The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has overturned a High Court judgment that set aside environmental authorisations for three proposed wind farms in the Eastern Cape, clearing the way for the combined 200 MW development to proceed.
The wind farms, to be developed by entities referred to in court as the Highlands companies, were granted environmental authorisations by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). These approvals were challenged on procedural grounds and initially revoked by the High Court.
The SCA found that the lower court failed to consider the conditional nature of the environmental approvals, which require meaningful public participation, detailed site layouts and final environmental management programmes to be submitted and approved before any construction begins.
“The court recognised that these approvals came with strict conditions like requiring public input and finalising layout plans and environmental management programmes to protect the environment,” the DFFE said in a statement.
The Energy Council of South Africa welcomed the ruling. “The Energy Council views this as a positive precedent for balancing environmental oversight with the urgent need to expand clean energy infrastructure,” it said on social media.
