KEY POINTS
- Eskom names Thyspunt as the preferred site for its 5,200-megawatt nuclear power station.
- South Africa’s heritage agency has placed a Grade I protection order on Thyspunt.
- Eskom says the nuclear plant could create between 10,000 and 20,000 construction jobs.
Eskom’s nuclear expansion has a preferred address. It sits on a stretch of Eastern Cape coastline that also happens to be one of South Africa’s most contested heritage sites.
A draft Environmental Scoping Report released this week names Thyspunt, between Oyster Bay and Cape St Francis, as the primary candidate for the state utility’s proposed 5,200-megawatt nuclear power station. The 776-page report is available for public comment until May 5. It puts the competing site at Bantamsklip in the Western Cape firmly in second place, restricting further investigation there to its cultural landscape status only.
Eskom already owns the Thyspunt land. The site is properly zoned for nuclear development, and wind farms nearby have built a growing network of powerlines that give it a clear infrastructure advantage over Bantamsklip, which sits in a remote location far from major load centers. The scoping report states it plainly: from a spatial, technical and infrastructure perspective, Thyspunt offers clear advantages.
A heritage order that won’t go away
One problem sits squarely in the path. In January 2025, the SA Heritage Resources Agency provisionally declared all Eskom’s Thyspunt properties a Grade I Cultural Landscape, the highest heritage protection status in the country. That designation holds until at least February 2027 and can be renewed.
The scoping report does not minimize the obstacle. It acknowledges several unresolved legal issues tied to the provisional protection notice and calls for substantive engagement with the heritage agency before the process advances. No such talks have been made public, the report notes. A heritage impact assessment included in the document says the weighting of the site’s cultural landscape significance relies heavily on the current legal status assigned under the provisional protection, adding further uncertainty.
Jobs, investment, and a long road ahead
The economic argument is substantial. Eskom says the project could generate between 10,000 and 20,000 jobs during construction alone, with thousands more indirect roles flowing to the Eastern Cape region. Industry analysts have placed the total capital required at more than 200 billion rand.
South Africa currently operates the 1,860-megawatt Koeberg plant near Cape Town, which has run since 1984. A second nuclear facility at Duynefontein won environmental approval in August 2025. Thyspunt would be the third. Consultants are targeting environmental authorization by February 2027, with appeals resolved by May 2027. Public meetings across the Eastern Cape are scheduled from April 20 to 24.
