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Terrestrial Biodiversity Compliance Report for The TERRESTRIAL BIODIVERSITY COMPLIANCE REPORT FOR THE PROPOSED DE AAR 2 SOUTH WEF ON-SITE SUBSTATION, BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM (BESS) AND ANCILLARY INFRASTRUCTURE, NEAR DE AAR IN THE NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCE. For Mulilo De Aar 2 South (Pty) Ltd July 2020 Prepared By: Arcus Consultancy Services South Africa (Pty) Limited Office 607 Cube Workspace Icon Building Cnr Long Street and Hans Strijdom Avenue Cape Town 8001 T +27 (0) 21 412 1529 l E [email protected] W www.arcusconsulting.co.za Registered in South Africa No. 2015/416206/07 Terrestrial Biodiversity Compliance Report De Aar 2 South WEF Substation TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 3 1.1 Background .................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Scope of Study ................................................................................................ 3 1.3 Assumptions and Limitations ......................................................................... 4 2 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Desk-top Study ............................................................................................... 4 2.2 Site Visit ......................................................................................................... 5 3 RESULTS AND DESCRIPTION OF THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT ............................ 5 3.1 Vegetation ...................................................................................................... 5 3.2 Biodiversity Conservation .............................................................................. 6 3.3 Biodiversity Planning ..................................................................................... 6 3.4 Habitats .......................................................................................................... 6 3.5 Plant Species .................................................................................................. 7 3.6 Vertebrate Species ......................................................................................... 8 3.6.1 Mammal Species ................................................................................................... 8 3.6.2 Amphibian Species ................................................................................................. 8 3.6.3 Reptiles Species ..................................................................................................... 9 3.6.4 Bird Species ......................................................................................................... 9 3.7 Invertebrate Species .................................................................................... 10 3.8 Ecosystems ................................................................................................... 10 4 SENSITIVITY ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................... 11 5 MITIGATION MEASURES ......................................................................................... 12 5.1 Construction Phase ...................................................................................... 12 5.1.1 Habitat Destruction and Impacts on Vegetation ..................................................... 12 5.1.2 Impacts on Fauna ............................................................................................... 12 5.2 Operational Phase ........................................................................................ 13 5.2.1 Habitat Degradation ............................................................................................ 13 5.2.2 Impacts on Fauna ............................................................................................... 13 6 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 14 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................... 15 APPENDIX I: POTENTIAL PLANT SPECIES ON THE PROJECT SITE ..................................... 15 Arcus Consultancy Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd Mulilo De Aar 2 South (Pty) Ltd July 2020 Page i Terrestrial Biodiversity Compliance Report De Aar 2 South WEF Substation APPENDIX II: POTENTIAL PROTECTED PLANT SPECIES ON THE PROJECT SITE ............... 19 APPENDIX III: MAMMAL SPECIES WITH DISTRIBUTION RANGES THAT INCLUDE THE PROJECT SITE .......................................................................................................... 20 APPENDIX IV: AMPHIBIAN SPECIES WITH DISTRIBUTION RANGES THAT INCLUDE THE PROJECT SITE ......................................................................................................... 21 APPENDIX V: REPTILE SPECIES WITH DISTRIBUTION RANGES THAT INCLUDE THE PROJECT SITE ......................................................................................................... 22 APPENDIX VI: SABAP2 BIRD SPECIES LIST ...................................................................... 22 APPENDIX VII: INVERTEBRATE SPECIES WITH DISTRIBUTION RANGES THAT INCLUDE THE PROJECT SITE .................................................................................................. 25 Arcus Consultancy Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd Mulilo De Aar 2 South (Pty) Ltd July 2020 Page ii Terrestrial Biodiversity Compliance Report De Aar 2 South WEF Substation 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Mulilo De Aar 2 South (Pty) Ltd (‘Mulilo’) are seeking authorisation for the proposed development of a substation of up to 400 kV and the clearance of <20 hectares (ha) of indigenous vegetation for the construction of the substation, a Battery Energy Storage System (‘BESS’) and ancillary infrastructure near the town of De Aar in the Northern Cape Province. Approximately 8.6 ha of land will be cleared for the proposed development of the on-site substation, BESS and ancillary infrastructure. The substation facility will cover an area of approximately 1.4 ha (approximately 140 m X 100 m) on the same proposed development site as the BESS. The substation is comprised partly of a control room, earthing mats and earthing rods, switching gear, step-up transformers and protection equipment. The substation will have a capacity up to 400 kV, and will include 3 feeder bays and controlled access. Ancillary infrastructure coupled with the on-site substation includes: Internal roads and access roads; Welfare facilities: ablutions, maintenance rooms, security hut etc.; Stormwater infrastructure; Temporary construction areas; and Perimeter fencing. As far as possible, existing gravel access roads will be utilised and where this is not possible, road will be constructed to run in a 2-way direction, approximately 4 to 6 m wide. It is assumed that the same access roads as approved in the DA2S WEF will be utilised for this project. The development site will have one (1) security controlled entry and exit point. The battery technology being considered for the BESS includes Solid-State, Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries. Battery Modules will be housed in containers (similar to shipping containers), and these containers will be delivered pre-assembled. The containers will have approximate dimension ranges of; height 2 m to 5 m, width 1.5 m to 3 m, length 7 m to 20 m. The containers are raised slightly off the ground and may be stacked vertically to a maximum height of 10m. Mulilo anticipate the placement of approximately 450 containers within the remaining 7.2 ha of the proposed development site. Ancillary (or associated) infrastructure for the BESS will include (but not limited to): A battery room; Inverters; Switch gear room; and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) equipment. The objectives of this study were to identify and assess the potential impacts of the proposed development on the ecology and terrestrial biodiversity in the area and to provide recommended mitigation measures for those impacts. Figure 1 (attached) indicates the location of the proposed development footprint associated with the current assessment displayed with contextual features and relevant grid squares used in database queries. 1.2 Scope of Study The scope of the study included the following activities: A desktop study and site screening to broadly describe and characterise the project site in terms of: Vegetation and habitat types; National conservation status of major vegetation types; Red Data (threatened or endangered) species of flora and fauna; and Species of flora and fauna offered legislative protection. A site walk-through and ecological survey to describe the project site at finer detail in terms of: Arcus Consultancy Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd Mulilo De Aar 2 South (Pty) Ltd July 2020 Page 3 Terrestrial Biodiversity Compliance Report De Aar 2 South WEF Substation The status of the vegetation and habitat types; and Potential impacts on biodiversity, habitats, processes and ecosystem functioning. The results of the above were used to identify and assess the potential impacts of the development on the flora, fauna and ecology of the area and provide mitigation measures and recommendations to minimise the identified impacts. 1.3 Assumptions and Limitations The site was only visited once and therefore seasonal variation of biodiversity on the site was not observed. The conditions at the time of the site visit were however
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