South Africa has given environmental approval to Turkish energy firm Karpowership's proposed 450MW gas-to-power project at Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, paving the way for the project to reach financial close.
Following numerous delays, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) gave Karpowership the green light to permanently anchor a gas-fired power ship at Richards Bay after giving the firm an extra 60 days to submit an environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Karpowership welcomed the decision as a "critical milestone" and a "meaningful turning point in this extensive process". The DFFE's decision "vindicates its thorough EIA methodology", which included a comprehensive public participation process, the firm said. Stakeholders have until 14 November to appeal against the decision.
"Our next focus is on meeting financial close, which will require us to finalise our agreements with Transnet National Ports Authority," it said.
The Turkish firm also wants to moor gas-fired power ships at Coega in the Eastern Cape and Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape, but these projects are still seeking environmental approval.
The Richards Bay project's electricity transmission line and accompanying towers, switching station and temporary construction facilities will be built in a wetland, within 32m of a watercourse. The project will be located less than 1km southwest of the Richards Bay Nature Reserve and around 10km north of the Enseleni Nature Reserve.
In September, Karpowership announced it had reached "a landmark biodiversity offset agreement" with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, whereby it donated a game farm to the governmental conservation organisation to offset the Richards Bay project's environmental impact on estuarine biodiversity. The firm subsequently included this deal in its final environmental impact report.
But critics say the donation does not qualify as an offset, because the species of wildlife threatened by Karpowership's proposed project are not present on the game farm. They say the donation has the appearance of a trade-off or a bribe and have called on DFFE minister Barbara Creecy to explain the rationale for her department's decision.
In response, Karpowership said the agreement was "not an exchange, but implementation of a biodiversity offset in keeping with the mitigation hierarchy principles."
"There is nothing untoward with a biodiversity offset which, in fact, is not unique to the proposed development," Karpowership said.
A final site layout map for the Richards Bay project must still be made available to interested and affected parties for comment.
The DFFE has approved the generic environmental management programme (EMPr) for the substation infrastructure and overhead transmission lines.
But the EMPr for the gas-to-power vessels has to be amended to include approved offset plans and measures as dictated by the final site layout map, as well as to comply with the DFFE's specific conditions. It must then be made available for public comment before the DFFE can approve it.
Karpowership's controversial 20-year contract award, estimated to be worth over 200bn rand ($12.5bn), has been beset by allegations of corruption and government interference since the firm was awarded nearly two-thirds of an emergency power tender in March 2021.
The deadline for emergency power projects to obtain authorisation and reach financial close was originally 31 July 2021. This has been extended numerous times, with the latest deadline being December 2023.
