Nuclear site close to Cape Town gets the green light

The minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment recently upheld an environmental authorisation to begin work on a new facility, but activists say the report is too old to be relevant

- By Ethan van Diemen

South Africa's long-running bid to expand its nuclear power capacity has cleared a key and contentious hurdle. Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George has upheld an environmental authorisation allowing Eskom to develop a new 4,000MW nuclear power station at Duynefontein, 35km north of Cape Town.

The decision affirms a 2017 approval that has been under appeal for years, and paves the way for Eskom to pursue a nuclear build at the roughly 265ha site. This, however, does not mean shovels will hit the ground any time soon.

"In the end, my decision was made in respect of the principles of the National Environmental Management Act of 1998 and with full appreciation of the environmental, social and economic considerations involved," said George.

He said the granting of an environmental authorisation "does not exempt an applicant from complying with any other applicable legal requirements or obtaining permits from other competent authorities".

Daily Maverick previously reported that at the end of 2023, Minister of Energy and Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa announced that all the "suspensive conditions" to start procuring 2,500MW of new nuclear power immediately had been met.

But in August 2024, Ramokgopa announced that he would withdraw that gazette to procure new nuclear power capacity in response to the "substantive" legal challenges posed by the Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute and Earthlife Africa and that is where things have stood until George's recent announcement.