A Karpowership vessel is seen in this file photo. Image: Supplied

Karpowership has won environmental authorisation for one of three ship-mounted power plants it wants to connect to the South African grid, a key step in fulfilling a contract it won more than two years ago.

The Turkish company said the department of forestry, fisheries & the environment gave it permission to go ahead with the installation of a 450MW gas-fired plant in the port of Richards Bay.

While the company must still complete its agreements with the national ports company before it can proceed, its environmental authorisation applications have been the subject of a number of legal challenges from environmental activists. It has also applied to install a 450MW plant in the southern port of Ngqura and a 320MW plant in the western port of Saldanha.

The “outcome represents a meaningful turning point in in this extensive process”, the company said in a statement on Friday. The “projects will make an important contribution to combating South Africa’s energy crisis”, it said.

Karpowership won about 60% of a government tender in March 2021 to supply 2GW to ease chronic power shortages. While the initial target date for power production for Karpowership and other winners in the tender was August 2022, none is up and running yet.

Activists have objected to the company’s planned use of gas, a fossil fuel, and the potential impact of its so-called powerships and associated gas storage vessels on sea life and small-scale fishing. A unsuccessful court case by a rival bidder that failed to win a contract also delayed Karpowership from implementing its plans.

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South Africa has, since about September last year, suffered almost daily power outages, sometimes for a long as 10 hours or more a day, because Eskom can’t meet demand. Those outages have eased in recent weeks. — (c) 2023 Bloomberg LP