The Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment has finally granted the Karpowership a license to operate in Richards Bay , a long-awaited move according to the Black Business Council (BBC).
The BBC hopes the decision will significantly boost the country’s power generation capacity.
The Karpowership project will possibly contribute R6 billion to Richards Bay’s economic development in KwaZulu-Natal and aims to create job opportunities and improve skills transfer in the region.
Karpowership received environmental authorisation in October for its Richards Bay Environmental Impact Assessment.
The project aims to boost power generation and minimise the occurrence of load shedding.
Despite this, the Biodiversity Law Centre has filed an appeal to challenge the granting of environmental authorisation to Karpowership.
The Black Business Council supports the minister and the department regarding the licensing of Karpowership.
Carrington Tlale is from The Black Business Council.
“There is a lot of internationally supported and well-funded environmental organisations who have been appealing over time, we expected it and it has happened.”
Tlale says the BBC is confident on Karpowership’s potential to decrease the frequency of load shedding in the nation and mitigate associated costs.
“There is a strong move to try and hamper any progress that is not within a scope of what they want and we have been advocating for progress on our energy challenges and it is made to seem that we don’t care and we believe there has to be a balance.”
The Black Business Council says it holds a positive outlook on Karpowership’s potential to significantly enhance the country’s energy availability.
They anticipate that this initiative will not only stimulate the growth of the gas economy but also address the pressing need for job creation.
Karpowership gets green light
