Name of the Project
Thabametsi independent power producer coal-fired power station project.

Location
Lephalale, in South Africa’s Limpopo province, adjacent to Exxaro’s Grootegeluk coal mine.

Project Owner/s
Thabametsi Power Company, sponsored by Marubeni Corporation and Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco).

In October 2020, Kepco announced its withdrawal from its 50% stake in the Thabametsi project.

In November 2020, Marubeni announced that it would pull out of the Thabametsi project.

In another setback, lawyers representing environmental lobby groups EarthLife Africa and groundWork have said that South Africa's environmental ministry has set aside Thabametsi’s environmental authorisation.

EarthLife Africa and groundWork have previously argued that the project would have a "devastating climate impact", with emissions about 60% higher than those of State-owned power utility Eskom's recently built big coal plants, Medupi and Kusile.

Project Description
The Thabametsi power plant was one of two private coal power projects that had their bids accepted in October 2016 as part of the then South African Department of Energy’s Coal Baseload Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme aimed at easing crippling power shortages in South Africa.

However, in November 2020, the plans for the project were set aside, after litigation launched by environmental justice groups Earthlife Africa and GroundWork in 2016.

The project proposed the construction of a 630 MW capacity circulating fluidised-bed coal-fired power plant comprising two 315 MW units, which would be fuelled by Exxaro Resources’ Thabametsi coal mine.

The aim was to increase the plant’s capacity to 1 200 MW, according to the project’s climate change study and palaeontological impact assessment released in June 2017.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
$2-billion.

The Public Investment Corporation and the Industrial Development Corporation withdrew their financing for the project in November 2020. The Development Bank of Southern Africa is reassessing the project to determine if it is in line with its policy of a “just transition towards a low-carbon economy”.

All South Africa’s private banks have already withdrawn their pledged funding for the project.

Planned Start/End Date
The project was included in the draft Integrated Resource Plan, or IRP2018, in August 2018 and was expected to be operational in 2021.

Latest Developments
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) has said that major climate impacts and exorbitant costs have managed to sound the death knell for one of the last new proposed coal-fired power stations in South Africa.

Earthlife Africa and GroundWork had been challenging the Thabametsi power station since the then Department of Environmental Affairs issued the plant’s environmental authorisation in February 2015.

The environmental justice groups argued in court papers that the then Environment Minister had disregarded the devastating climate impacts of the proposed power plant.

The setting aside of Thabametsi’s environmental authorisation means that, should it still plan to proceed, it would have to seek a new authorisation from the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, which is a major setback for the project.

Thabametsi would have been one of the most greenhouse-gas emission-intensive coal-fired power stations in the world.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co (provisional engineering, procurement and construction contract).

Contact Details for Project Information
Marubeni Corporation, tel +27 11 290 6000 or fax +27 11 784 4846.