The Western Cape Government has poured cold water on the prospect of docking gas power ships in the province for 20 years to mitigate the effects of load shedding.

The province has taken a position to embrace only low-carbon and renewable sources for energy generation and has rejected the idea of a 20-year power ship docking plan being pushed by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

The Turkish company Karpowership won a bid in March 2021 to add a combined 1,200 MW to the grid through its massive power ships.

Despite being a preferred bidder, the company’s attempts to dock have faced several headwinds, including lawsuits, environmental challenges, a surge in construction costs and a reported battle over the BEE partnership for the programme.

A recent meeting of the Western Cape Government Cabinet has now placed another bump in the road.

The WC cabinet has requested that intensive research be conducted regarding Karpowership’s role in ending the energy crisis.

It declared that investment into Karpowershipo technology for a 20-year period is not in the best interest of the Western Cape or the country.

“I do not believe investing vast resources into one company is appropriate, and allowing Karpowership SA to operate in South Africa for such a long time should not be allowed,” said Western Cape Premier Alan Winde.

“Karpowership SA should not be given the monopoly. If we are to include power ships in our efforts to resolve the energy crisis, we must also consider other companies, and the time period over which they would be utilised must be strictly limited to 5 years, subject to clear guidelines. This measure should also not negate our investment into green energy.”

The province’s position means that attempts to get Karpowership to dock one of its three ships on the Coast of Saldanha Bay – which is in the Western Cape – will face even more challenges.

The group wants to dock its two other ships in Richard Bay in KwaZulu-Natal and Coega in the Eastern Cape.

For its part, Karpowership has expressed that it is willing to renegotiate the contracts and cut the planned docking time from 20 years to 5 years, however, this would come at a greater annual cost. The DMRE has not given any indication that these renogiations are taking place.

“This crisis demands urgent interventions which must be considered in a transparent manner,” Winde said.

“We must explore all viable and feasible options to end rolling blackouts, but not at the expense of other role players in the energy space who should also be given the opportunity to be a part of the overall solution.”

The premier stressed that province’s future energy generation should come from low-carbon and renewable technologies.

“Not only is renewable energy becoming increasingly cost-effective, it will also assist greatly in our transition away from fossil fuels.

“We need to strike a balance; we have an obligation to meet the country’s climate change commitments while at the same time growing our economy which requires a stable, resilient, low-carbon energy mix.”

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