Councilors okay next step for Avon power plant

Despite fierce opposition to the project, the construction of the Avon peaking power plant looks almost certain to go ahead.
Last week the KwaDukuza council passed another hurdle leading to the construction of the plant, giving the go-ahead for an Eskom power connection to the plant. Ilembe district municipality has already signed a deal to provide water to the plant.
However the Record of Decision (the authorisation of the proposed construction of the plant) granted by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in 2007 expired in September. The DA in council, conservation groups and locals are arguing that the developers must start again to get a RoD, instead of merely being granted an extension.
DA councillor Ann McDonnell told the council exco meeting last week that developers should start a new RoD as they have failed to meet several conditions of the original one.
Ballito resident Terry Bengis, a member of the Premier’s Council on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, has submitted a letter to advocate Johnny de Lange, chairperson of the portfolio committee on water and environmental affairs, as he believes the KwaDukuza council has broken the law by giving the development the go ahead.
“I have heard they have been instructed by higher-up to bypass the conditions of the already expired RoD and continue with the development,” said Bengis. Bengis has threatened to get a court interdict against the council.
According to KwaDukuza spokesperson Sifiso Zulu, the developers have the right to apply for an extension.
However, attempts to contact the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Affairs to confirm if the developers have applied for an extension were unsuccessful.
The decision in 2007 to site the plant near Shakaskraal met staunch resistance from many locals as the plant is literally a ‘gas guzzler’. The peaking plant, once built, will run four massive gas turbine engines that will burn 225 tonnes of fuel every hour.
The project is owned by a consortium made up of French multinational energy company GDF Suez,  Japanese Mitsui Company and South African companies Legend Power Solutions and The Peaker Trust.
The plant, which will generate power for the national grid, will not run full time but will be switched on when the power grid is struggling to meet demands.
Ilembe district municipality technical services director Notha Maphumulo confirmed that the municipality has made a deal to supply the plant with water from the lower Tugela.
Umgeni Water will build the main pipeline and Ilembe is in charge of building off-take pipes from the main pipeline.
“We have already built a five mega-litre reservoir to accommodate the Avon peaking power plant,” he said.
“The company will be buying water from us and all in all the developers will contribute R25 million to help build the infrastructure,” said Maphumulo.
Regarding concerns of the stress on the Tugela’s capacity, Maphumulo explained that the Tugela was the “proactive choice” for water which would have otherwise had to have come from Ethekwini’s already-stressed water supply.
“In terms of the demands, we are going to provide 110 mega-litres of water a day,” he said.