A draft environmental scoping report has recommended Thyspunt on the Eastern Cape coast as the preferred site for Eskom’s proposed 5,200-megawatt nuclear power station. Further specialist studies should focus on this location, while limiting work at the alternative Bantamsklip site. The report is open for public comment until 5 May.
Eskom Holdings has released a draft Environmental Scoping Report, prepared by WSP Group Africa, recommending Thyspunt—located between Oyster Bay and Cape St Francis—as the site for further investigation into a new 5,200-megawatt nuclear power station. The 776-page document, available for public review, states that Thyspunt offers clear advantages from spatial, technical, and infrastructure perspectives.
The report contrasts Thyspunt with Bantamsklip on the Overberg coast between Danger Point and Quoin Point. While both sites feature coastal wilderness qualities and would require overhead powerlines to connect to the grid, Bantamsklip's remote location would cause acute impacts due to limited nearby infrastructure. At Thyspunt, existing wind farm powerlines have already altered the landscape, and the site is Eskom-owned, appropriately zoned, and near transmission lines and load centres.
"Specialist screening undertaken to date has not identified any unmitigable environmental constraints at Thyspunt," the report states, naming it the preferred site.
A key challenge is a provisional Grade I Cultural Landscape protection order issued by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra) in January 2025, covering Eskom’s Thyspunt properties until February 2027. The heritage impact assessment calls for further engagement with Sahra, noting unresolved issues and unclear boundaries in the nomination.
If accepted by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the process will advance to a full environmental impact assessment. Public meetings are scheduled from 20 to 24 April in Jeffreys Bay, Oyster Bay, Humansdorp, and St Francis Bay.
