Richards Bay (Eskom) power station
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Richards Bay (Eskom) power station is a power station in the pre-permit stage in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Richards Bay (Eskom) power station | Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | -28.770971, 31.976485 (exact)[1] |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1: -28.770971, 31.976485
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | pre-permit[2][3] | fossil gas - LNG[1] | 3000[1] | combined cycle[1] | – | – | – |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) [100.0%] |
Background
Richards Bay Combined Cycle Power Plant (RB CCPP) has been in the pre-construction stage since 2019. Its development is being delayed by opposition from environmental groups.[4]It is one of the six gas-to-power plants proposed in Richard’s Bay Area.[5] Other plants include: Karpowership Richards Bay power station (450 MW), Nseleni Independent Floating power station (2800 MW), Phinda Power Plant (450 MW), Richards Bay Gas to Power Plant 3 (2000 MW), and the Richards Bay Gas to Power Plant 2 (400 MW) RB CCPP is expected to take between 36 and 48 months to construct. Its lifespan will be 25 years.[4]
Opposition
An Environmental Authorisation was granted to Eskom on 23 December 2019. This was followed by an appeal from GroundWork and SDCEA which was lodged on 27 January 2020. Eskom has responded to this appeal and on 13 October 2020 this was dismissed. The subsequent legal process would be a judicial review to the High Court that would have to be filed by middle of April 2021.
In April 2021, SDCEA and groundWork filed papers to the high court requesting a review of the rejection of the appeal by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment. This marked the first time a gas-to-power plant has been challenged in a court in South Africa.
In March 2022, SDCEA and GroundWork were notified that their case would be heard in August 2022.
In October 2022 it was announced that the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria had dismissed the bid to overturn the environmental authorisation for Eskom's proposed gas power plant[6].
The review committee of the high court has been approached for leave to appeal. Supreme Court Appeal is to be heard on 30 August 2024.
Additionally, it was reported that construction of the plant is expected to take three to four years and is earmarked for completion by 2028. However, The Minister in the Presidency for Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on a site visit In May 2024, asked the team to revisit these timelines as he believes the construction and completion timelines were conservative and that he would like to see these timelines accelerated.[7]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20210602175741/https://sahris.sahra.org.za/sites/default/files/additionaldocs/RBay%20CCPP%20App%20C7%20-%20Minutes%20of%20Meetings_1.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 02 June 2021.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220616120458/https://www.eskom.co.za/OurCompany/SustainableDevelopment/EnvironmentalImpactAssessments/RichardsBayCCPP/Pages/default.aspx. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20221129011559/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-28/eskom-waiting-for-government-on-3-000-megawatt-gas-fired-plant. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.eskom.co.za/OurCompany/SustainableDevelopment/EnvironmentalImpactAssessments/RichardsBayCCPP/Documents/RBay%20CCPP%20EIAr%20Final%20Report.pdf
- ↑ "South Africa: A Second Gas-to-Power Environmental Authorisation Is Refused for Richards Bay". allAfrica.com. 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
- ↑ Steyn, Lisa. "Court upholds environmental authorisation for Eskom gas plant". Business. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
- ↑ "Minister calls for completion of gas-to-power plant in Richards Bay". Energize. 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of gas-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
