South Africa Mainstream Renewable Power Developments (Pty) Ltd (Mainstream) proposes to develop the Hanover Renewable Energy Cluster (‘Hanover Cluster’) comprising 10 renewable energy facilities including seven Solar Energy Facilities (SEFs) and three Wind Energy Facilities (WEFs), 10 Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and 11 substations (10 on-site substations and one Main Transmission Substation [MTS]) near Hanover, Northern Cape. The associated infrastructure comprises access roads and grid connections (132 kV powerlines) to evacuate energy from each SEF and WEF (via the MTS) to the national grid.
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.
Eleven separate S&EIR processes are being undertaken for the following projects in the Hanover Cluster:
- 7 SEFs and Electric Grid Infrastructure (EGI), each including 33 kV powerlines, a BESS, an on-site substation and a 132 kV powerline connecting the on-site substation to the MTS;
- 3 WEFs and EGI, each including 33 kV powerlines, a BESS, an on-site substation and a 132 kV powerline connecting the on-site substation to the MTS; and
- 1 MTS and two 400 kV powerlines connecting the MTS to the national grid.
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.
