Project: Eskom Power Generation & Transmission
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Language: English Original: English PROJECT: ESKOM POWER GENERATION & TRANSMISSION PROJECT COUNTRY: REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN SUMMARY Date: November 2015 Team Leader: : F. Kanonda – Chief Energy Investment Officer, ONEC2/SARC Team Members: N. Kulemeka – Chief Socio Economic Expert, ONEC3/SARC D. Goyal – Chief Regional Financial Management Coordinator, SARC E.Ndinya, Environmental Specialist, ONEC.3/SARC J M. Kumar – Chief Regional Procurement Coordinator, SARC L. Harmse – Senior Power Engineer ONEC2/SARC Appraisal Team S. O’Brien – Consultant Power Engineer Sector Manager: E. Negash Sector Director: A. Rugamba Regional Director: K.Mbekeani 0 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN (ESMP) SUMMARY Project Title: Eskom Power Generation and Transmission Project Project Number: P-ZA-FA0-002 Country: South Africa Department: ONEC Division: ONEC.2 Project Category: Category 1 1. Introduction Eskom Holdings Limited (Eskom) provides energy and related services, including the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity. Eskom currently generates approximately 95% of the electricity used in South Africa. The reliable provision of electricity by Eskom is thus critical for industrial development, related employment and sustainable development in South Africa. In order to be able to adequately provide for the growing electricity demand, Eskom have identified various technologies in different locations in South Africa. As part of its capacity expansion programme, Eskom Holdings Limited is constructing a 4800 MW coal-fired power station, named Medupi, in the Lephalale area in the vicinity of the existing Matimba Power Station. A positive Record of Decision (RoD) was received on the 21st of September 2006. The Environmental Management Programme (EMP) pertains to the construction phase of the Medupi Power Station, being constructed on the farm Naauwontkomen 509 LQ (station centre line co-ordinates: X: +2 622 675 and Y: -57 470) with the ash dump potentially on the farm Eenzaamheid 687 LQ. The Construction EMP (CEMP) provides management principles for the construction phase of the Medupi project. Environmental actions, procedures and responsibilities as required within the construction phase are specified. These specifications (and any revisions made to the CEMP) form part of the contract documentation and, therefore, the Contractor(s) are required to comply with the specifications to the satisfaction of the Project Manager, Site Director and Environmental Control Officer, in terms of the construction contract. In accordance with Condition 3.2.3.4 of the RoD, Eskom was required to submit an operational phase EMP (OEMP) to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and other relevant provincial and local authorities for acceptance, prior to the completion of the construction phase and the inception of the operational phase of the development. The OEMP was approved by the DEA on 4th July 2014 and subsequently approval of the amendments to OEMP on 6th of March 2015. The OEMP provides specific environmental guidance for the operation and maintenance phase of the Medupi Power Station, and is intended to manage and mitigate operation and maintenance activities so that unnecessary or preventable environmental impacts do not result. Unit 6 of Medupi Power Plant has been commissioned in 2015 and will comply with the DEA approved operational phase EMP. This ESMP summary which addresses both the construction phase EMP (CEMP) and operational phase EMP (OEMP) is prepared in compliance with the AfDB’s Integrated Safeguards System for disclosure on the Bank’s website. Since the CEMP and OEMP are 1 dynamic documents which are constantly being updated, successive versions shall be disclosed on Eskom’s website after approval by DEA. 2. Brief project description and key components The Medupi Plant is currently under construction in Lephalale in Limpopo province, South Africa. When completed, the power station will have six boilers each powering a 764 MW turbine, producing 4,764 MW of power and incorporating the appropriate pollution abatement technologies. The power plant and associated plant (terrace area) are being constructed on an area of 700 ha, and an additional 1000 ha for ancillary services, including on-surface ashing facilities. Medupi Power Station is constructed as a super-critical, pulverised fuel power station, utilising direct dry-cooled technology. The power station will utilize electrostatic bagfilters as its primary pollution abatement technology (for particulate emissions, anticipated to be less than 50mg/Sm3), and will have low NOx burners inherently built into the boiler for efficient combustion and thus lower NOx emissions. In terms of sulphur oxide emissions, the power station is being constructed to be FGD (flue gas desulphurisation) ready, i.e. physical space will be allowed for the FGD plant and the smokestacks lined with FGD compatible materials. When fully operational, the power station would strive towards a zero liquid effluent discharge philosophy. Coal for Medupi Power Station is from the Exxaro’s adjacent Grootegeluk Colliery, and is delivered to the power station via conveyor belts. The Grootegeluk Colliery, which also services the existing power station, is located to the immediate west of Matimba Power Station. An estimated 7.3 million tonnes per year of coal (measured on a dry basis) is required for the first three units at the Medupi Power Station. The Power Station is being constructed and commissioned in phases in order to meet the growing demand of electricity. Direct-cooling technology will be applied, with only a small open evaporative system for critical auxiliaries that cannot be accommodated by the main cooling system. No cooling towers will be constructed for the main cooling system. Other related infrastructure would include an HV yard, coal stockpile (with a terrace footprint of approximately 61 hectares and a storage capacity of approximately 2 million tonnes) and associated conveyor belts, and a potential ash dump, with infrastructure such as transmission lines being planned to integrate the station into the national electricity grid. The Medupi project has engaged 26 Contract packages (boiler, turbine, civil, smokestacks, etc) on-site. There have been approximately 13,000 contractor staff daily on site in 2015. Every Contract that employs more than 500 staff is required to designate an Environmental Health and Safety Officer on site. 3. Major environmental and social impacts and climate change risk 2 The ESIA and associated specialist studies for Medupi Project were undertaken in 2006. The major environmental impacts associated with the proposed project as discussed in the ESIA include: (i) Potential impacts on air quality and human health as a result of emissions from the facility. (ii) Potential impacts on surface and groundwater resources as a result of the proposed project. (iii) Potential visual impacts associated with the proposed project and associated impacts on tourism potential. (iv) Potential noise impacts. (v) Potential impacts on heritage sites. (vi) Potential impacts associated with the transportation of components during construction and fuel during operation. (vii) Potential impacts on flora, fauna and ecology. (viii) Potential impacts on soils and agricultural potential. (ix) Potential social impacts. The CEMP provides management principles for the construction phase of the project. Environmental actions, procedures and responsibilities as required within the construction phase are specified. These specifications form part of the contract documentation and, therefore, the Contractor is required to comply with the specifications to the satisfaction of the Project Manager, Site Director and Environmental Control Officer, in terms of the construction contract. The Contractor is required to comply with the relevant legislation for the construction phase of the project. The list of legislation is included as an Annex to the CEMP and is intended to serve as a guideline only for the Contractor and is not exhaustive. According to RoD condition 3.2.3.2, the CEMP is seen as a dynamic document which will be updated as required on a continuous basis. Any amendments/changes must and will be submitted to the DEA for approval before such changes could be affected. In addition, such submission for consideration by the DEA must be accompanied by recommendations of the EMC. The OEMP sets out the procedures necessary for Eskom to ensure environmental compliance during the operation and maintenance of the Medupi Power Station. In order to ensure site- specific compliance associated with the power station operation and maintenance, the OEMP includes the statement of an over-arching environmental goal, as well as lists a number of objectives in order to meet this goal. The OEMP is structured in table format in order to show the links between the goals for each phase and their associated objectives, activities/risk sources, mitigation actions monitoring requirements and performance indicators. A specific environmental management plan table has been established for each environmental objective. A number of potential operational impacts requiring management and mitigation were identified during the EIA. These include: (i) Impacts on air quality and human health as a result of emissions to air from the facility; (ii) Impacts on surface and groundwater resources as a result of the operation of the power station (iii) Visual impacts; (iv) Noise impacts;