Karpowership’s application to keep its ship in Saldanha Bay suspended

Electricity provider Karpowership’s application to moor a ship-mounted power plant at Saldanha Bay has been suspended.

This comes after allegations that its environmental application had misrepresented the views of small-scale fishers in its report.

Karpowership application suspended

The Turkish company is hoping to supply 1 220 megawatts of electricity to South Africa, in a bid to alleviate the load shedding crisis.

The suspension of the application comes after non-profit organisation The Green Connection accused Karpowership of non-compliance.

The Green Connection said its “complaint was based on the attempt by the consultant to fraudulently present other persons’ comments and views as those of small-scale fishers”.

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The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment reportedly informed Karpowership SA and Triplo4 of its decision.

Triplo4 is the company that produced the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for Karpowership.

It is accused of using the views of commercial fishing companies and misrepresenting them as those of small-scale fishers.

History behind Karpowerships

In 2020, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and Nersa determined that 2 000MW of emergency generation capacity should be procured through the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP).

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy then issued a request for proposals. The three Karpowership SA companies were among the preferred bidders.

The three Karpowership projects would together provide 1 220 MW of gas-fired generation capacity.

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Environmental concerns

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Barbara Creecy had previously rejected Karpowership’s energy plans, saying its environmental impact assessment process was flawed.

She accused the company of trying to use the National Environmental Management Act to find a loophole in the assessment process.

Some of the environmental concerns Creecy highlighted included the large amount of greenhouse gases that would be emitted and the risks to fisheries, birds and other marine wildlife from underwater noise or hot water expulsions from the ships.