The latest news is that the environmental authorisation for the Karpowerships project at the port of Ngqura, within the Coega SEZ, Eastern Cape, has been refused. This decision follows the environmental authorisation for Karpowerships in Saldanha Bay also being suspended.
Both announcements by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, have been welcomed.
The Green Connection says, “hopefully this signifies the end of the Karpowership saga. The authorities can now focus on bringing affordable and appropriate energy to the grid to address the load shedding.”
Karpowership had resubmitted all three EIA applications on 9 January for decisions to be taken. This was after Minister Barbara Creecy had remitted all three projects back to the “competent authority” in August so that the “various gaps in the information and procedural defects in relation to the public participation process” could be reconsidered and re-adjudicated.
Saldanha Bay reasoning
The application for environmental authorisation for Karpowerships in Saldanha Bay was suspended until an investigation can be carried out regarding allegations of a failure to ensure compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations.
This new red flag in the controversial Karpowerships deal specifically calls out the consultants for using information from aquaculture and commercial fisheries participants in a meeting called to engage small-scale fishers, as if it was valid information from the small-scale fisheries sector.
According to The Green Connection’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Neville van Rooy, “those people who signed the attendance register were not small-scale fishers, as defined by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act of 2014 and Regulations on SSF of 2016.
“They, therefore, were not in a position to provide accurate information to the consultants on small-scale fisheries and fisher livelihoods.”
Richards Bay application withdrawal
The Green Connection says it was somewhat confused by the Environmental Assessment Practitioner’s (EAP) decision to withdraw the application in Richard’s Bay.
The EAP submitted a letter to the Department on 2 March 2023 to withdraw the final Environmental Impact Assessment report dated 6 January 2023. This is based on an urgent application by the EAP for condonation to comply with regulatory timeframes in terms of Section 47C of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) submitted to Minister Creecy on 24 February 2023. This application is currently under consideration.
Neither Karpowership, nor Minister Gwede Mantashe’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy have responded to the announcements.
In August 2021, the 20-year deal to bring gas-to-power floating power stations to the ports of Ngqura, Saldanha and Richards Bay, was costed at about R218 billion. However, the deal to generate about 1200 MW of power and supply this to the national grid, would be linked to the international gas price, so it was assumed this price would rise.
The reasons for refusing the Coega application can be read here
