The government has flashed the green light again for a multibillion-rand coal-fired power station in Limpopo, but environmental watchdog groups have announced plans to go back to court to halt the project because of its climate change effects. The exact costs of the entire 1,200MW project are not clear, although initial estimates for the first phase (a 600MW plant) have previously been estimated at R20bn. In 2017, the High Court in Pretoria revoked environmental authorisation for the proposed Thabametsi power station in the Waterberg district following a landmark ruling that compelled the Department of Environmental Affairs to reconsider the impacts of coal-burning power stations in altering global climate patterns. In a written decision signed on January 30, Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa acknowledged that a peer-reviewed climate impact assessment study demonstrated that Thabametsi "will result in significant greenhouse gas emissions and will therefore have climate chan...
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