Environmental justice groups groundWork and the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) have filed an application in the Pretoria High Court to challenge the environmental authorisation for a proposed gas-to-power plant in the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone.
The 400 MW gas-to-power plant in 2016 received environmental authorisation for a closed cycle gas turbine, on condition that the activity start within five years of authorisation. The project resurfaced in December 2020 with an application to amend the timeline, the technology and the fuel use of the plant.
GroundWork and the SDCEA are also challenging the environmental approval of a proposed 3 GW Eskom-owned gas-to-power station.
The latest litigation calls on government to take into account scientific evidence of greenhouse gas emissions released during the lifecycle of a gas plant, as it is a fossil fuel, and to recognise the potential climate change impacts of the project – called Richards Bay Gas to Power 2 (RB2).
The organisations are of the view that natural gas traps 86 times as much heat as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, and should not be considered a clean or sustainable fossil fuel.
The organisations are calling for an assessment of all impacts related to the proposed changes to RB2, advantages and disadvantages associated with the proposed changes and measures to ensure avoidance, management and mitigation of impacts associated with such proposed changes.