Environmentalist says ‘no’ to ‘costly’ Karpowership electricity

The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), KZN Subsistence Fisherfolk Forum and Civil society Organisations are hosting beach protests against the government’s Karpowership project.

SDCEA said it was hosting protests to oppose the Karpowership project across various beaches in the greater Durban area on Thursday.

Karpowership powerships are floating gas-fired power plants which are proposed to produce energy that will be fed into the national grid as part of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE)’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPP). The bid is for three of these ships to be docked along South Africa’s coastline as part of the government’s plans to address the loadshedding crisis on an expedited basis.

The 20-year contract is worth more than R218-billion, but according to SDCEA it will reportedly make electricity more expensive for South Africans as the Karpowership tariffs depend predominantly on imported fossil fuels, as well as the volatile US Dollar to Rand exchange rate. This unprecedented 20-year ‘emergency’ contract will tie South Africa into a future dependent on non-renewable, climate-damaging fuels, long after the electricity supply gap has been closed, the organisation said.

SADCEA added that far cheaper electricity is available in the form of clean, renewable energy at 75c/kWh (wind) or 91c/kWh (solar).

Electricity from Karpowership SA costs are as follows:

·        Karpowership SA Coega: R1,36/kWh

·        Karpowership SA Richards Bay: R1,39/kWh

·        Karpowership SA Saldanha: R1,62/kWh

“The pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from these ships are also of great concern. It therefore comes as no surprise that Karpowership’s application for environmental authorisation has been rejected by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE),” SDCEA said.

“Whilst the rejection has since been appealed by Karpowership, there is no indication as yet on when the final decision made by DFFE will be announced. The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, has also extended the preferred bidders’ deadline to reach financial close to the end of September 2021,” SDCEA said.

“By this date, Karpowership and the other bidders are required not only to be in possession of all of their multiple required authorisations, but also to have all of their financing lined up.”