The South African Supreme Court of Appeal has cancelled a government permit allowing the state-owned power utility Eskom to build a 3Â GW CCGT gas-fired power plant in Richards Bay, after the company failed to properly consult affected communities. Eskom will have to restart the approval process for the projects after conducting public consultations.
Initiated in 2019, the project has been dormant since then, due to the opposition of environmental groups. A LNG import plant was also proposed in Richards Bay, but has been also cancelled in 2024, as well as several other gas-fired plants.
Eskom owns and operates 15 coal power plants with a capacity of 40 GW, 1 nuclear plant (1.9Â GW Koeberg), 4 gas/oil fired plants (2.4 GW), 5 hydropower plants (3.3 GW, including 2.7Â GW of pumping stations), and 1 wind power plant (Sere, 100 MW).