New Appeal Lodged to Stop Karpowership in Richards Bay

Environmental and social justice organisations are appealing the environmental authorisation granted to Karpowership South Africa in October which allows it to bring its powership to the port of Richards Bay.

Permission has been granted to Karpowership by the Department of Firestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to install a 450-megawatt gas-fired plant in the northeastern port of Richards Bay on the KwaZulu Natal North Coast. This news might be exciting to power engineers tracking the development of at least 20 power generation projects throughout Africa, but it has not been welcomed by environmental and social justice organisations.

For approval to be granted for Karpowership to proceed at the port of Richards Bay, it still needs to complete its agreements with port operator, Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA). However there is most likely to be another delay given that an appeal has been lodged against the environmental authorisation granted to the Richards Bay project by groundWork (gW), and the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER). They are also supported by three other organisations with similar objectives, namely Natural Justice, The Green Connection and Oceans Not Oil.