Thyspunt Named Preferred Site for Eskom’s Massive 5.2GW Nuclear Power Station
A newly released draft environmental scoping report has recommended Thyspunt, situated along the Eastern Cape coastline between Oyster Bay and Cape St Francis, as the preferred location for Eskom’s proposed 5.2GW nuclear power station. The comprehensive 776-page document, now open for public comment until 5 May, marks a significant milestone in South Africa’s ambitious nuclear energy expansion plans.
The report strongly advises that all further specialist investigations should focus exclusively on Thyspunt, effectively sidelining the only competing candidate — Bantamsklip, located along the Overberg coastline between Danger Point and Quoin Point. While Bantamsklip is not entirely ruled out for future consideration, its role in the current assessment process has been drastically limited to cultural landscape evaluation only.
Both sites are described in the report as possessing landscapes with “a sense of place and strong coastal wilderness qualities.” However, the comparison largely favors Thyspunt on multiple practical and logistical grounds that assessors found difficult to overlook.
Bantamsklip’s geographic isolation was highlighted as a major drawback. Constructing a large-scale nuclear facility in such a remote setting would create “an acute impact” due to the near absence of large distribution lines or nearby load centres. The infrastructure demands alone would make development there significantly more challenging and costly.
Why Thyspunt Holds the Upper Hand for Eskom’s Nuclear Ambitions
Thyspunt, by contrast, has benefited from a rapid expansion of wind energy development in the surrounding region. This growth has already established a broad network of powerlines across the area — though the report acknowledges this has also “severely degraded” the rural character of the landscape. From a grid-connection standpoint, however, this is a clear logistical advantage.
“From a spatial, technical and infrastructure perspective, Thyspunt offers clear advantages,” the report explicitly states. Eskom already owns the Thyspunt land, and it is properly zoned for nuclear development within both provincial and municipal planning frameworks — removing potential bureaucratic hurdles that could delay the project further.
The site’s proximity to existing transmission lines and major load centres also means less need for new infrastructure, reduced land acquisition requirements, and fewer environmental and social impacts tied to grid connectivity. Independent environmental assessment practitioners WSP Group Africa, appointed by Eskom, have managed the scoping process and found no unmitigable environmental constraints at Thyspunt thus far.
“Specialist screening undertaken to date has not identified any unmitigable environmental constraints at Thyspunt,” the report confirms. Should the draft scoping report receive approval from the national department of forestry, fisheries and the environment, a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be launched, covering air quality, water resources, biodiversity, heritage, land use, human health, and socioeconomic conditions.
Despite the enthusiasm around Thyspunt, a significant legal complication looms over the site. In January 2025, the SA Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) provisionally declared all of Eskom’s Thyspunt properties a Grade I Cultural Landscape — one of the highest heritage protection categories available under South African law. That protection currently remains in force until 1 February 2027 and may be extended.
The Heritage Impact Assessment included in the scoping report flags considerable “ambiguity” around this declaration, noting that the boundaries used by SAHRA do not align with earlier heritage consultant recommendations from 2012. The report calls for urgent and meaningful engagement with SAHRA to clarify the cultural landscape nomination and its implications for the proposed development.
“There are currently several unresolved legal issues pertaining to the Thyspunt site,” the scoping report’s conclusion warns, stressing that the unfinished SAHRA process leaves the outcome uncertain. Assessors are urging that formal consultations with the heritage agency be prioritized before the project advances further.
Public engagement on the draft scoping report will continue through a series of community meetings scheduled between 20 and 24 April across Eastern Cape towns including Jeffreys Bay, Oyster Bay, Humansdorp, and St Francis Bay. These sessions will give affected communities and interested parties the opportunity to raise concerns and submit formal commentary on the proposed nuclear development before the deadline closes.
South Africa’s nuclear energy future may well hinge on how swiftly and effectively these outstanding legal and heritage questions are resolved — with the clock ticking on both SAHRA’s provisional protection order and Eskom’s own target of securing project approval by 2027.