The Proposed Life Solar Plant Near Postmasburg, Northern Cape Province
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FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT 7 October 2016 THE PROPOSED LIFE SOLAR PLANT NEAR POSTMASBURG, NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCE PROJECT DETAIL DEA Reference No. : 14/12/16/3/3/2/933 Project Title : Proposed Life Solar Plant near Olifantshoek, Northern Cape Province Authors : Mrs. Carli Otte Ms. Marelie Griesel Ms. Liesl de Swardt Client : Life Solar (RF) (Pty) Ltd. Report Status : Final Environmental Impact Report Submission date : 7 October 2016 When used as a reference this report should be cited as: Environamics (2016) Final EIR: Proposed Life Solar Plant near Postmasburg, Northern Cape Province. COPYRIGHT RESERVED This technical report has been produced for Life Solar (RF) (Pty) Ltd. The intellectual property contained in this report remains vested in Environamics and Life Solar (RF) (Pty) Ltd. No part of the report may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from Environamics or Life Solar (RF) (Pty) Ltd. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS PROJECT DETAIL .....................................................................................................................1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................................................2 LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................5 LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................................5 LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................6 APPENDICES ..........................................................................................................................7 GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS ..................................................................................8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 10 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 13 1.1 LEGAL MANDATE AND PURPOSE OF THE REPORT ............................................................ 13 1.2 DETAILS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PRACTITIONER (EAP) .......................... 15 1.3 DETAILS OF SPECIALISTS ................................................................................................... 15 1.4 STATUS OF THE EIA PROCESS ............................................................................................ 19 1.5 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT ............................................................................................. 20 2 ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................ 24 2.1 THE LOCATION OF THE ACTIVITY AND PROPERTY DESCRIPTION ..................................... 24 2.2 ACTIVITY DESRIPTION ....................................................................................................... 25 2.3 PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY ......................................................................................... 27 2.4 LAYOUT DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................... 28 2.5 SERVICES PROVISION ........................................................................................................ 30 3 LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY CONTEXT .......................................................................... 35 3.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 35 3.2 LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT ...................................................................................................... 37 3.3 POLICY CONTEXT ............................................................................................................... 41 2 3.4 OTHER LEGISLATION ......................................................................................................... 49 3.5 RELEVANT GUIDANCE ....................................................................................................... 49 3.6 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 49 4 THE NEED AND DESIRABILITY ................................................................................... 50 4.1 THE NEED FOR THE PROPOSED ACTIVITY ......................................................................... 50 4.2 THE DESIRABILITY OF THE PROPOSED ACTIVITY ............................................................... 50 5 DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ............................................................... 54 5.1 CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES ................................................................................. 54 5.1.1 No-go alternative .............................................................................................................. 55 5.1.2 Location alternatives ......................................................................................................... 55 5.1.3 Activity alternatives .......................................................................................................... 56 5.1.4 Technical alternatives ....................................................................................................... 57 5.1.5 Design and layout alternatives ......................................................................................... 59 5.1.6 Technology alternatives .................................................................................................... 60 5.2 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS ..................................................................................... 61 5.2.1 General .............................................................................................................................. 61 5.2.2 Consultation process......................................................................................................... 66 5.2.3 Registered I&APs ............................................................................................................... 66 5.2.4 Issues raised by I&APs and consultation bodies ............................................................... 66 5.3 THE ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE 67 5.3.1 Biophysical environment .................................................................................................. 67 5.3.2 Description of the socio-economic environment ............................................................. 79 5.4 SITE SELECTION MATRIX ................................................................................................... 82 5.5 CONCLUDING STATEMENT ON ALTERNATIVES................................................................. 88 6 DESCRIPTION OF THE IMPACTS AND RISKS................................................................ 89 6.1 SCOPING METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 90 6.1.1 Checklist analysis .............................................................................................................. 90 3 6.1.2 Matrix analysis .................................................................................................................. 92 6.2 KEY ISSUES IDENTIFIED ................................................................................................... 107 6.2.1 Impacts during the construction phase .......................................................................... 107 6.2.2 Impacts during the operational phase ............................................................................ 107 6.2.3 Impacts during the decommissioning phase .................................................................. 107 7 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ASSESSMENT ....................................................................... 121 7.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 121 7.2 Geographic Area of Evaluation ....................................................................................... 122 7.3 Temporal Boundary of Evaluation .................................................................................. 123 7.4 OTHER PROJECTS IN THE AREA ....................................................................................... 123 7.4.1 Existing projects in the area ............................................................................................ 123 7.4.2 Projects in the foreseeable future .................................................................................. 124 7.5 SPECIALIST INFORMATION ON CUMULATIVE EFFECTS................................................... 124 7.5.1 Geology ........................................................................................................................... 126 7.5.2 Soil, Land Capability and Agricultural Potential .............................................................. 127 7.5.3 Ecology ............................................................................................................................ 127 7.5.4 Birds 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