Three environmental justice organisations have filed a High Court challenge to block the construction of a proposed 4,000 megawatt (MW) nuclear power station near Cape Town, arguing that the project’s environmental approval was granted in breach of South Africa’s environmental impact assessment laws.
The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI), Greenpeace Africa, and Earthlife Africa Johannesburg launched the legal action against the environmental authorisation granted for Eskom’s Nuclear-1 project at Duynefontein, the same site as the existing Koeberg Nuclear Power Station located approximately 30 kilometres north of Cape Town.
The organisations describe Nuclear-1 as a “zombie” project, having first entered the environmental approval process in 2007, received authorisation in 2017, and only had appeals against that decision dismissed in 2025 after an unusually prolonged process spanning nearly two decades.
The review application challenges both the 2017 decision by the Chief Director for Integrated Environment Authorisations to grant the approval, and the 2025 ministerial decision dismissing appeals. The organisations argue that decision-makers did not conduct a proper project-specific assessment of whether the plant was necessary or desirable at Duynefontein, relying instead on national electricity planning policy. They also contend that renewable energy technologies were not adequately assessed as alternatives, that the environmental assessment relied on outdated assumptions about electricity demand and the need for nuclear baseload power, and that the option of not proceeding with the project was not meaningfully evaluated. The organisations further argue that potential consequences of a catastrophic nuclear incident were insufficiently examined.
The financial stakes are central to the challenge. The organisations warned that a project of this scale could involve capital commitments running into hundreds of billions of rand, potentially exceeding one trillion rand, with significant implications for electricity tariffs and South African taxpayers.
SAFCEI Executive Director Francesca de Gasparis said the granting of approval seventeen years after it was first submitted represented a revival of a plan that should have been shelved over a decade ago. “What we are witnessing now is a ‘zombie’ revival of that same plan, without transparency, proper parliamentary oversight, economic justification, or meaningful public participation,” she said.
Cynthia Moyo, Greenpeace Africa’s Climate and Energy Campaigner, framed the case in broader climate justice terms. “It is fundamentally unjust to saddle South Africans and future generations with the financial risk, radioactive waste and catastrophic accident potential of a massive nuclear project when safer, quicker and more affordable renewable energy options are available today,” she said.
Lesai Seema, Director of Cullinan and Associates, the law firm representing the organisations, said the case was about ensuring that decisions with long-term consequences for millions of people comply with national legislation and reckon honestly with their environmental, social and economic implications.
The organisations are asking the High Court to declare both the environmental authorisation and the Minister’s appeal decision unlawful and set them aside.
South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan, approved in October 2025, mandates 5,200 MW of new nuclear capacity by 2039, with the first 1,200 MW to be online by 2036. The Nuclear-1 case will therefore be watched closely across the continent, given that Ghana, alongside several other African nations, has signalled intentions to introduce nuclear power within the next decade.
