- Environmental group takes NERSA, Mantashe to court over coal plant
- South Africa plans to build a 1,500MW coal-fired power plant
Environmental group Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) has taken the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) and Energy Minister Gwedebe Mantashe to court over the plans to construct 1,500MW of new coal-fired power plants included in the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity.
According to the group, the plan goes against the global energy transition drive and will constitute an environmental disaster. Speaking on the development, the Head, Pollution and Climate Change CER, Nicole Loser, in a statement said, ”New coal-fired power flies in the face of our constitutional right to an environment not harmful to health and wellbeing, not only for the present generations but for future ones too,”
The CER will represent GroundWork, Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action, and the African Climate Alliance in the lawsuit. Energy Minister had earlier stated that the fight to use coal for electricity generation was worth a court battle.