Court overturns approval for Thabametsi coal-fired power project
The Pretoria High Court has overturned the environmental approval of the 1,200MW Thabametsi coal-fired power station, which was to be built in the Limpopo province of South Africa.
The decision was taken after environmental organisations such as EarthLife Africa and Friends of the Earth filed a petition, claiming the project - developed by the Thabametsi Development Corporation - would be a climate and environmental disaster.
The environmental impact assessment of the project showed that it would be one of the highest emitting plants in the world with 136,100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide - 60% more than Medupi, another coal-fired power plant located in the local municipality of Lephalale, also in Limpopo.
It is the latest blow to the project, following the withdrawal of all investors, including private banks Standard Bank, FirstRand, Nedbank and Absa; as well as the Development Bank of South Africa, the Public Investment Commission and the country’s Industrial Development Corporation. Investors KEPCO of South Korea and Marubeni of Japan also announced their withdrawal.
