Eskom Holdings Limited (Eskom) is conducting a feasibility study of new conventional nuclear generation in the greater Cape region, with potential sites at Duynefontein (adjacent to the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station), Thuyspunt (near Jeffrey's Bay) and Bantamsklip (near Pearly Beach).  This is known as the 'Nuclear-1' project.  The Nuclear-1 project is still faily open in terms of the location of the plant as well as the type and number of units to be installed.  The transmission integration must therefore accommodate such uncertainties as far as practicable.  As such, Eskom Transmission is investigating possible transmission power line routes from each of these three sites.

The new EIA Regulations were gazetted on 18 June 2010, please find the following available for download:

The new regulations aim to streamline the EIA process and enable integration with other processes such as water-use licences, emission-to-air licences and mining-related approvals.  Furthermore sensitive/threatened ecosystems will be carefully categorised and managed through the introduction of a listing notice dedicated to activities planned in such areas.

Renewable Energy Systems (RES) Southern Africa proposes the development of up to three wind monitoring masts in an area near Stanford and Gansbaai in the Western Cape Province. A basic assessment process is being undertaken in this regard (DEA Ref No.: 12/12/20/1579).

RES Southern Africa proposed the establishment of up to seven wind monitoring masts on a site between Somerset East and Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province.  A Basic Assessment Process is being undertaken by Savannah Environmental in this regard.  A draft Basic Assessment Report is currenlty available from 30 April 2010 - 29 May 2010 at the following locations:

• Cookhouse Library
• Somerset East Library
• Alicedale Informaton Centre
• www.savannahSA.com

The due date for comments in 29 May 2010.

Renewable Energy Systems (RES) Southern Africa proposes to establish wind monitoring masts to record data on the wind resources in an area near Oyster Bay, Eastern Cape Province.  In this regard, a Basic Environmental Assessment Study is being undertaken by Savannah Environmental.  

The DEA reference number for the project is 12/12/20/1580

DNA Wind Farm (Pty) Ltd is proposing to establish a commercial wind energy facility and associated infrastructure on a site located within Emalahleni Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province.  The proposed wind energy facility is to be developed by Rainmaker Energy Projects (Pty) Ltd. The proposed site is situated in an area approximately 10 km north-east of Indwe, along the R56 regional road.  A cluster of up to 24 wind turbines, collectively referred to as a Wind Energy Facility is planned to be constructed over an area of approximately 980 ha in extent. 

An application for authorisation has been accepted by DEA (under Application Reference number 12/12/20/1738).

VentuSA Energy is proposing the establishment of a commercial wind energy facility and associated infrastructure which will be referred to as the Deep River Wind Energy Facility.  The wind energy facility is proposed to be established on an identified site which is located approximately 17 km west of Humansdorp in the Eastern Cape, within the Kou-Kamma Local Municipality. The proposed facility will have a generating capacity of up to 100 MW.

Renewable Energy Investments South Africa (Pty) Ltd (REISA) is proposing the establishment of a commercial wind energy facility and associated infrastructure which will be referred to as the Happy Valley Wind Energy Facility.  The wind energy facility is proposed to be established on an identified site which is located approximately 9 km north-west of Humansdorp in the Eastern Cape, within the Kouga Local Municipality. The proposed facility will have a generating capacity of up to 30 MW.

Renewable Energy Investments South Africa is proposing the establishment of a commercial solar energy facility on a site located approximately 16 km south-east of Kathu.  The proposed solar energy facility will have a generating capacity of up to 60 MW which will be comprised of several arrays of either tracking or concentrating photovoltaic panels.  The project has been registered with the National Department of Environmental Affairs under reference number 12/12/20/1858. 

Ka Xu CSP South Africa (Pty) Ltd is proposing the establishment of a solar thermal plant on a site near Pofadder in the Northern Cape.

The project has been registered with the National Department of Environmental Affairs under reference number 12/12/20/1832.  The project is currently in the Scoping Phase.

VentuSA Energy is proposing the establishment of a solar energy facility, to be referred to as the Sishen Solar Energy Facility.  It is proposed on an identified site located approximately 23 km south-east of Sishen in the Northern Cape Province. The project has been registered with the National Department of Environmental Affairs under reference number 12/12/20/1860.

!Khi CSP South Africa (Pty) Ltd proposes the establishment of a commercial solar energy facility on a site near Upington in the Northern Cape.  The proposed development is referred to as the Upington Solar Thermal Plant.

The project has been registered with the Department of Environmental Affairs under application reference number 12/12/20/1831.  The project is currently in the Scoping Phase.

VentuSA Energy is proposing the establishment of a solar energy facility and associated infrastructure on a site located approximately 20 km south-west of Boshof and approximately 32 km north-east of Kimberley.  The proposed facility is to have a generating capacity of up to 20 MW which is to be generated through the use of photovoltaic panels. The project has been registered with the National Department of Environmental Affairs under reference number 12/12/20/1862.

The Draft Scoping Report is now available for public review at the follwoing venues:

• Boshof library
• Tokologo Local Municipality in Boshof
• Lejweleputswa District Municipality

The period for review is 16 July to 14 August 2010.

Exxaro Resources is proposing to establish a commercial wind energy facility and associated infrastructure of up to 100 MW on a site located in the Matzikama Local Municipal area.  The proposed wind energy facility will be known as the Exxaro West Coast Wind Farm and is proposed to be constructed on land owned by Namakwa Sands, north-west of Vredendal in the Western Cape Province.  The wind energy facility is proposed to accomodate up to 50 turbines, spaced to make use of the wind resource on the sites.  The area in which the wind turbines would be situated is an area of approximately 3817 hectares (ha).  Associated infrastructure proposed includes a substation, access roads and a power line.

Dorper Wind Farm (Pty) Ltd is proposing to establish a commercial wind energy facility and associated infrastructure on a site located within Inkwanca Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province.  The proposed wind energy facility is to be developed by Rainmaker Energy Projects (Pty) Ltd (Rainmaker).  The facility will be referred to in this report as the Dorper Wind Energy Facility.  The proposed site for the Wind Energy Facility is situated between the towns of Sterkstroom and Molteno.

Moyeng Energy propose the establishment of a commercial wind energy facility on a site near Darling (DEA Ref No: 12/12/20/1582).  An EIA process in being undertaken for the proposed project.  A draft Scoping Report is currenlty avaiable for public review from 28 April 2010 to 27 May 2010 and are accessible at the following places:

• Darling Library
• Yzerfontein Library
• www.savannahSA.com

The due date for comments on the draft Scoping Report is 27 May 2010.

Moyeng Energy proposed the establihsment of a commercial wind energy facility on a site near Vredenburg (DEA Ref. No 12/12/20/1581). In this regard Savannah Environmental is undertaking an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) proces. A draft Scoping report has been prepared and is avaiable for public review from 28 April 2010 to 27 May 2010  at the following locations:

• Vredenburg Library
• St Helena Bay Library
• www.savannahSA.com

The due date for comments is 27 May 2010.

Thupela Energy propose the establishment of a solar energy facility in the Waterberg District Municipality in the Limpopo Province.  The Draft Scoping Report is currently available for review from 7 June 2010 - 7 July 2010.  

BioTherm Energy (Pty) Ltd is proposing to establish a commercial wind energy facility, (known as the Klipheuwel/ Dassiesfontein Wind Energy Facility) and associated infrastructure on two sites in the Overberg area within the Western Cape Province.  The wind farm is proposed to accommodate up to 30 turbines, spaced to make use of the wind resource on the sites.  The area in which the wind turbines would be situated is an area of approximately 602 hectares (ha).  Associated infrastructure proposed includes a substation, access roads and a power line.

The project has been registered under application reference number 12/12/20/1746).

Windlab Developments South Africa Pty Ltd is proposing to establish a commercial wind energy facility on a site between Cookhouse and Bedford in the Eastern Cape Province.  It is proposed for a cluster of up to 350 wind turbines (described as a wind energy facility) to be constructed over an area of approximately 273 km² in extent.  This project is known as the Amakhala Emoyeni Wind Energy Facility. 

This project has been registered with National DEA under Application Reference number 12/12/20/1754. 

The South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL) is proposing the construction of a bridge over the Ngotwane River at the Swartkopfontein Border Post between South Africa and Botswana, as well as resurfacing of the existing road and realignment of approximately 1 km of the road on the South African side of the border.  The aim of the project is to upgrade the existing concrete drift across the river with a 5-span bridge in order to prevent frequent flooding and the subsequent disruption to traffic flow that occurs with high rainfall/storm events.  This proposed bridge is located at a technically feasible position on a new road alignment.  The project was registered with the National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) under the following reference number: 12/12/20/1286.

Biotherm Energy (Pty) Ltd is investigating a potential Wind Energy Facility on a site in the Overberg area of the Western Cape. The first step involves wind monitoring and data capture by means of wind monitoring masts over a period of approximately 12 months. The data that is collected will be used to determine the optimal layout for the proposed Wind Energy Facility. In this regard, Biotherm Energy (Pty) Ltd is proposing the establishment of up to two wind monitoring masts on the farms Dassiesfontein 426/1 and Klip Heuvel 410/5. The draft Basic Assessment Report was made available for public review until 11 March 2010.

A final BAR has been prepared by Savannah Environmental.  All comments received during the public review period have been incorporated into the the Final BAR, which has been submitted to DEA for review and decision making.

As part of investigating the potential and feasibility for the development of a commercial Wind Energy Facility in the Eastern Cape Province, DNA Wind Farm (Pty) Ltd proposes to establish up to two (2) wind monitoring masts for the purpose of recording wind measurements.  The project is a Rainmaker Energy Projects (Pty) Ltd ("Rainmaker") development.  The mast sites are located in an area approximately 2 km west of the town of Elliot in the Eastern Cape Province.  The period for utilisation of the masts is of a temporary and short-term nature (12 to 36 months) in order to record sufficient data on the wind resourse in the area.

As part of investigating the potential and feasibility for the development of a commercial Wind Energy Facility in the Eastern Cape Province, DNA Wind Farm Pty Ltd proposes to establish up to two (2) wind monitoring masts for the purpose of recording wind measurements.  The project is a Rainmaker Energy Projects (Pty) Ltd (“Rainmaker”) development.  The mast sites are located in an area 10 km north-east of the town of Indwe in the Eastern Cape Province.  The period for utilisation of the masts is of a temporary and short-term nature (12 to 36 months) in order to record sufficient data on the wind resource in the area. 

Terra Power Solutions proposes to establish a commercial wind energy facility and associated infrastructure for electricity generation near Britannia Bay, Western Cape Province (DEA ref no.: 12/12/20/1724).  The nature and extent of the wind energy facility, as well as potential environmental impacts associated with the construction of a facility is explored in more detail in the Scoping Report. 

VentuSA Energy (Pty) Ltd proposes the establishment of a commercial wind energy facility and associated infrastructure on a site located approximately 1 km north of Gouda in the Western Cape.  The proposed wind energy facility, which is to be referred to as the Gouda Wind Energy Facility, is proposed to consist of up to 60 turbines with a generating capacity of approximately 120 MW.  

The proposed project which has been registered with the National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) who is the competent authority for this project, has been issued with reference number 12/12/20/1859. 

In order to reinforce the existing transmission network in the Tshwane Region, Eskom Transmission is proposing the construction of a 400kV transmission power line between the existing Apollo and Pluto substations.  In addition, increased demand for reliable electricity supply in the Central Grid has necessitated that Eskom Transmission improves the reliability and capacity of the transmission network in the Tshwane area.  To achieve this, Eskom proposes an upgrade of the existing 400/132kV Verwoerdburg substation and establishment of a new Phoebus substation.  Eskom Transmission is therefore proposing the construction of the Tshwane Strengthening Project: Phase 1.

Moyeng Energy (Pty) Ltd is proposing to establish a commercial wind energy facility and associated infrastructure on a site located near Suurplaat in the Western and Northern Cape Provinces.  An area which falls within the Laingsburg Local Municipality (Western Cape); and the Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality (Northern Cape) has been identified ofr consideration within an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).  It is proposed for a cluster of up to 400 wind turbines (collectively described as a wind energy facility) to be constructed over an area of approximately 286 square kilometers in extent.

Just Energy, in association with the Uncedo Lwethu Farmers Cooperative, is proposing the establishment of a community based wind energy facility and associated infrastructure within a broader site of 20 km² on a site located approximately 4 km north-east of Wesley.  The proposed facility would have a first phase of 17 turbines and a proposed second phase of an additional 17 turbines with an estimated generating capacity of 35 MW over both phases.  The project has been registered with the National Department of Environmental Affairs under reference number 12/12/20/1836. 

African Clean Energy Developments is proposing the establishment of a 300 MW Wind Energy Facility near Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape Province. 

In order to support the upsurge in demand for the platinum group metals in the Mokopane area, and to support the reliability of electricity supply to the Polokwane area, Eskom Transmission is proposing the introduction of the Mokopane Integration Project.  This project includes the construction of the following components:

• A new substation near Mokopane
• Integration of the new substation into the transmission system by looping in and out of one of the existing Matimba-Witkop 400kV transmission power lines, a distance of approximately 10 km.
• A new 400kV transmision power line between the Delta Substation (near the Medupi Power Station) and the proposed new Mokopane Substation, a distance of approximately 150 km.
• A new 400kV transmission power line between the new Mokopane Substation and the existing Witkop Substation (near Polokwane), a distance of approximately 60 km.
• A new 400kV transmission power line between Delta Substation and the existing Witkop Substation, a distance of approximately 200 km.
• Extension of the existing Witkop Substation and associated works to integrate the new Mokopane Substation into the Transmission grid (e.g. access roads, communication tower) and accommodate new lines at existing substations (e.g. the construction of new feeder bays within the existing substation sites).

Feasible substation and transmission power line alternatives have been identified for investigation within a broader study area.  Towns/villages which are located within the study area include Lephalale, Seleka, Shongoane, Bakenburg, Lekalakala, Bakoni Ba Matlala, Mokopane, Matlala, Vaaltyn, Mashashane and Maraba.

In terms of Section 24 and 24D of the National Environmental Management Act (No 107 of 1998), as read with Government Notices R385 (Regulations 27-36) and R387, a Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) are required to be undertaken for this proposed project.  Initially two applications were lodged with DEAT and were given Application Reference numbers 12/12/20/1187 (substation and turn-in lines) and 12/12/20/1140 (transmission lines).  These applications have subsequently been consolidated under Application Reference number 12/12/20/1187.

In this regard, Savannah Environmental has been appointed as an independent consultant to undertake the required EIA process, and ILISO Consulting has been appointed to undertake the required public participation process for the proposed project.  In undertaking the environmental studies, Savannah Environmental will be assisted by the following specialists:

• Riaan Robbeson of Bathusi Environmental Consulting - Biodiversity specialist
• Megan Diamond of Endangered Wildlife Trust - Avifauna specialist
• Julius Pistorius - Heritage specialist
• Lourens du Plessis of MetroGIS - Visual specialist
• Nonka Byker and Anita Bron of MasterQ Research - Social impact assessment. land use and tourism

The Final EIA Report has been submitted to DEA for review and decision-making.