedding for years,” it said.
The company said it had conducted a robust public participation process, met all SA’s stringent environmental requirements, and was confident that it will win the appeal against this decision.
Liz McDaid, of the environmental lobby group the Green Connection, said the decision was a victory for civil society. “We hope that what it means is that consultants in future will do their homework and that means making sure local issues are taken into account,” she said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.