Karpowership donates game farm to wildlife body amid power plant plans

Karpowership, the Turkish energy company, has acquired and donated a game farm to a KwaZulu-Natal wildlife authority. This move has raised eyebrows and sparked speculation that this act might be more than just goodwill.

Public commitment

In exchange for this donation, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has publicly committed not to oppose Karpowership’s ambitious plan to build a 450MW ship-mounted power plant at Richards Bay harbour.

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Karpowership’s decision to link environmental goodwill with its industrial interests has raised suspicions, particularly given the unique circumstances surrounding the Port of Richards Bay.

News24 reported that the port, primarily utilised for coal exports, operates within an estuarine bay, making it a critical ecological area.

Karpowership has framed this transaction as a form of “biodiversity offsetting” to mitigate potential environmental impacts.

Background

This development unfolds against the backdrop of a protracted and contentious two-year saga.

Karpowership initially secured a significant share of a government tender in March 2021, aiming to provide 2,000MW of electricity to alleviate South Africa’s chronic power shortages.

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However, despite the initial target date for power production in August 2022, none of the awarded projects have become operational, mainly due to persistent environmental objections and legal battles.

In a related twist, Karpowership revealed that the environment department had granted permission to pursue an appeal concerning its 450MW plant initially planned for the southern port of Ngqura. This came after a dispute with the national port operator over a mooring site, further fuelling suspicions of favouritism.

Additionally, Karpowership has ambitious plans to establish a 320MW plant at the western port of Saldanha. However, all these projects remain in limbo until the company secures final environmental approval and signs power-purchase agreements with Eskom, the national power utility. This is crucial for addressing South Africa’s severe power crisis, marked by debilitating rolling power outages lasting over 10 hours a day.