South Africa Mainstream Renewable Power Developments (Pty) Ltd (Mainstream) proposes to develop the Hanover Renewable Energy Cluster (‘Hanover Cluster’) comprising nine renewable energy facilities including six Solar Energy Facilities (SEFs) and three Wind Energy Facilities (WEFs), associated Electrical Grid Infrastructure (EGI) and one Main Transmission Substation (MTS) near Hanover, Northern Cape. The associated EGI for each SEF and WEF includes the 132 kV Switching Station portion of the on-site substation(s) and 132 kV powerline(s) connecting the on-site substation(s) to the MTS to evacuate energy to the national grid. Each renewable energy facility and the MTS will include ancillary infrastructure such as roads, offices and service infrastructure.
The National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA), and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, 2014 (promulgated in terms of NEMA) warrant that listed activities require Environmental Authorisation (EA) from the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). Scoping and Environmental Reporting (S&EIR) processes must be followed for the SEFs, WEFs and MTS.
Ten separate S&EIR processes are being undertaken for the following projects in the Hanover Cluster:
- 6 SEFs and EGI;
- 3 WEFs and EGI; and
- 1 MTS and two 400 kV powerlines that will tie into existing Eskom 400kV powerlines.
SRK Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd (SRK) has been appointed by Mainstream to undertake the required S&EIR processes in terms of NEMA and the EIA Regulations, 2014.
