RED CAP ENERGY NUWEVELD GRID CONNECTION TRAFFIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Report prepared for: Report prepared by:
Red Cap Energy (Pty) Ltd Athol Schwarz of of Unit B2, Mainstream Centre, 45 Raven St, Main Road, West Beach, Hout Bay Table View 7806 7441
Phone: +27 (0) 21 790 1392 Mobile: +27 (0) 82 777 1961
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Impact Assessment Report (Rev 3) – 14th April 2021 CONTENT Topic Page 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1 2 PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS ...... 2 3 ABBREVIATIONS ...... 3 4 GLOSSARY ...... 4 5 INTRODUCTION ...... 4 5.1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ...... 4 5.2 TERMS OF REFERENCE ...... 5 5.3 SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES ...... 5 5.3.1 Scope ...... 5 5.3.2 Objectives ...... 6 5.4 LEGISLATION AND PERMIT REQUIREMENTS ...... 6 5.4.1 Roads ...... 6 5.4.2 Vehicle Dimensions ...... 7 5.4.3 Vehicle Loads ...... 7 5.4.4 Abnormal Loads ...... 8 5.5 METHODOLOGY ...... 8 5.6 ASSUMPTIONS ...... 8 5.7 LIMITATIONS ...... 9 5.8 SOURCE OF INFORMATION ...... 9 6 DESCRIPTION OF THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT ...... 10 6.1 ROAD NETWORK ...... 10 6.1.1 N1 National Road ...... 11 6.1.2 N12 National Road ...... 12 6.1.3 R61 (TR03501) ...... 12 6.1.4 R63 (TR016) ...... 13 6.1.5 R381 (TR05801) ...... 13 6.1.6 DR02307 ...... 15 6.1.7 DR02310 ...... 15 6.1.8 DR02311 ...... 16 6.1.9 DR02317 ...... 16 6.2 SITE ACCESS...... 17 6.3 SERVITUDE tracks ...... 19 7 TRAFFIC VOLUMES ...... 19 7.1 STATUS QUO ...... 20 7.1.1 Road Classification ...... 20 7.1.2 Traffic Counting Stations ...... 20 7.1.3 Baseline Traffic Volumes ...... 21 7.2 CONSTRUCTION PHASE ...... 22 7.2.1 Peak Traffic ...... 23 7.2.2 Diurnal Traffic ...... 24 7.3 OPERATIONAL PHASE ...... 26 7.4 DECOMMISSIONING PHASE ...... 26 8 TRAFFIC ASSESSMENT ...... 27 8.1 CONSTRUCTION PHASE ...... 27 8.2 OPERATIONAL PHASE ...... 28 8.3 DECOMMISSIONING PHASE ...... 28 9 CUMULATIVE TRAFFIC ASSESSMENT...... 29 9.1 CONSTRUCTION PHASE ...... 29 9.2 OPERATIONAL PHASE ...... 30 9.3 DECOMMISSIONING PHASE ...... 30 10 IMPACTS ASSESSMENT ...... 30 10.1 CONSTRUCTION PHASE ...... 31 10.2 OPERATIONAL PHASE ...... 35 10.3 DECOMMISSIONING PHASE ...... 35 10.4 Cumulative Impacts ...... 35 10.5 No-go Alternative ...... 39 10.6 Impact summary ...... 39 11 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 39 11.1 CONCLUSION ...... 40 11.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 43 12 APPENDICES ...... 44 APPENDIX 1 - DECLARATION ...... 45 APPENDIX 2 - NEMA REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIALIST REPORTS ...... 46 APPENDIX 3 - CURRICULUM VITAE ...... 47
LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 - Synopsis of Project Specifications ...... 2 Table 2 - List of Abbreviations ...... 3 Table 3 - Definitions ...... 4 Table 4 - R381 Road Details ...... 13 Table 5 - Construction Phase – Peak Traffic ...... 24 Table 6 - Construction Phase – Diurnal Traffic...... 26 Table 7 - Construction Phase – Traffic Volumes ...... 27 Table 8 - Construction Phase - Traffic Assessment ...... 28 Table 9 - Cumulative Constructional Phase - Traffic Volume...... 29 Table 10 - Cumulative Constructional Phase - Traffic Assessment ...... 30 Table 11 - Construction Phase - Increased Road Incidents ...... 31 Table 12 - Construction Phase - Road Degradation ...... 32 Table 13 - Construction Phase - Dust ...... 33 Table 14 - Construction Phase – Intersection Safety ...... 33 Table 15 - Construction Phase - Stringing Transmission Lines Across a Road ...... 34 Table 16 - Operational Phase - Inspection of Overhead Transmission Lines ...... 35 Table 17 - Cumulative Impact - Increased Road Incidents ...... 36 Table 18 - Cumulative Impact – Road Degradation ...... 36 Table 19 - Cumulative Impact - Dust ...... 37 Table 20 - Cumulative Impact – Intersection Safety ...... 38 Table 21 - Impact Summary ...... 39
LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1 - Grid Corridor ...... 5 Figure 2 - Existing Road Network ...... 11 Figure 3 - N1 (East of Beaufort West) ...... 11 Figure 4 - N12 (South of Beaufort West) ...... 12 Figure 5 - R61 (South-East of Beaufort West)...... 12 Figure 6 - R63 (East of Loxton) ...... 13 Figure 7 - Paved Section of R381 ...... 14 Figure 8 - Unpaved Section of R381 ...... 14 Figure 9 - DR02307 (at N12 intersection) ...... 15 Figure 10 - DR02310 (at R61 Intersection) ...... 15 Figure 11 - De Jager's Pass on DR02311 ...... 16 Figure 12 - DR02317 ...... 16 Figure 13 - DR02317 8 km from R381 ...... 17 Figure 14 - DR02317 22 km from R381 ...... 17 Figure 15 - Northern Section of Grid Corridor ...... 18 Figure 16 - Central Section of Grid Corridor ...... 18 Figure 17 - Southern Section of Grid Corridor ...... 19 Figure 18 - Road Classification ...... 20 Figure 19 - Counting Station ...... 21 Figure 20 - Baseline AADT ...... 21
Document Control Revision Date Description Author
Rev 0 22nd Mar 2020 Issued for use Athol Schwarz
Revised report to include the effect of the Rev 1 26th Jun 2020 Battery Storage Facility on each of the Athol Schwarz Wind Farms.
Revised report to include boundary Rev 2 18th Sep 2020 Athol Schwarz changes to the Wind Farms.
Revised report to Assessment Phases Rev 3 14h Apr 2021 Athol Schwarz Status
DISCLAIMER This report has been prepared for the exclusive use and benefit of Red Cap Energy (Pty) Ltd (the “Client”) as part of an Agreement and subjected to the following disclaimer: This report (including any enclosures and attachments) may be used by the Client within the framework of the Agreement and shall not be used by any other party nor for any other purpose without the written consent of the Author. The Client indemnifies the Author against any liability, loss, damage, or cost howsoever arising, including by way of a third-party claim, from a breach of this undertaking by the Client. The findings, conclusions and opinions of the author are based on the scope of the Agreement between the Author and the Client. Portions of the Reports may be of a privileged and confidential nature relating to the Agreement. The Author accepts no responsibility for damages, if any, suffered by any third party as a result of decisions made or actions based on the Reports. While it is believed that the information contained in the Report is reliable under the conditions and subject to the limitations outlined in the Agreements, the Report will be based in part on information not within the control of the Author and the Author, therefore, cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the analyses contained in the Reports will be developed from information provided by the Client. The Author will not audit such information and the Author makes no representations as to the validity or accuracy thereof. The comments in the Reports will reflect the Author’s best judgement in light of the information available at the time of preparation. The Author will have conducted an investigation required in terms of the aforementioned scope of the Agreements. While all professional care has been undertaken in preparation of this Report, the Author accepts no liability for loss or damages incurred as a result of reliance placed upon its content.
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Red Cap Energy (Pty) Ltd is proposing to develop three Wind Farms and Grid Connection (shared infrastructure between the three wind farms), north of Beaufort West within the Central Karoo District Municipality of the Western Cape. The proposed wind farms are, the Nuweveld North Wind Farm, the Nuweveld East Wind Farm and the Nuweveld West Wind Farm and are collectively referred to as the Nuweveld Wind Farms. This Traffic Impact Assessment has been produced as part of an iterative design process being undertaken for this project. As part of this process, various design and corridor permutations have been considered, assessed and further refined to ensure adherence to the environmental and technical constraints present on site. Previous iterations include a Screening, Pre-Application and Scoping Phases. This Traffic Impact Assessment has been updated to reflect impacts profile associated with the latest iteration. Since the last report the grid corridor has been reduced in size and a preferred alignment has been identified. The revised grid corridor and preferred alignment does not affect any of the assessed impacts in this report. As part of the Environmental Impact Assessment process, a Traffic Impact Assessment for each of the Wind Farms and Grid Connection has been provided. This Traffic Impact Assessment is for the Grid Connection. Based on the latest available information, the Grid Connection will consist of: • The construction of two (possibly three) switching stations (75 m × 150 m) on each of the proposed wind farms. The third switching station will only be constructed if the collector substation is not constructed adjacent to the Nuweveld East Wind Farm substation; • The construction of either a 132 kV (150 m × 150 m) or a 400 kV (200 m × 300 m) collector switching/substation, preferred option still to be finalised; • The construction of 120 km of overhead transmission lines, 132 kV transmission lines will be constructed between the various switching station and the collector switching/substation. However, the transmission line between the collector switching/substation to Droërivier substation is either 132 kV or 400 kV, the preferred option still to be finalised; • Modification to the receiving bay at Droërivier substation. This Traffic Impact Assessment was undertaken by Mr A. Schwarz, in accordance with the relevant guidelines, to provide a technical appraisal of the traffic impact of the Grid Connection on the existing road network, during the construction, operation and decommissioning phases. A site visit was conducted during September 2019 and together with traffic count data obtained from the provincial authorities, forms the basis of this assessment. The proposed transportation access routes that are to be used for the transportation of equipment and material, including abnormal loads, for the Grid Connection, are on national roads and are well-established transportation routes. Traffic generation estimates used in this assessment is based on the experience of similar projects. The worst-case scenario for the cumulative impact has been adopted, which assumes all three of the wind farms are constructed simultaneously, over a period of two years, along with the transmission line. The most significant increase in traffic will result from the daily transportation of personnel, to and from the NUWEVELD GRID CONNECTION - TIA (Rev 3).docx Page 1
site during peak traffic. The projected increase in traffic on the R381 is less than fifty vehicles per hour, the threshold as stipulated in the South African Traffic Impact and Site Traffic Assessment Manual (2012). There will be a notable increase in traffic volumes on the road network during the construction phase of this development, and less conspicuous during the operational phase. This report has assessed the impact of the additional traffic on the surrounding road network and found that the existing road network is currently operating at well below its capacity and provides an adequate level of service. The increase in traffic volumes will lead to greater wear and tear especially during the construction phase of the development but will not have an undue detrimental impact on the structural integrity of the roads within the study area, provided routine maintenance of the roads are undertaken. Due to budgetary constraints within various spheres of government, nominal maintenance is undertaken on the road network. To this end, it is strongly suggested that the developer contributes towards the ongoing maintenance of the road network associated with the development, during all phases of the development. In addition, there are several gravel sections on the R381, through mountain passes, which are extremely treacherous and pose a potential risk to road users transporting staff to and from the site. These areas, with the approval of the local road authorities, will have to be addressed by the developer. It should be noted that it is not possible to determine the expected traffic volumes that will be generated during the decommissioning phase. It can, however, be expected that these volumes will be lower than during the construction phase. As part of the decommissioning process a separate traffic impact assessment should be undertaken since many of the characteristics related to the traffic impact assessment, i.e. access routes, road geometry, traffic volumes, etc. would have changed over the operational life of the development. A range of management and mitigation strategies are identified for implementation during the construction and operation phases of the development to minimise traffic impacts, reduce community disruption and the risk of traffic incidents. Thus, from a traffic and transportation perspective, there are no constraints or notable impacts that would jeopardise the implementation of this development.
2 PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS A synopsis of the components and specifications for the Nuweveld Grid Connection is provided in Table 1 Table 1 - Synopsis of Project Specifications Project Approximate Components Specifications & Footprint areas Disturbance Area Description (WCS) Switching Each wind farm will have a Switching Station yard of 150 m x 75 m 3.4 ha stations (x3) located next to the Wind Farm Substation. The Switching Station will consist of a Switchgear building and High Voltage Gantry. The switching stations form part of the Gridline infrastructure and will be handed to Eskom in the operations phase (i.e. becoming part of the National Grid)
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Project Approximate Components Specifications & Footprint areas Disturbance Area Description (WCS) 132 kV collector Up to approximately ≤15 km of overhead 132 kV high voltage 0.5 ha transmission lines monopole pylon powerline is required to link the switching stations (x3) to the Collector switching station/substation. The pylon types that maybe used are described in further detail in Section 5.1 and on average will be about 260 m apart (estimate 65 pylons x 80 m2 = 0.5 ha) Collector 132 kV scenario: 150 m x 150 m – 132 kV collector switching station 12.0 ha switching with collector & switchgear building and High Voltage gantry (2.25 ha) station/substation 400 kV scenario: 300 m x 400 m – 400 kV collector substation with collector & switchgear building and High Voltage gantry (12 ha) 132/400 kV 132 kV scenario: Up to approximately ≤105 km of overhead 132 kV 3.5 ha Gridline overhead powerline (440 x 80 m2 = 3.5 ha): - the 132 kV pylons types that may be used are depicted in Section 5.1. - Monopole spans, without stays, are on average 260 m - Triple pole (‘twin tern’) spans for valleys can be up to 800 m - Pylon type and span distance is determined by topography, but the majority will be the single monopole structures 400 kV scenario: Up to approximately 105 km of 400 kV overhead powerline (estimate 290 pylons X 100 m2 = 2.9 ha): - The lattice pylon types that may be used are depicted in Section 5.1. - Cross-rope suspension spans, with stays, are on average 400m - Self-supporting suspension spans, without stays, are on average 400 m - Pylon type and span distance is determined by topography, but the majority will be the cross-rope suspension structures Temporary Temporary laydown areas will be identified along the power line route, 5 ha laydown, staging with the main equipment and construction yards being based in one of and yards areas the surrounding towns or at the wind farm site camp & laydown areas. and access Existing access roads and tracks (upgraded to ± 2-4 m wide where 56 ha roads/tracks needed) will be used as far as possible and new access tracks would required for the be created where needed – these would be 2-4 m wide (wider than 2m construction / when side drains are needed or due to the topography). decommissioning phase Total disturbance footprint 81ha
3 ABBREVIATIONS The following abbreviations have been used in this document. Table 2 - List of Abbreviations Abbreviation Meaning AADT Average Annual Daily Traffic ADT Average Daily Traffic COTO South African Committee of Transportation Officials EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EPCM Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Management km/h Kilometre per hour MW Megawatt NEMA National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 RCAM Road Classification and Access Management RNIS Road Network Information System SANRAL South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd TIA Traffic Impact Assessment
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Abbreviation Meaning TMP Traffic Management Plan vph Vehicle per hour WCS Worst Case Scenario WTG Wind Turbine Generator
4 GLOSSARY The following definitions apply to these words which have been used in this document. Table 3 - Definitions Definitions R381 (North) refers to the section of the R381, between Loxton and the development. R381 (South) refers to the section of the R381, between Beaufort West and the development. Average Annual Daily is the total traffic volume (in both directions) generated in a year, including school Traffic and public holidays and weekends, divided by the number of days in the year. is the total traffic (in both directions) generated in a twenty-four-hour period, on a Average Daily Traffic typical working weekday. Diurnal means happening or active during the daytime. Peak Traffic traffic at the time it is most busy. is the number of vehicles passing a specific point in a given time, expressed in Traffic Volume vehicles per hour. is defined as a single (one-directional) movement, with either the destination or the Trip origin of the trip being site.
5 INTRODUCTION
5.1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION Red Cap Energy (Pty) Ltd is proposing to develop three Wind Farms and Grid Connection, north of Beaufort West within the Central Karoo District Municipality of the Western Cape. The proposed Wind Farms are, the Nuweveld North Wind Farm, the Nuweveld East Wind Farm and the Nuweveld West Wind Farm and are collectively referred to as the Nuweveld Wind Farms. The Grid Connection is the subject of this report, includes, inter alia: • The construction of two (possibly three) switching stations (75 m × 150 m) on each of the proposed wind farms. The third switching station will only be constructed if the collector substation is not constructed adjacent to the Nuweveld East Wind Farm substation; • The construction of either a 132 kV (150 m × 150 m) or a 400 kV (200 m × 300 m) collector switching/substation, preferred option still to be finalised; • The construction of 120 km of overhead transmission lines, 132 kV transmission lines will be provided between the various switching station and the collector switching/substation. However, the transmission line between the collector switching/substation to Droërivier substation is either 132 kV or 400 kV, the preferred option still to be finalised; • Modification to the receiving bay at Droërivier substation. 132 kV transmission lines will connect the three wind farms substations to a collector switching/substation. The 132 kV transmission lines, switching stations and collector substation, will be erected on the wind farms as part of the Eskom grid and thus also
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form part of the grid EIA. Eskom may require the construction of a 400 kV transmission line rather than 132 kV transmission line, between the collector switching/substation to the existing Droërivier substation. Thus, the developer will apply for approval of both, a 132 kV and a 400 kV transmission lines and associated infrastructure within an authorised Grid Corridor. However, only one of the transmission lines shall be constructed. Should the 400 kV transmission line be the preferred option, then the 132 kV collector switching station (150 m × 150 m), would become a 400 kV collector substation (200 m × 300 m). The EIA for the Grid Connection includes a transmission line from the collector switching/substation to the Droërivier Substation, the design of which is still to be finalised. The supporting structures for the transmission line would either be steel monopoles or standard cross-rope suspension pylons, for a 132 kV or 400 kV transmission lines respectively. Only one of which will be constructed. However, both of which need to be assessed. The transmission line option (132 kV vs 400 kV) will only be confirmed by Eskom after the environmental authorisation is obtained.
5.2 TERMS OF REFERENCE Red Cap Energy (Pty) Ltd appointed Mr A. Schwarz, to prepare a Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA), with emphasis on access from the public roads to the sites on which the proposed transmission lines between the Switching Station adjacent the Nuweveld North Substation through to Droërivier Substation, hereafter referred to as 'the Grid Corridor'. The extent of the Grid Corridor is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 - Grid Corridor This TIA forms an integral part of the supporting documentation required for the Environmental Impact Assessment application to the Department of Environmental Affairs.
5.3 SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES
5.3.1 Scope Red Cap Energy (Pty) Ltd propose developing three Wind Farms and Grid Connection. The Wind Farms are approximately thirty kilometres south of Loxton and are collectively referred to as the Nuweveld Wind Farms. The scope of the study is to evaluate the impact the construction of the Grid Connection will have on the adjacent road network.
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The scope of this report includes, inter alia: • Identify possible transportation routes of construction equipment and material from the major commercial centres within South Africa, to various sites along the Grid Corridor; • Identify the potential road network that could be affected by the erection of the Grid Connection within the Grid Corridor; • Determine a traffic baseline against which the potential traffic impacts are to be measured; • Identify potential impacts and cumulative impacts that may occur during the construction, operational and decommissioning phases of the development; • Determine mitigation and/or management measures which could be implemented, to, as far as possible, reduce the effect of negative impacts; and • Incorporate and address all issues and concerns raised by Interested and Affected Parties, (if and when applicable).
5.3.2 Objectives The objective of this report is to determine the potential traffic impact, that the erection of the Grid Connection within the Grid Corridor will have on the existing road network.
5.4 LEGISLATION AND PERMIT REQUIREMENTS The overarching environmental legislation for the management of the environment in South Africa, is the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act 107 of 1998 “NEMA”). Its preamble states that sustainable development requires the integration of social, economic and environmental factors in the planning, implementation and evaluation of environmental decisions to ensure that the development serves present and future generations. Traffic impacts are therefore an important aspect to be considered in the decision- making of developments.
5.4.1 Roads The relevant legislation associated with the road (infrastructure), transportation and traffic include, inter alia: • National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998), with regards to all crossings of watercourses; • National Road Traffic Act (Act 93 of 1996); • Advertising on Road and Ribbon Development Act (Act 21 of 1940): - Regulates the display of advertisements outside certain urban areas at places visible from public roads, and the depositing or leaving of disused machinery or refuse and the erection, construction or laying of structures and other things near certain public roads, and the access to certain land from such roads; - Section 9: Prohibition of the erection of structures near-certain roads; - Section 9A: Prohibition of the erection of structures or construction of other things near intersections of certain roads; - Section 10: Restriction of access to land through a fence, etc., along certain roads. • Roads Ordinance Number 19 of 1976: - Consolidate and amend the law relating to public roads and public paths and to provide for matters incidental thereto; NUWEVELD GRID CONNECTION - TIA (Rev 3).docx Page 6
- Section 13: Erection of gates across public roads and public paths; - Section 17: Erection of structures on or near public roads; - Section 18: Access to and exit from certain public roads and public paths.
5.4.2 Vehicle Dimensions Regulations 221 to 230 of the National Road Traffic Act relates to vehicle dimensions, the most salient points are summarised below. Regulation 221: Defines the legislation requirements regarding the overall length of vehicles, and is summarised as follows: • rigid vehicle shall not exceed 12.5 m; • articulated motor vehicle and semi-trailers shall not exceed 18.5 m; • other combination of motor vehicles (including interlinks, multiple trailers, etc.) shall not exceed 22.0 m. Regulation 223: Defines the legislation requirements regarding the overall width of vehicles with a gross mass of 12 000 kilograms or more, shall not exceed 2.6 m. Regulation 224: Define the legislative requirements regarding the overall height of a vehicle and transported load, which shall not exceed 4.3 m. Regulation 225: Defines the legislation requirements regarding the maximum turning radius and wheelbase, which shall not exceed 13.1 m or 10.0 m (for a semi-trailer) respectively.
5.4.3 Vehicle Loads Regulations 231 to 249 of the National Road Traffic Act relates to vehicles loads, the most salient points are summarised below. Regulation 240: Defines the legislation requirements regarding the mass load carrying capacity on roads, the most relevant points are summarised below: • The mass load of a wheel fitted to a steering axle shall not exceed 3 850 kg, others shall not exceed 4 000 kg; • The mass load of an axle fitted with two wheels, which is the steering axle shall not exceed 7 700 kg, others shall not exceed 8 000 kg; • The mass load of an axle fitted with four wheels shall not exceed 9 000 kg; • The mass load of an axle unit, which consists of two axles, each of which are fitted with two wheels, acting as a steering axle unit shall not exceed 15 400 kg, other axle units shall not exceed 16 000 kg; • The mass load of an axle unit, which consists of two axles, each of which are fitted with four wheels, shall not exceed 18 000 kg; • The mass load of an axle unit, which consists of three or more axles, each of which are fitted with two wheels, acting as a steering axle unit shall not exceed 23 100 kg, other axle units shall not exceed 24 000 kg; • The mass load of an axle unit, which consists of three or more axles, each of which are fitted with four wheels shall not exceed 24 000 kg; • The axle mass load of an axle unit which consists of two axles, one of which is a drive axle with four wheels and the other is an axle with two wheels, the sum of the two axles shall not exceed 18 200 kg.
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Regulation 241: Defines the legislation requirements regarding the mass load- carrying capacity of bridges.
5.4.4 Abnormal Loads The National Road Traffic Act (Act 93 of 1996) and the National Road Traffic Regulations (2000) prescribe certain limitations on vehicle dimensions and axle and vehicle masses that a vehicle using a public road must comply with. Where the prescribed limitations are exceeded, these loads are classified as an abnormal load. Provision for such abnormal vehicles and loads are made in Section 81 of the National Road Traffic, as substituted by Section 23 of National Road Traffic Amendment Act (Act 64 of 2008). The requirements and procedures for transporting of abnormal loads are contained in the following two documents: • “TRH 11 - Dimensional and Mass Limitations and Other Requirements for Abnormal Load Vehicles”; and • “Administrative Guidelines for Granting of Exemption Permits for the Conveyance of Abnormal Loads”.
5.5 METHODOLOGY The South African Traffic Impact and Site Traffic Assessment Standards (2014), and the Manual for Traffic Impact Studies (1995), form the basis for this traffic impact assessment. The methodology adopted in the compilation of this report includes, inter alia: • Road network: Identify the road network which will be used by vehicles associated with this development, and other developments in the area; • Traffic volume: Establish the existing traffic volumes (baseline) and the number of future vehicle trips generated during the construction, operation and decommissioning of this development; • Modal split: Determine the mode of transport, vehicle type and size for each trip or category of trip generated during the construction, operational and decommissioning of this development; • Peak Hour Rate: Establish peak-hour vehicle trip rate generated during the construction, operation and decommissioning of this development; • Impact assessment: Identify and assess the significance and severity of development-related traffic on the existing road network. Where possible comparing the existing traffic volumes on the roads with the traffic generated by this development; • Impact mitigation: Propose practical measures to mitigate the impacts of development-related traffic on the existing road network.
5.6 ASSUMPTIONS The compiling of this report is based on the following assumptions: • Red Cap Energy (Pty) Ltd propose developing three separate Wind Farms and Grid Connection in the Central Karoo Municipality District of the Western Cape. The cumulative impact on the traffic volumes shall assume that all three Wind Farms and Grid Connection are constructed, operated and decommissioned
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simultaneously. There is no information on other approved relevant developments in the area which will contribute to the cumulative traffic impact; • The manpower complement for each Grid Connection during peak construction is assumed not to exceed one-hundred-and-ten, and the combined manpower complement for all three Wind Farms and Grid Connection during peak construction is assumed to be in the order five-hundred-and-seventy; • There are no other approved 132 kV or 400 kV transmission lines earmarked for construction within thirty kilometres of the proposed Grid Corridor. Thus, there will be no cumulative impact from other transmission line development that needs to be taken into consideration; • The servitude for the transmission line is still to be finalised and registered, it is assumed that it will fall within the defined Grid Corridor; • Since the preferred transmission lines capacity has not been finalised, both the 132 kV and 400 kV transmission line options shall be considered in this document; • Delivery of equipment and materials (other than aggregates) to the site, from various commercial centres within South Africa, shall be transported mostly on paved roads; • Only vehicles with a gross vehicle mass of less than ten tonnes shall use the De Jager's Pass for the commuting of personnel and the transportation of construction equipment and materials; • The supply of raw material for the manufacture of concrete and road construction, as a worst-case scenario, will be sourced from commercial sources outside the development area; • Concrete for the foundations of the transmission line is envisaged to be mixed as close to the foundations as possible; • No accommodation is provided on-site.
5.7 LIMITATIONS This report excludes the following: • Transport Management Plan for the development, as this will depend on the construction process adopted by the contractor that is still to be appointed; • The design and interfacing of the proposed transmission lines with the existing Eskom infrastructure; • The geometric details of intersections and entrances onto the site from the public road network, as this will be finalised during the detailed design phase, which will require approval from the relevant roads' authorities; • Assessment of risks and impacts associated with loading or off-loading of the vehicles at the site or associated facilities are not addressed since these will be addressed in the Standard Operating Procedures developed by the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Management (EPCM) contractor for the construction and decommissioning of the development.
5.8 SOURCE OF INFORMATION Information used in compiling this report was drawn from the following sources: • Manual for Traffic Impact Studies, Department of Transport, RR 93/635, 1995;
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• TMH 16, Volume 1 - South African Traffic Impact and Site Traffic Assessment Manual, COTO 2012; • TMH 16, Volume 2 - South African Traffic Impact and Site Traffic Assessment Standards and Requirements Manual, COTO 2014; • TMH 17 - The South African Trip Data Manual, COTO 2012; • TRH 4 - Structural Design of Flexible Pavement for Interurban and Rural Roads, 1996; • TRH 26 - South African Road Classification and Access Management Manual, 2012; • All information relating to the roads within the Western Cape were obtained from the Western Cape Government Road Network Information System (https://rnis.westerncape.gov.za/rnis/rnis_web_reports.main.null); • All information relating to traffic volumes on the roads within the Western Cape were obtained from the Western Cape Government Road Network Information System (https://rnis.westerncape.gov.za/rnis/rnis_web_reports.main.null); • Traffic volumes on the roads within the Northern Cape and on the national roads were obtained from Mikros Traffic Monitoring (Pty) Ltd, with approval from the required authorities; • Information pertaining to the weight and expected number of trips for delivery of the Monopoles and the Cross-Rope Suspension Towers was provided by Mr J Kriel of Thabile Eastern Cape; • The number of households was obtained from the Department of Statistics South Africa (http://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=964); • Information regarding mountain passes was obtained from Mountain Passes of South Africa (https://mountainpassessouthafrica.co.za/); • Distance and estimated travelling times were obtained using Google Maps; • Satellite imagery of the site available on Google Earth was also used for evaluation; • Most of the photographs used in this report were taken by the author, during the site visit.
6 DESCRIPTION OF THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT
6.1 ROAD NETWORK The existing road network, within the study area, is well developed. A combination of national roads and first and second-order roads provides the proposed Grid Corridor accessibility to local towns and the major commercial centres within South Africa. In general, besides for the Molteno Pass and the De Jager's Pass, no obvious problems were identified or associated with the transport of freight along the proposed routes to the site, nor for the possible accesses required for the construction and maintenance of the facility. It will, however, be necessary to confirm certain aspects such as clearances, bridge capacities, etc., by the logistics contractor as part of their preparation as this will be dependent on the actual vehicle configuration to be used. The more prevalent public road network, which provides access to the Grid Corridor, is shown in Figure 2.
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Figure 2 - Existing Road Network Details of the more relevant roads, within the study area, are provided below.
6.1.1 N1 National Road The N1 is a Principal Arterial providing high mobility between provinces, regions and towns, and falls under the jurisdiction of the South African National Road Agency. The N1 starts at the M6 (western Boulevard) in Cape Town and ends at Beit Bridge Border Post at Zimbabwe border, passing through or bypassing many towns on-route. The N1 and N12 merge approximately seven kilometres west of Beaufort West, before splitting again at Three Sisters. This is a Class 1 road, generally consisting of a single paved carriageway, with one lane in each direction and paved shoulders, as shown in Figure 3. Climbing lanes are provided along various sections of the road and there are turning lanes at major intersections. In many cases, the shoulder is wide enough to allow yellow-line driving. The road is in good condition with a speed limit of 120 km/h.
Figure 3 - N1 (East of Beaufort West)
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6.1.2 N12 National Road The N12 is a Principal Arterial providing high mobility between provinces, regions and towns, and falls under the jurisdiction of the South African National Road Agency. The N12 starts at the N2/N9 (Kraaibosch Interchange) approximately 5 km south of George and ends at eMalahleni, passing through or bypassing many towns on-route. The N1 and N12 merge approximately seven kilometres west of Beaufort West, before splitting again at Three Sisters. This is a Class 1 road, generally consisting of a single paved carriageway, with one lane in each direction and a combination of paved and gravel shoulders (Figure 4). The road south of the N1, is in poor condition with a speed limit of 120 km/h.
Figure 4 - N12 (South of Beaufort West)
6.1.3 R61 (TR03501) The R61 is a Minor Arterial providing mobility between provinces, regions and towns, the management and maintenance of this road fall under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Roads Department in which the roads are located. The R61 starts at the N1 in Beaufort West and ends at N2/R102 (Marburg Interchange) in Port Shepstone. According to the Western Cape Road Information System, the Functional Class of this road is a Class 2, with RCAM classification of R2b. The road is situated in a 30 m wide servitude and consisting of a single paved carriageway, 6.8 m wide, with one lane in each direction and gravel shoulders, as shown in Figure 5. The road is in a fair condition with a speed limit of 120 km/h.
Figure 5 - R61 (South-East of Beaufort West) NUWEVELD GRID CONNECTION - TIA (Rev 3).docx Page 12
6.1.4 R63 (TR016) The R63 is a Minor Arterial providing mobility between provinces, regions and towns, the management and maintenance of this road fall under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Roads Department in which the roads are located. The R63 starts at the R27 approximately 23 km east of Calvinia and ends at N2 north of East London. The road is split into several sections, TR01606 is section 6 of TR016 and lies between Carnarvon and Loxton, TR01607 is section 7 of TR016 and lies between Loxton and Victoria West. According to the Western Cape Road Information System the Functional Class of section 9 of the R63, the road is a Class 2, with RCAM classification of R2c. The road is situated in a 30 m wide servitude and consisting of a single paved carriageway, 6.8 m wide, with one lane in each direction and gravel shoulders, as shown in Figure 6. The road is in a fair condition with a speed limit of 120 km/h.
Figure 6 - R63 (East of Loxton)
6.1.5 R381 (TR05801) The R381 is a Minor Arterial providing mobility between provinces, regions and towns, the management and maintenance of this road fall under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Roads Department in which the roads are located. The R381 starts at the N1, north of Beaufort West and ends at R63 in Loxton. According to the Western Cape Road Information System, the Functional Class of this road is a Class 2, with RCAM classification of R2b. The road is situated in a 20 m wide servitude, sections of the road are paved, the surfacing and width details of this road are provided in Table 4. Table 4 - R381 Road Details Start km End km Surface Type Width Shoulder Width Shoulder Type 0 10.07 Surfaced 7.20 2.00 Unsurfaced 10.07 13.28 Surfaced 8.60 2.00 Unsurfaced 13.28 23.80 Gravel 7.00 23.80 32.96 Surfaced 7.20 0.9 Unsurfaced 32.96 38.20 Surfaced 6.80 0.9 Unsurfaced 38.20 95.75 Gravel 8.50 95.75 111.00 Gravel
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The paved sections of the R381, consists of a single paved carriageway, with one lane in each direction and unpaved shoulders, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7 - Paved Section of R381 Several sections of the road are extremely treacherous, with no barriers and steep drop-offs, very tight corners, negative banking and loose gravel. A section of the road is shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8 - Unpaved Section of R381
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6.1.6 DR02307 The DR02307 is an Access Collector providing access to the town, the management and maintenance of this road fall under the jurisdiction of the Western Cape Provincial Roads Department. The DR02307 starts in Beaufort West and ends at N12 intersection. According to the Western Cape Road Information System, the Functional Class of this road is a Class 4, with RCAM classification of R4c. The road is situated in a 20 m wide servitude and consisting of a 6.8 m wide gravel road, as shown in Figure 9. The road is in a fair condition with a speed limit of 100 km/h.
Figure 9 - DR02307 (at N12 intersection)
6.1.7 DR02310 The DR02310 is an Access Collector providing access to the town, the management and maintenance of this road falls under the jurisdiction of the Western Cape Provincial Roads Department. The DR02310 starts at R61 east of Beaufort West and reconnects to the R61 west of Aberdeen. According to the Western Cape Road Information System, the Functional Class of this road is a Class 4, with RCAM classification of R4a. The road is situated in a 20 m wide servitude consisting of a single paved carriageway, 6.8 wide, with one lane in each direction and gravel shoulders for 3 km, as shown in Figure 10 and thereafter consisting of an 8.5 m wide gravel road for the next 68 km. The road is in a fair condition with a speed limit of 100 km/h.
Figure 10 - DR02310 (at R61 Intersection)
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6.1.8 DR02311 The DR02311 is an Access Collector providing access to the town, the management and maintenance of this road fall under the jurisdiction of the Western Cape Provincial Roads Department. The DR02311 starts at N1 (east of Beaufort West) and ends at the DR02317. According to the Western Cape Road Information System, the Functional Class of this road is a Class 4, with RCAM classification of R4a. The road is situated in a 20 m wide servitude, consisting of an 8.5 m wide gravel road, and is approximately 58.5 km long. Sections of the road, through the De Jager's Pass, are extremely treacherous, with no barriers and steep drop-offs, as shown in Figure 11.
Figure 11 - De Jager's Pass on DR02311
6.1.9 DR02317 The DR02317 is an Access Collector providing access between towns, the management and maintenance of this road falls under the jurisdiction of the Western Cape Provincial Roads Department. The DR02317 starts at TR05801 and ends at the N1. According to the Western Cape Road Information System, the Functional Class of this road is a Class 4, with RCAM classification of R4c. The road is situated in a 20 m wide servitude, the road is approximately 68.3 km long and consisting of a 7.0 m wide gravel road, as shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12 - DR02317
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At approximately eight kilometres from the R381 the DR02317 passes very close to an existing homestead as shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13 - DR02317 8 km from R381 Another farming community straddles the DR02317 at approximately twenty-two kilometres from the R381, as shown in figure 14.
Figure 14 - DR02317 22 km from R381
6.2 SITE ACCESS Access to the wind farms shall be used for the portion of the Grid Connection which falls within the boundaries of the wind farms. Access to the servitude for the transmission line which falls outside the boundaries of the wind farms shall be provided from the public road network. Since the servitude for the transmission lines has not been confirmed, the detailed design of the transmission line has not been finalised. Thus, the exact position of the pole/tower foundations are still unknown, it is difficult to identify the most likely positions for the contractor to access the servitude. Where feasible existing private roads/tracks should be used, where existing private roads/tracks do not exist or are not suitable, then new tracks will have to be constructed. Thus, for the purpose of this report, access to the Grid Corridor from the public roads will be assumed to be provided by existing and/or new private roads/tracks, in agreement with the relevant landowners. The proposed Grid Corridor extends over a large area, for clarification the proposed Grid Corridor has been divided into three sections namely: Northern; Central and Southern Sections.
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The Northern Section of the Grid Corridor consists of two zones, each of which are accessed from a separate public road, as shown in Figure 15.
Figure 15 - Northern Section of Grid Corridor Zone 1: The Grid Corridor which falls within Nuweveld North Wind Farm, Nuweveld West Wind Farm and the northern portion of the Nuweveld East Wind Farm is accessed via either the northern or southern entrance to the Wind Farms from the R381. Zone 2: A portion of the Grid Corridor falls within Nuweveld East Wind Farm, the balance will be located on the properties of landowners in the area. Access to the portion of the Grid Corridor within the boundaries of the Wind Farm shall utilise the Wind Farm entrances. Access to the section of the Grid Corridor outside the boundaries of the Wind Farm will be accessed from the DR02317. The Central Section of the Grid Corridor consists of two zones, both of which are accessed from the DR02311, as shown in Figure 16.
Figure 16 - Central Section of Grid Corridor Zone 3: This zone is accessed from the DR02311, north of the De Jager's Pass. Zone 4: This zone is accessed from the DR02311, south of the De Jager's Pass.
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The Southern Section of the Grid Corridor consists of five zones, each of which are accessed from various roads as shown in Figure 17.
Figure 17 - Southern Section of Grid Corridor Zone 5: This zone is accessed from the N1. However, there are not many access points along this route. Zone 6: This zone is accessed from the DR02310. Zone 7: This zone is accessed from the R61. Zone 8: This zone is accessed from the DR02307. Zone 9: This zone is accessed from the N12.
6.3 SERVITUDE TRACKS Once the servitude has been established a servitude road shall be designed, approved and constructed, this road shall be used during the construction and operational phases. Due to the natural constraints, i.e. rivers, mountains, etc, it should not be assumed that the service road will be continuous along the proposed transmission line. Access to the servitude from the public road will most likely be via existing private roads/tracks, where available, which are provided by the landowner. However, special arrangements will have to be negotiated with the landowner to use these roads. If there is no suitable existing access, then new access roads will need to be constructed, all new access roads would need to be agreed to by the relevant landowner and approved by the local roads' authority. When existing private roads/tracks are to be used, it is strongly recommended that the condition of these roads be recorded (preferably photographic) and agreed by the landowner, prior to any work commencing on the property. The contractor shall maintain all private roads/tracks used to access the servitude. Upon completion of the works, these roads shall be left in a condition similar or better than they were before work on the proposed transmission line commences.
7 TRAFFIC VOLUMES The South African Trip Data Manual (TMH 17), as provided by COTO, does not make provision for expected trip generation for the construction of transmission lines. Thus, the traffic trip generation for the construction, operation and decommissioning phases used in this document is based on data obtained for similar projects. NUWEVELD GRID CONNECTION - TIA (Rev 3).docx Page 19
The movement of personnel to and from the site is referred to as commuter trips. While the transportation of equipment and material required for the project are referred to as freight trips. The estimated traffic generation detailed below represents a worst-case scenario.
7.1 STATUS QUO
7.1.1 Road Classification The functional classification for the paved and gravel roads within the study area, as provided by the Western Cape Road Information System, are presented in Figure 18.
Figure 18 - Road Classification Accordance with TRH 26 the annual average daily traffic (AADT) for the various Rural Functional Road Classifications, for which the various roads are to be designed are as follows: • Class 1 roads (principal arterial road) are in the order of 1000 to 100 000; • Class 2 roads (major arterial road) are in the order of 500 to 25 000; • Class 3 roads (minor arterial road) are in the order of 100 to 2 000; • Class 4 roads (collector roads) are less than a 1 000; • Class 5 roads (local roads) are less than 500.
7.1.2 Traffic Counting Stations The Western Cape Government’s operates and maintains a Road Network Information System (RNIS) for most of the surface and gravel roads in the province. This system collects and analyses various types of data which includes, inter alia, a network inventory, traffic data (expressed as AADT), condition data as well as structure and surface history. SANRAL and the Northern Cape Government has a similar system for the road network within their jurisdiction. The location of the counting stations used in this assessment are provided in Figure 19.
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Figure 19 - Counting Station It should be noted that the latest available data for these stations was captured in 2016.
7.1.3 Baseline Traffic Volumes The baseline traffic volumes for the roads within the study area are based on the AADT values obtained from the various counting stations. The values used are the average values between intersections, which have been adjusted by a grow factor relevant for the road. The adjusted AADT values used in this assessment are provided in Figure 20.
Figure 20 - Baseline AADT The traffic information on the adjacent road to the Grid Corridor can be summarised as follows: Northern and Central sections of the Grid Corridor.
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• The average two-way daily traffic on these roads is less than one-hundred vehicles per day; • Heavy vehicles on the roads providing access to the Northern and Central sections of the Grid Corridor is approximately 9 % and 11 % respectively; • The highest two-way peak traffic is on R381 (between Loxton and the intersection with DR02315) amounting to ten vehicles per hour; • The morning peak varies between 8:00 and 11:00 with a maximum number of two- way traffic in any one hour not exceeding ten; • The afternoon peak varies between 15:00 and 18:00 with a maximum number of two-way traffic in any one hour not exceeding eight; • The existing traffic on these roads is well below the design capacity. The southern section of the Grid Corridor • With the exception of the N1, the average two-way daily traffic on these roads is less than one thousand vehicles per day; • Heavy vehicles on the roads providing access to the various zones in the southern section of the Grid Corridor is on average 13 %; • The highest two-way peak traffic in this area is on N12 (TR03305) and amounting to seventy-eight vehicles per hour; • The morning peak varies between 6:00 and 11:00 with a maximum number of two- way traffic in any one hour not exceeding sixty-six, on the N12 (TR03305); • The afternoon peak varies between 15:00 and 20:00 with a maximum number of two-way traffic in any one hour not exceeding sixty-seven, on the N12 (TR03305); • The existing traffic on these roads is well below the design capacity.
7.2 CONSTRUCTION PHASE The construction phase of the Grid Connection will generate the largest increase in traffic volumes on the local road network. Construction traffic will include vehicles transporting equipment, material and personnel. Except for the transformers, no abnormal loads are envisaged. A construction period of twenty-four months is anticipated for the construction of the substations and transmission line. The construction activities and duration might vary depending on the construction schedule. The two most significant activities, that will impact on traffic volumes during the construction phase, are: • The commuter traffic, which is the commuting of personnel, to and from the site; and • The freight traffic, which is the delivery of equipment and material to the site. The simultaneous occurrence of these two activities is highly unlikely. The movement of personnel, to and from the site, are two distinct activities, one occurring at the beginning of the working-day (constituting the morning peak) and the other occurring at the end of the working-day (constituting the afternoon peak). These activities contribute to Peak Traffic. Traffic movement statistics have shown that there is a noticeable difference between morning and afternoon traffic peaks, although the same number of trips are generated during these peaks, the morning peak is more concentrated than afternoon peak, as the afternoon peak is spread over a longer
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period. Thus, for analysis purposes, the morning traffic shall be adopted for both morning and afternoon peaks to demonstrate a worst-case scenario. The delivery of equipment and materials to the site is envisaged to occur during normal working hours, throughout the day. No night deliveries are anticipated and are strongly discouraged. Given the distance from the origin of the material and components and the development, it is assumed that most deliveries will only start arriving at the site an hour or two after work on site commences and will stop an hour or two before work on site concludes for the day. These activities contribute to Diurnal Traffic. The envisaged timeframes for these activities, as adopted in this assessment, are: • Morning Peak Traffic - between 6:30 to 7:30; • Diurnal Traffic - between 7:30 to 16:30; • Afternoon Peak Traffic - between 16:30 to 17:30.
7.2.1 Peak Traffic It has been estimated that during peak construction of the Grid Connection, a total manpower complement of approximately one-hundred-and-ten personnel will be required, fifty of which will be involved with various stages of the substation construction and the other sixty will be involved with the transmission line construction. Since no accommodation is to be provided on-site, the personnel will have to be accommodated in the surrounding area and commute to site. It should be noted that these numbers are a worst-case scenario, during peak construction activities of all three substations, which includes the excavation and casting of concrete foundations, stormwater reticulation, structural steelwork, buildings, fencing, electrification, etc. The impact caused by these activities will not be for the full construction period. Based on similar projects, the anticipated breakdown of the manpower is as follows: • Senior Staff, i.e. construction managers, supervisors and other key staff, constitute 10% of the total manpower. The senior staff will reside within the community and will commute to the site in pairs, using light vehicles. It is envisaged that the senior staff will be drawn from the surrounding areas either via, Loxton (to the north of the development) or Beaufort West (to the south of the development). Based on the demographics of the area, it is envisaged that two light vehicles will be utilised to commute senior staff via Loxton and four-light vehicles will be utilised to commute senior staff from Beaufort West. • Workforce, comprise of semi-skilled and unskilled workers, will constitute 90% of the total manpower. The workforce is drawn from the local communities and will travel to the site by various size minibuses, as the situation arises. The capacity of the transport to be provided will depend on the number of people to be transported from the various destinations. It is envisaged that the workforce will be drawn from the surrounding areas via, Loxton (to the north of the development) or Beaufort West (to the south of the development). Based on the demographics of the area, the following transport requirements are envisaged: from Carnarvon (this transport will also be used by the workforce residing in Loxton) - One twelve-seater minibus (for substation construction); - One twelve-seater minibus (for transmission line construction). from Victoria West NUWEVELD GRID CONNECTION - TIA (Rev 3).docx Page 23
- One twelve-seater minibus (for substation construction); - One twelve-seater minibus (for transmission line construction). from Beaufort West - One thirty-three-seater minibus (for substation construction). - Two twenty-seater minibuses (for transmission line construction) It is assumed that all transport vehicles will remain on-site during the workday. Summary Based on the information above, a summary of the trip per road and transportation mode during the peak construction period, generated by personnel, during the morning peak is provided in Table 5. The afternoon peak will consist of the same number of trips as the morning peak. Table 5 - Construction Phase – Peak Traffic Number of trips generated by various modes of transport Total Traffic Twelve-Seater Twenty-Seater Thirty-Three-Seater Light Vehicles Volume (vph) Minibus Minibus Minibus R381 (North) 2 4 6 vph R381 (South) 4 2 1 7 vph The information provided above is an informed estimate. Construction-related traffic may however vary and be different from the information provided above, due to the availability of contractors' resources. The total number of vehicles on the roads, commuting personnel to site is expected to be in the order of thirteen. The maximum number of additional vehicles on any one section of the road, within a given hour, is not expected to exceed seven. Based on the information tabled above, the most significant increase in traffic volumes resulting from the morning and evening peak will be on the R381 (South), between the N1 and the site. It should be noted that construction of the transmission line will not be concentrated in a single location but will continuously move along the Grid Corridor as construction progresses. Thus, the construction crew might reside in more than one location as the project progresses.
7.2.2 Diurnal Traffic Substation Construction The construction phase activities at the proposed substations which will increase the traffic volumes, include the delivery of: • gravel for the construction of the roads, terraces and sub-station platforms; • raw material (i.e. cement, sand, stone) for batching of concrete; • construction material (i.e. scaffolding, formwork, reinforcing steel, brick, roof sheeting, fencing, structural steelwork, transformers, switchgear, cables, etc.). Except for the transformers, no abnormal loads are envisaged. Various types of vehicles will be used to deliver the construction equipment and materials to site. The increase in traffic volume for the construction activities of the substations is conservatively estimated to be in the order of eight return trips per day. This equates to two vehicles per hour. However, for the purpose of this report, it is assumed that ninety percent of all Freight Traffic, will be transported to site via Loxton. Which constitutes a worst-case scenario. While the remaining ten percent is
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assumed to be transported on vehicles with the gross vehicle mass of less than ten tonnes, which will use the Molteno Pass. The delivery route from the N1, to each of the substations, are as follows: • via the R63 and R381, for Nuweveld North and West Wind Farms • via the R63, R381 and DR02317, for Nuweveld East Wind Farm. Transmission Line Construction The construction phase activities of the proposed transmission line within the Grid Corridor which will increase the traffic volumes include the delivery of: • Initial mobilisation of construction plant required to excavate the foundations and mix concrete will be mobilised to site and will only leave the site when the plant is demobilised. This equipment will gradually migrate along the servitude, without impacting on the public roads. Unless the servitude crosses the public road or travelling along the servitude is no longer possible, due to rivers or mountains; • Delivery of material and equipment to laydown areas within the servitude, include inter alia: − gravel and rock for the construction/stabilisation of the roads, terraces, embankments, etc.; − raw material (i.e. cement, sand, stone) for batching of concrete required for the casting of foundations; − construction material (i.e. formwork, reinforcing steel, etc.); • Delivery of the structural steel components, either steel monopoles or standard cross-rope suspension pylons, for either the 132 kV or 400 kV transmission line respectively; • Delivery of miscellaneous items, which include i.e. conductors, insulators, etc. All equipment and material required shall be transported by standard vehicles, no abnormal loads are envisaged. Various types of vehicles will be used to deliver the construction equipment and materials to site. The increase in traffic volumes for the construction activities of the transmission line is conservatively estimated to be in the order of four return trips per day. This equates to one vehicle per hour. This is based on a worst-case scenario, the installation of the 400 kV transmission line. The steel components for the 400 kV transmission lines will be delivered to several central laydown areas along the Grid Corridor, where the tower section will be preassembled into lengths that will be transported to the tower positions. Thus, the 400 kV transmission line generates more traffic. All deliveries to the northern portion of the Grid Corridor, north of De Jager's Pass, from the N1, with a gross vehicle mass of more than ten tonnes, will be via R63, R381, DR02317 and DR02311. While the deliveries to the southern portion of the Grid Corridor, south of De Jager's Pass, will be from the road network from the N1. Only vehicles with the gross vehicle mass of less than ten tonnes shall be allowed to use the De Jager's Pass. Once construction activities within the Grid Corridor extend south of the De Jager's Pass, the traffic volumes generated due to the construction of the transmission line will no longer impact on the traffic volumes generated due to the construction of the substations or the wind farms.
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Thus, for the purpose of this report, only the worst-case scenario has been assessed, which implies the construction of the transmission line north of the De Jager's Pass. However, it has been further assumed that ninety percent of all Freight Traffic required for the Grid Connection, will be transported to site via Loxton. While the remaining ten percent is assumed to be transported on vehicles with the gross vehicle mass of less than ten tonnes, which will use the Molteno Pass. Summary Based on the information above, a summary of the trip generated per road for the various activities during the construction phase is presented in Table 6. Table 6 - Construction Phase – Diurnal Traffic Trips Generated for Construction Activities (vph) Total Traffic Road Transmission Line Transmission Line Volume per Road Substations Northern Section Southern Section (vph) R381 (North) 1.8 vph 0.9 vph 2.7 vph R381 (South) 0.2 vph 0.1 vph 0.3 vph DR02311 (North)* 1 vph 1 vph DR02311 (South)** 1 vph 1 vph DR02317 (West)+ 2 vph 1 vph 3 vph DR02317 (East)++ 1 vph 1 vph * Northern section of the DR02311 (between DR02317 and De Jager's Pass) ** Southern section of the DR02311 (between N1 and De Jager's Pass) + Western section of the DR02317 (within the boundaries of Nuweveld East Wind Farm) ++ Eastern section of the DR02317 (between the eastern boundaries of Nuweveld East Wind Farm and DR02311) The information provided above is an informed estimate. Construction-related traffic may however vary and be different from the information provided above, due to the availability of contractors' resources and schedule.
7.3 OPERATIONAL PHASE The overhead transmission line from Nuweveld Wind Farms to the Droërivier Substation, the switching stations and collector switching/substation will be operated and maintained by Eskom. It is envisaged that the overhead transmission line will be inspected biannually. The operator will use the public road to gain access to the servitude and conduct the inspection of the overhead transmission line along with the servitude, before emerging on the public road at the other end. Thus, the impact of the overhead transmission line inspection on the public road is negligible.
7.4 DECOMMISSIONING PHASE At the end of the operational phase of the transmission line, it may be decommissioned. The components will be disassembled, reused, recycled or disposed of in accordance with the relevant regulatory requirements. The decommissioning procedures will be undertaken in line with an Environmental Management Plan and the site will be rehabilitated and returned to its pre- construction state. The decommissioning phase of the development is expected to create skilled and unskilled employment opportunities. The traffic impacts on the public roads during the decommissioning phase of the site will be significantly less than the traffic impact determined during the construction phase, as many of the internal infrastructures will be retained by the landowners. As part of the decommissioning process a separate traffic impact assessment should be undertaken since many of the characteristics related to the traffic impact
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assessment, i.e. access routes, road geometry, traffic volumes, etc. would have changed over the operational life of the development. Thus, a specific decommissioning assessment has not been undertaken at this stage.
8 TRAFFIC ASSESSMENT The construction activities of the Grid Connection consist of two portions, the construction of the substations and the construction of the transmission line within the Grid Corridor. The access to the substations on Nuweveld North and West Wind Farms are from the R381 and are the same for both. While access to the substation on Nuweveld East Wind Farm is from the DR02317. Access to the various zones of the Grid Corridor is identified in Section 5.2 of this document.
8.1 CONSTRUCTION PHASE The duration of the construction phase is estimated to be in the order of twenty-four months. During the construction phase traffic will be generated through two distinct sources: • The commuting of personnel to and from the site (Peak Traffic); and • The delivery of materials and equipment to the site (Diurnal Traffic). It is envisaged that the transportation of the site personnel will result in the Peak Traffic, while the delivery of equipment and materials to site will be distributed throughout the day. The traffic volumes generated, for both Peak Traffic and Diurnal Traffic, resulting from the construction of substations and transmission lines has been addressed in Section 6. Thus, the combined expected increase in the traffic volumes on various roads, during the construction phase of the development is summarised in Table 7. Table 7 - Construction Phase – Traffic Volumes
Day (divided into three-time frames)
Diurnal Afternoon Roads Morning Peak Traffic Peak Traffic
Traffic (vph)
07:30 16:30 17:30 06:30 (vph) (vph) R381 (North) 6 vph 2.7 vph 6 vph R381 (South) 7 vph 0.3 vph 7 vph DR02311 (North)* 1 vph DR02317 (West)+ 3 vph DR02317 (East)++ 1 vph * Northern section of the DR02311 (between DR02317 and De Jager's Pass) + Western section of the DR02317 (within the boundaries of Nuweveld East Wind Farm) ++ Eastern section of the DR02317 (between the eastern boundaries of Nuweveld East Wind Farm and DR02311) Based on the information provided in the table above there are no traffic volumes that are increased by more than fifty trips per hour, thus satisfying section 2.6 of the "South African Traffic Impact and Site Traffic Assessment Manual", which reads as follows; "A Traffic Impact Assessment shall be undertaken and submitted when an application is made for a change in land use and when the highest total additional hourly vehicular trip generation (including pass-by and diverted trips) as a result of the application exceeds 50 trips per hour". Traffic volumes generated during the construction phase of the Grid Connection are in the order of:
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• Peak Traffic: Thirteen vehicles generate twenty-six trips a day on the road network. The maximum number of vehicles on the R381 (South), within a given hour, is not expected to exceed seven. • Diurnal Traffic: Approximately twenty-four trips a day are generated on the R381. The maximum number of vehicles on the R381 (North), within a given hour, is not expected to exceed three. The average daily traffic generated during the peak construction phase on the various roads expressed as an "Increased ADT", are shown in Table 8. Table 8 - Construction Phase - Traffic Assessment ADT Additional Traffic Road Increased ADT Baseline Generated& R63 81 (8+22) = 30 111 R381 (North) 56 (12+22) = 34 90 R381 (South) 83 (14+3) = 17 100 DR02311 (North)* 67 (14+8) = 22 89 DR02317 (West)+ 10 (26+24) = 50 60 DR02317 (East)++ 10 (14+8) = 22 32 * Northern section of DR02311 (between DR02317 and De Jager's Pass) + Western section of DR02317 (within the boundaries of Nuweveld East Wind Farm) ++ Eastern section of DR02317 (between the eastern boundaries of Nuweveld East Wind Farm and DR02311) &The first value represents the Peak Traffic, and the second value represents the Diurnal Traffic The largest ADT recorded in Table 5, is one-hundred-and-eleven on the R63, this equates to less than fourteen vehicles per hour, over an eight-hour period. The western section of the DR02317, the section of road that passes through the Nuweveld East Wind Farm between the intersection with the R381 and the eastern boundary of the wind farm, has the largest increase in daily traffic. Majority of which, 52% results from peak traffic. The remaining 48% constitutes an increase of three vehicles per hour. The baseline ADT for this section of the road is very low, only ten vehicles per day, which equates to approximately one vehicle per hour. The most significant traffic volumes increase on the local road network is as a result of peak traffic.
8.2 OPERATIONAL PHASE As described in section 6.3 above, the only activity that impacts the public roads involves the inspection of the overhead transmission line from Nuweveld Wind Farms to the Droërivier Substation, which will be operated and maintained by Eskom. It is envisaged that the overhead transmission line will be inspected biannually. The operator will use the public road to gain access to the servitude and conduct the inspection of the overhead transmission line along with the servitude. Thus, the impact of the overhead transmission line inspection on the public road is negligible.
8.3 DECOMMISSIONING PHASE As described in section 6.4 above, a separate traffic impact assessment should be undertaken as part of the decommissioning process, since many of the characteristics related to the traffic impact assessment, i.e. access routes, road geometry, traffic volumes, etc. would have changed over the operational life of the development. Thus, no traffic assessment for the decommissioning phase has been undertaken in this report.
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9 CUMULATIVE TRAFFIC ASSESSMENT The assessment of the cumulative increased traffic volumes on the road network within the study area during the construction, operational and decommissioning phases of this Grid Connection is addressed in the following sub-sections. The Grid Connection is a result of the development of the three proposed Nuweveld Wind Farms, which are the only known developments identified within the study area. It is unclear whether all three of the Nuweveld Wind Farms will be constructed concurrently or sequentially. As a worst-case scenario, concurrent construction of all three of the Nuweveld Wind Farms, have been adopted for evaluation. The traffic volumes generated for the construction, operational and decommissioning phases of the three Nuweveld Wind Farms have been independently calculated and are the subject of separate reports. Thus, the cumulative traffic assessment includes the traffic generated by the various phases of the three proposed Nuweveld Wind Farms and the Grid Connection.
9.1 CONSTRUCTION PHASE The cumulative traffic volumes on the affected roads within the study area, for both Peak Traffic and Diurnal Traffic, during the peak construction phase of the three Nuweveld Wind Farms and Grid Connection are provided in Table 9. Table 9 - Cumulative Constructional Phase - Traffic Volume
Day (divided into three-time frames)
Afternoon Roads Morning Peak Diurnal Traffic Peak Traffic
Traffic (vph) (vph)
07:30 16:30 17:30 06:30 (vph) R381 (North) 16 vph 21 vph 16 vph R381 (South) 32 vph 4 vph 32 vph DR02311 (North)* 7 vph 1 vph 7 vph DR02317 (West)+ 24 vph 10 vph 24 vph DR02317 (East)++ 7 vph 1 vph 7 vph * Northern section of DR02311 (between DR02317 and De Jager's Pass) + Western section of DR02317 (within the boundaries of Nuweveld East Wind Farm) ++ Eastern section of DR02317 (between the eastern boundaries of Nuweveld East Wind Farm and DR02311) Based on the information provided in the table above there are no traffic volumes that are increased by more than fifty trips an hour, thus satisfying section 2.6 of the "South African Traffic Impact and Site Traffic Assessment Manual", which reads as follows; "A Traffic Impact Assessment shall be undertaken and submitted when an application is made for a change in land use and when the highest total additional hourly vehicular trip generation (including pass-by and diverted trips) as a result of the application exceeds 50 trips per hour". The cumulative traffic volumes generated on the various roads during the construction phase is in the order of: • Peak Traffic: Forty-eight vehicles generate ninety-six trips a day. The maximum number of vehicles, within a given hour, is expected to be in the order of thirty-two on the R381 (South), sixteen on the R381 (North) and twenty-four of the DR02317; • Diurnal Traffic: Approximately one-hundred-and-ninety-two trips a day are generated on the R381, of which one-hundred-and-sixty-six are on the R381 (North) and twenty-six are on the R381 (South). The maximum number of vehicles on the R381 (North), within a given hour, is not expected to exceed twenty-one.
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The assessment of the cumulative traffic impact generated during the peak construction phase expressed as an "Increased ADT", is provided in Table 10. Table 10 - Cumulative Constructional Phase - Traffic Assessment ADT Additional Traffic Road Increased ADT Baseline Generated& R381 (North) 56 (32+166) = 198 254 R381 (South) 83 (64+26) = 90 173 DR02311 (North)* 67 (14+8) = 22 89 DR02317 (West)+ 10 (48+80) = 128 138 DR02317 (East)++ 10 (14+8) = 22 32 * Northern section of DR02311 (between DR02317 and De Jager's Pass) ** Southern section of DR02311 (between N1 and De Jager's Pass) + Western section of DR02317 (within the boundaries of Nuweveld East Wind Farm) ++ Eastern section of DR02317 (between the eastern boundaries of Nuweveld East Wind Farm and DR02311) &The first value represents the Peak Traffic, and the second value represents the Diurnal Traffic The average daily traffic on the R381 (North) is increased from fifty-six trips per day to two-hundred-and-fifty-four trips per day. To put it in perspective the baseline traffic of less than six vehicles per hour is increased to approximately twenty-five vehicles per hour, this represents a significant increase, but still does not increase the traffic threshold of fifty vehicles per hour. It should be noted that these figures, are based on a worst-case scenario of a combined manpower complement of approximately five-hundred-and-seventy.
9.2 OPERATIONAL PHASE As described in section 6.3 above, the only activity that impacts the public roads involves the inspection of the overhead transmission line from Nuweveld Wind Farms to the Droërivier Substation, which will be operated and maintained by Eskom. It is envisaged that the overhead transmission line will be inspected biannually. The operator will use the public road to gain access to the servitude and conduct the inspection of the overhead transmission line along with the servitude. The impact of the overhead transmission line inspection on the public road is negligible. Thus, no cumulative traffic assessment for the operational phase, of the Grid Connection, has been undertaken in this report.
9.3 DECOMMISSIONING PHASE As described in section 6.4 above, a separate traffic impact assessment should be undertaken as part of the decommissioning process, since many of the characteristics related to the traffic impact assessment, i.e. access routes, road geometry, traffic volumes, etc. would have changed over the operational life of the development. Thus, no cumulative traffic assessment for the decommissioning phase, of the Grid Connection, has been undertaken in this report.
10 IMPACTS ASSESSMENT The road network within the study area is limited, offering very little opportunity of selecting alternative routes. All transportation routes evaluated for the Grid Connection are existing public roads and no new public roads need to be constructed. However, remedial action on various sections of the transportation routes will be required prior to the execution of the works. Since the previous revision of this document, the grid corridor has been reduced in width and a preferred alignment has been identified. However, neither the reduced corridor width nor the preferred alignment has any effect on the identified impacts.
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Safety and road network integrity impacts for various phases of the Grid Connection have been assessed using an assessment tool provided by Aurecon South Africa (Pty) Ltd. It is important to note, that from a traffic perspective, the difference in the traffic volume generated during the construction and operational phases of the 132 kV transmission line and the 400 kV transmission line is not large enough to affect impact intensity ratings. Thus, the significance ratings of their impacts are calculated to be the same for both. However, as the traffic generated by the 400 kV transmission line is slightly more, it was used as the basis for the assessment to ensure the worst-case scenario was presented. Thus, the impacts on the road network for the construction and operational phases of both, 132 kV and 400 kV transmission lines are deemed to be the same and no distinction is drawn between the two options.
10.1 CONSTRUCTION PHASE During the construction phase of the Grid Connection, the following safety and road network integrity impacts have been assessed. Increased Road Incidents The impact due to the increased traffic volumes on the public roads which will increase the potential of incidents on the road network within the study area is provided in Table 11. Table 11 - Construction Phase - Increased Road Incidents Project phase Construction Phase Impact Increased Road Incidents Description of The increased traffic volumes on the public roads will increase the potential of incidents on the road impact network within the study area Mitigation does not exist, or mitigation will slightly reduce the significance of Mitigatability Low impacts Post relevant road signage along affected routes; Create local WhatsApp Group, notifying users of expected deliveries and propose alternative routes; Transport Management Plan, this is to be compiled once the contractor has been appointed and all the relevant details of the construction process are known. The Transport Management Plan needs to Potential address, inter alia: mitigation - clearly define route to the site for specific vehicles needed to transport equipment and materials' - schedule delivery to avoid local congestion; Ensure all vehicles are roadworthy, visible, properly marked, and operated by an appropriately licenced operator. Assessment Without mitigation With mitigation Nature Negative Negative the impact will last between 1 the impact will last between Duration Short term Short term and 5 years 1 and 5 years Extending across the site Extending across the site Extent Local Local and to nearby settlements and to nearby settlements Natural and/ or social Natural and/ or social Intensity Very high functions and/ or processes Very high functions and/ or processes are majorly altered are majorly altered There are sound scientific There are sound scientific Probability Certain / definite reasons to expect that the Certain / definite reasons to expect that the impact will definitely occur impact will definitely occur Determination is based on Determination is based on Confidence Medium common sense and general Medium common sense and general knowledge knowledge The affected environment will The affected environment not be able to recover from will not be able to recover Reversibility Low Low the impact - permanently from the impact - modified permanently modified
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The resource is irreparably The resource is irreparably Resource High damaged and is not High damaged and is not irreplaceability represented elsewhere represented elsewhere Significance Moderate - negative Moderate - negative Comment on Reversibility: Low – if the incident results in a fatality significance Resource irreplaceability: High - if incident results in a fatality Cumulative The cumulative impact on traffic volumes on the R381 (North) for Nuweveld Wind Farms, and on impacts DR03217 for Nuweveld East Wind Farm. Road Degradation The impact due to the increased traffic volumes on the public roads which will increase the potential of localised degradation of the road network within the study area is presented in Table 12. Table 12 - Construction Phase - Road Degradation Project phase Construction Phase Impact Road Degradation Description of The increased traffic volumes on the public roads will increase the potential of localised degradation of impact the road network within the study area. Mitigatability Medium Mitigation exists and will notably reduce the significance of impacts Create local WhatsApp Group and post notices of road conditions and propose alternatives. Developer to contribute to the maintenance of the public roads in the area during construction phases of the development Potential A photographic record of the road condition should be maintained throughout the various phases of the mitigation development. This provides an objective assessment and mitigates any subjective view from road users. Upgrade unpaved roads to a suitable condition for proposed construction vehicles; Ensure that the roads are left in same or better condition, post-construction. Assessment Without mitigation With mitigation Nature Negative Positive the impact will last between 1 the impact will last between Duration Short term Short term and 5 years 1 and 5 years Extending across the site Extending across the site Extent Local Local and to nearby settlements and to nearby settlements Natural and/ or social Natural and/ or social Intensity Moderate functions and/ or processes Low functions and/ or processes are moderately altered are somewhat altered Almost certain / It is most likely that the Almost certain / It is most likely that the Probability Highly probable impact will occur Highly probable impact will occur Determination is based on Determination is based on Confidence Medium common sense and general Medium common sense and general knowledge knowledge The affected environmental The affected environment Reversibility High will be able to recover from High will be able to recover from the impact the impact The resource is not Resource The resource is not damaged Low Low damaged irreparably or is irreplaceability irreparably or is not scarce not scarce Significance Minor - negative Minor - Positive Comment on Intensity: Moderate – due to risk of mechanical damage to vehicles. Low – due to the reduced risk of significance mechanical damage to vehicles. Cumulative The cumulative impact on traffic volumes on the R381 (North) for Nuweveld Wind Farms, and on impacts DR03217 for Nuweveld East Wind Farm. Dust The larger the vehicle the more dust is likely to be generated, this dust hinders the drivers wishing to over-take without a clear view for over-taking, resulting in drivers taking unnecessary chances, which could result in unfavourable consequences. The impact due to the increased traffic volumes on the unpaved public roads which will generate dust is presented in Table 13.
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Table 13 - Construction Phase - Dust Project phase Construction Phase Impact Dust The increased traffic volumes on the unpaved public roads will generate more dust. The larger the Description of vehicle the more dust is likely to be generated, this dust hinders the drivers wishing to over-take without impact a clear view for over-taking, resulting in drivers taking unnecessary chances, which could result in unfavourable consequences Mitigation does not exist, or mitigation will slightly reduce the significance of Mitigatability Low impacts Reduce travel speed on gravel road to reduce dust Potential Dust suppression of the roads mitigation Regular preventative maintenance of roads, this should be conducted over weekends to minimise the impact on the normal construction period. Assessment Without mitigation With mitigation Nature Negative Negative Short term the impact will last between 1 Short term the impact will last between 1 Duration and 5 years and 5 years Local Extending across the site Local Extending across the site and Extent and to nearby settlements to nearby settlements High Natural and/ or social High Natural and/ or social Intensity functions and/ or processes functions and/ or processes are notably altered are notably altered Almost certain / It is most likely that the Almost certain / It is most likely that the impact Probability Highly probable impact will occur Highly probable will occur Medium Determination is based on Medium Determination is based on Confidence common sense and general common sense and general knowledge knowledge Low The affected environment will Low The affected environment will not be able to recover from not be able to recover from Reversibility the impact - permanently the impact - permanently modified modified High The resource is irreparably High The resource is irreparably Resource damaged and is not damaged and is not irreplaceability represented elsewhere represented elsewhere Significance Minor - negative Minor - negative Comment on Reversibility: Low – if the incident results in a fatality significance Resource irreplaceability: High - if incident results in a fatality Cumulative The cumulative impact on traffic volumes on the R381 (North) for Nuweveld Wind Farms, and on impacts DR03217 for Nuweveld East Wind Farm. Intersection Safety The impact due to the increased traffic volumes at intersections which will increase the potential risk of accidents at the intersections, resulting in serious injuries or even fatalities, is presented in Table 14. Especially at the intersection on the main roads, when vehicles from the site needing to cross over oncoming traffic. Table 14 - Construction Phase – Intersection Safety Project phase Construction Phase Impact Intersection Safety The increased traffic volumes at intersections will increase the potential risk of accidents at the Description of intersections, resulting in serious injuries or even fatalities. Especially at the intersection on the main impact roads, when vehicles from the site needing to cross over oncoming traffic. Mitigatability Medium Mitigation exists and will notably reduce the significance of impacts Compile TMP Reduce speed at intersections and use appropriate traffic warning signs Identify alternative routes where possible Potential mitigation Request the assistance of local law enforcement Ensure that all construction vehicles are roadworthy Ensure all vehicles are roadworthy, visible, properly marked, and operated by an appropriately licenced operator. Assessment Without mitigation With mitigation Nature Negative Negative
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the impact will last between 1 the impact will last between 1 Duration Short term Short term and 5 years and 5 years Very limited Limited to specific isolated Very limited Limited to specific isolated Extent parts of the site parts of the site High Natural and/ or social High Natural and/ or social Intensity functions and/ or processes functions and/ or processes are notably altered are notably altered Almost certain / It is most likely that the Almost certain / It is most likely that the impact Probability Highly probable impact will occur Highly probable will occur Medium Determination is based on Medium Determination is based on Confidence common sense and general common sense and general knowledge knowledge Low The affected environment will Low The affected environment will not be able to recover from not be able to recover from Reversibility the impact - permanently the impact - permanently modified modified High The resource is irreparably High The resource is irreparably Resource damaged and is not damaged and is not irreplaceability represented elsewhere represented elsewhere Significance Minor - negative Minor - negative Comment on Reversibility: Low – if the incident results in a fatality significance Resource irreplaceability: High - if incident results in a fatality Cumulative Cumulative impacts for major intersections impacts Stringing Transmission Lines Across a Road The impact generated by stringing the overhead transmission lines across public roads, which result in a temporary delay of traffic, is presented in Table 15. This is applicable to both the 132 kV and 400 kV transmission lines. Table 15 - Construction Phase - Stringing Transmission Lines Across a Road Project phase Construction Phase Impact Stringing Transmission Lines Across a Road Description of During the stringing of overhead transmission lines across public roads, the traffic will be temporarily impact delayed. This is applicable to both the 132 kV and 400 kV transmission lines. Mitigation does not exist, or mitigation will slightly reduce the significance of Mitigatability Low impacts Potential Construct temporary structure on either side of the road to support the transmission lines over the mitigation public road thus mitigate road closure Assessment Without mitigation With mitigation Nature Negative Negative The impact will self-remedy The impact will not last longer Duration Immediate Brief immediately than 1 year Limited to specific isolated Limited to specific isolated Extent Very limited Very limited parts of the site parts of the site Natural and/ or social Natural and/ or social Intensity Very low functions and/ or processes Very low functions and/ or processes are slightly altered are slightly altered There are sound scientific There are sound scientific Probability Certain / definite reasons to expect that the Certain / definite reasons to expect that the impact will definitely occur impact will definitely occur Substantive supportive data Substantive supportive data Confidence High exists to verify the High exists to verify the assessment assessment The affected environmental The affected environmental Reversibility High will be able to recover from High will be able to recover from the impact the impact Resource The resource is not damaged The resource is not damaged Low Low irreplaceability irreparably or is not scarce irreparably or is not scarce Significance Negligible - negative Negligible - negative Comment on Will occur whenever the overhead transmission line crosses a public road. All work to be done in significance accordance with the local authorities' requirements.
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Cumulative No cumulative impact is envisaged. impacts
10.2 OPERATIONAL PHASE The overhead transmission line from Nuweveld Wind Farms to the Droërivier Substation will be operated and maintained by Eskom. It is envisaged that the overhead transmission line will be inspected biannually. The operator will use the public road to gain access to the servitude and conduct the inspection of the overhead transmission line along with the servitude. Thus, the impact of the overhead transmission line inspection of the public road is negligible, is presented in Table 16. Table 16 - Operational Phase - Inspection of Overhead Transmission Lines Project phase Operational Phase Impact Inspection of the overhead transmission lines Description of The operator will use the public road to gain access to the servitude and conduct the inspection of the impact overhead transmission line along with the servitude. Mitigatability NA Potential mitigation Assessment Without mitigation With mitigation Nature Negative The impact will self-remedy Duration Immediate immediately Limited to specific isolated Extent Very limited parts of the site Natural and/ or social Intensity Negligible functions and/ or processes are negligibly altered There are sound scientific Probability Certain / definite reasons to expect that the impact will definitely occur Substantive supportive data Confidence High exists to verify the assessment The affected environment will Reversibility High be able to recover from the impact Resource The resource is not damaged Low irreplaceability irreparably or is not scarce Significance Negligible - negative Comment on This activity generates a negligible impact on the public road network, one vehicle every six months. significance Cumulative No cumulative impact is envisaged. impacts
10.3 DECOMMISSIONING PHASE As part of the decommissioning process a separate traffic impact assessment should be undertaken since many of the characteristics related to the traffic impact assessment, i.e. access routes, road geometry, traffic volumes, etc. would have changed over the operational life of the development. Thus, the impact assessment for the decommissioning phase has not been provided.
10.4 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS The Grid Connection is a result of the development of the three proposed Nuweveld Wind Farms, which are the only known developments identified within the study area. The cumulative impacts on the road network, as a result of the three proposed Nuweveld Wind Farms, are provided below.
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Increased Road Incidents The cumulative impact due to the increased traffic volumes on the public roads which will increase the potential of incidents on the road network within the study area is presented in Table 17. Table 17 - Cumulative Impact - Increased Road Incidents Project phase Construction Phase Impact Increased Road Incidents Description of The increased traffic volumes on the public roads will increase the potential of incidents on the road impact network within the study area Mitigation does not exist, or mitigation will slightly reduce the significance of Mitigatability Low impacts Post relevant road signage along affected routes; Create local WhatsApp Group, notifying users of expected deliveries and propose alternative routes; Transport Management Plan, this is to be compiled once the contractor has been appointed and all the relevant details of the construction process are known. The Transport Management Plan needs to Potential address, inter alia: mitigation - clearly define route to the site for specific vehicles needed to transport equipment and materials' - schedule delivery to avoid local congestion; Ensure all vehicles are roadworthy, visible, properly marked, and operated by an appropriately licenced operator. Assessment Without mitigation With mitigation Nature Negative Negative the impact will last between 1 the impact will last between Duration Short term Short term and 5 years 1 and 5 years Extending across the site Extending across the site Extent Local Local and to nearby settlements and to nearby settlements Natural and/ or social Natural and/ or social Intensity Very high functions and/ or processes Very high functions and/ or processes are majorly altered are majorly altered There are sound scientific There are sound scientific Probability Certain / definite reasons to expect that the Certain / definite reasons to expect that the impact will definitely occur impact will definitely occur Determination is based on Determination is based on Confidence Medium common sense and general Medium common sense and general knowledge knowledge The affected environment will The affected environment not be able to recover from will not be able to recover Reversibility Low Low the impact - permanently from the impact - modified permanently modified The resource is irreparably The resource is irreparably Resource High damaged and is not High damaged and is not irreplaceability represented elsewhere represented elsewhere Significance Moderate - negative Moderate - negative Comment on Reversibility: Low – if the incident results in a fatality significance Resource irreplaceability: High - if incident results in a fatality Cumulative The cumulative impact on traffic volumes on the R381 (North) for Nuweveld Wind Farms, and on impacts DR03217 for Nuweveld East Wind Farm. Road Degradation The cumulative impact due to the increased traffic volumes on the public roads which will increase the potential of localised degradation of the road network within the study area, is presented in Table 18. Table 18 - Cumulative Impact – Road Degradation Project phase Construction Phase Impact Road Degradation Description of The increased traffic volumes on the public roads will increase the potential of localised degradation of impact the road network within the study area. Mitigatability Medium Mitigation exists and will notably reduce the significance of impacts Potential Create local WhatsApp Group and post notices of road conditions and propose alternatives. mitigation
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Developer to contribute to the maintenance of the public roads in the area during construction phases of the development A photographic record of the road condition should be maintained throughout the various phases of the development. This provides an objective assessment and mitigates any subjective view from road users. Upgrade unpaved roads to a suitable condition for proposed construction vehicles; Ensure that the roads are left in same or better condition, post-construction. Assessment Without mitigation With mitigation Nature Negative Positive the impact will last between 1 the impact will last between Duration Short term Short term and 5 years 1 and 5 years Extending across the site Extending across the site Extent Local Local and to nearby settlements and to nearby settlements Natural and/ or social Natural and/ or social Intensity Moderate functions and/ or processes Low functions and/ or processes are moderately altered are somewhat altered Almost certain / It is most likely that the Almost certain / It is most likely that the Probability Highly probable impact will occur Highly probable impact will occur Determination is based on Determination is based on Confidence Medium common sense and general Medium common sense and general knowledge knowledge The affected environmental The affected environment Reversibility High will be able to recover from High will be able to recover from the impact the impact The resource is not Resource The resource is not damaged Low Low damaged irreparably or is irreplaceability irreparably or is not scarce not scarce Significance Minor - negative Minor - Positive Comment on Intensity: Moderate – due to risk of mechanical damage to vehicles. Low – due to the reduced risk of significance mechanical damage to vehicles. Cumulative The cumulative impact on traffic volumes on the R381 (North) for Nuweveld Wind Farms, and on impacts DR03217 for Nuweveld East Wind Farm. Dust The cumulative impact due to the increased traffic volumes on the unpaved public roads which generate dust is presented in Table 19. The larger the vehicle the more dust is likely to be generated, this dust hinders the drivers wishing to over-take without a clear view for over-taking, resulting in drivers taking unnecessary chances, which could result in unfavourable consequences. Table 19 - Cumulative Impact - Dust Project phase Construction Phase Impact Dust The increased traffic volumes on the unpaved public roads will generate dust. The larger the vehicle Description of the more dust is likely to be generated, this dust hinders the drivers wishing to over-take without a clear impact view for over-taking, resulting in drivers taking unnecessary chances, which could result in unfavourable consequences Mitigation does not exist, or mitigation will slightly reduce the significance of Mitigatability Low impacts Reduce travel speed on gravel road to reduce dust Potential Dust suppression of the roads mitigation Regular preventative maintenance of roads, this should be conducted over weekends to minimises the impact on the normal construction period. Assessment Without mitigation With mitigation Nature Negative Negative Short term the impact will last between 1 Short term the impact will last between 1 Duration and 5 years and 5 years Local Extending across the site Local Extending across the site and Extent and to nearby settlements to nearby settlements High Natural and/ or social High Natural and/ or social Intensity functions and/ or processes functions and/ or processes are notably altered are notably altered
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Almost certain / It is most likely that the Almost certain / It is most likely that the impact Probability Highly probable impact will occur Highly probable will occur Medium Determination is based on Medium Determination is based on Confidence common sense and general common sense and general knowledge knowledge Low The affected environment will Low The affected environment will not be able to recover from not be able to recover from Reversibility the impact - permanently the impact - permanently modified modified High The resource is irreparably High The resource is irreparably Resource damaged and is not damaged and is not irreplaceability represented elsewhere represented elsewhere Significance Minor - negative Minor - negative Comment on Reversibility: Low – if the incident results in a fatality significance Resource irreplaceability: High - if incident results in a fatality Cumulative The cumulative impact on traffic volumes on the R381 (North) for Nuweveld Wind Farms, and on impacts DR03217 for Nuweveld East Wind Farm. Intersection Safety The cumulative impact due to the increased traffic volumes at intersections which will increase the potential risk of accidents at the intersections, resulting in serious injuries or even fatalities, is presented in Table 20. Especially at the intersection on the main roads, when vehicles from the site need to cross over oncoming traffic. Table 20 - Cumulative Impact – Intersection Safety Project phase Construction Phase Impact Intersection Safety The increased traffic volumes at intersections will increased the potential risk of accidents at the Description of intersections, resulting in serious injuries or even fatalities. Especially at the intersection on the main impact roads, when vehicles from the site need to cross over oncoming traffic. Mitigatability Medium Mitigation exists and will notably reduce the significance of impacts Compile TMP Reduce speed at intersections and use appropriate traffic warning signs Identify alternative routes where possible Potential mitigation Request the assistance of local law enforcement Ensure that all construction vehicles are roadworthy Ensure all vehicles are roadworthy, visible, properly marked, and operated by an appropriately licenced operator. Assessment Without mitigation With mitigation Nature Negative Negative the impact will last between 1 the impact will last between 1 Duration Short term Short term and 5 years and 5 years Very limited Limited to specific isolated Very limited Limited to specific isolated Extent parts of the site parts of the site High Natural and/ or social High Natural and/ or social Intensity functions and/ or processes functions and/ or processes are notably altered are notably altered Almost certain / It is most likely that the Almost certain / It is most likely that the impact Probability Highly probable impact will occur Highly probable will occur Medium Determination is based on Medium Determination is based on Confidence common sense and general common sense and general knowledge knowledge Low The affected environment will Low The affected environment will not be able to recover from not be able to recover from Reversibility the impact - permanently the impact - permanently modified modified High The resource is irreparably High The resource is irreparably Resource damaged and is not damaged and is not irreplaceability represented elsewhere represented elsewhere Significance Minor - negative Minor - negative Comment on Reversibility: Low – if the incident results in a fatality significance Resource irreplaceability: High - if incident results in a fatality
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Cumulative Cumulative impacts for major intersections impacts
10.5 NO-GO ALTERNATIVE If the proposed development does not materialise the increase in the traffic volume will not transpire, resulting in the following impacts: Road Degradation Less traffic on the roads means that the rate of degradation to the roads will be less. However, and the maintenance of the roads will not be augmented by the proposed development. Improved maintenance of the roads will improve the quality of life to the road users and increase the economic opportunities in the area. Road Safety Less traffic on the roads means less probability of an incident, reducing the likelihood of a fatality. Statement The negative impacts on the road network due to the development is counteracted by the improved road maintenance and economic prospects the development will bring to the local community, and the impact the development has on a national scale.
10.6 IMPACT SUMMARY The impacts listed above are summarised in Table 18. Table 21 - Impact Summary
11 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Red Cap Energy (Pty) Ltd is proposing to develop three wind farms and associated infrastructure, north of Beaufort West within the Central Karoo District Municipality of the Western Cape. The associated infrastructure includes the Grid Connection, which consists of substations and transmission lines.
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This report represents the traffic impact assessment for the Nuweveld Grid Connection.
11.1 CONCLUSION Based on the information provided in this document, the following conclusions can be drawn: Assessment Assumptions • A twenty-four-month construction phase is expected; • Traffic generated during the peak construction phase will not extend over the full twenty-four months; • The construction of either a 132 kV (150 m × 150 m), or a 400 kV (200 m × 300 m) collector switching/substation, the preferred option still to be finalised; • The construction of 120 km of an overhead transmission line, either 132 kV or 400 kV, the preferred option still to be finalised; • The servitude for the transmission line is still to be finalised and registered; • The design of the transmission line is still to be finalised; • The construction manpower complement of one-hundred-and-ten people has been assumed for the construction of the Grid Connection. It is assumed that approximately fifty people will be employed on the construction of the substations, while the other sixty will be employed on the construction of the transmission lines; • Cumulative impact during the construction phase, worst-case scenario, includes simultaneous construction of the three Nuweveld Wind Farms and Grid Connection, which is anticipated to employ a manpower complement of approximately five-hundred-and-seventy people; • Cumulative impact during the operational phase includes simultaneous operation of the three Nuweveld Wind Farms and Grid Connection; • It is not possible to determine the volume of traffic that will be generated during the decommissioning phase. It can, however, be expected that the volumes will be lower than during the construction phase. As part of the decommissioning process a separate traffic impact assessment should be undertaken, since many of the characteristics related to the traffic impact assessment, i.e. access routes, road geometry, traffic volumes etc., would have changed over the operational life of the development; Road Conditions • The R381 (North), between Loxton and the development, is relatively flat with minor inclination. The road surface is very stony with lots of loose gravel that can damage the vehicle's tyres. The condition of this road is expected to further deteriorate due to the envisaged traffic volumes and nominal maintenance of the road. Thus, the developer would have to assist local roads authorities with regular maintenance of this road; • The gravel section of the R381, between Beaufort West and the development, traverses Nuweveld Mountains through a trio of passes, which are extremely treacherous, with very few barriers, steep drop-offs, very tight corners, negative banking and loose gravel. The developer, in consultation with the local roads' authorities, shall undertake remedial action required to improve the integrity and safety of this route that is to be used to commute personnel to and from the site on
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a daily basis. This upgrade would need to be implemented prior to or during site establishment but before major earthworks commence on the wind farm site; • The horizontal alignment of the DR02317 is unacceptable for the movement of heavy vehicles and needs to be addressed. This upgrade would need to be implemented prior to or during site establishment but before major earthworks commence on the wind farm site; • It is proposed that the majority of the deliveries to site, will be transported via the R63 onto the R381 (North), and all vehicles delivering equipment and material to the site using the R381 (South) shall be limited to a gross vehicle mass not exceeding ten tonnes; • All vehicles delivering equipment and material to the Grid Corridor using the De Jager's Pass shall be limited to a gross vehicle mass not exceeding ten tonnes; • The developer, in consultation with the local roads' authorities, would need to investigate the possibility of upgrading the intersection between the R63 and R381, to accommodate the expected transportation requirements. This upgrade would need to be implemented in order to facilitate the delivery of abnormal loads to the site; • To minimise the impact on urban communities along the transportation routes, the developer must, in consultation with the local roads' authorities, investigate the upgrading requirements of existing road network; • The expected traffic increase on the road network during the peak construction phase will lead to greater wear and tear of the roads but will not have an undue detrimental impact on the structure of the roads, if the roads are properly maintained. The developer shall contribute towards the maintenance of the public road network affected by the development as identified by the local roads' authorities. It is proposed that the developer contribute to the maintenance of the road network during the construction period and during the operational phase, commencing the year after successfully achieving Commercial Operation; • Additional ongoing funding from the wind farms towards the maintenance of the roads will have a positive impact on the local road conditions and community; Transportation Route • The development is accessed from well-established transportation routes between large commercial centres within South Africa; • The final route selection is subject to the limitations specified in the transport permits and the transportation vehicles to be used by the appointed logistics company; • All new and existing intersection and road alignments that require upgrading to accommodate the transportation requirements of equipment and material, are to comply with geometric standards and approved by the relevant road's authorities; • All equipment and material transported, to the Grid Corridor north of De Jager's Pass, on vehicles with a gross vehicle mass exceeding ten tonnes, shall be via the R381 (North); • All equipment and material transported, to the Grid Corridor south of De Jager's Pass, on vehicles with a gross vehicle mass exceeding ten tonnes, from the N1 shall be via the DR02311;
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• All vehicles transporting equipment and material, to the Grid Corridor using either the Molteno Pass or the De Jager's Pass, shall be limited to a gross vehicle mass of not exceeding ten tonnes; • Any constraints along the proposed transportation routes will have to be resolved once the final route has been identified; • No anomalies associated with the proposed transportation routes were observed or identified that will compromise the development. However, this will have to be confirmed by the appointed logistics contractor; Traffic Volumes • The most significant impact on traffic volumes is as a result of commuting personnel to and from the site, in the morning and in the afternoon, during peak traffic; • At no point during the construction or operational phases does the traffic volume on the various roads exceed fifty trips per hour, which is the threshold for a detailed Traffic Impact Assessment; • The traffic volume generated during the peak construction phase of the Grid Connection is in the order of: - Peak Traffic: Thirteen vehicles generate twenty-six trips a day on the road network. The maximum number of vehicles on the R381 (South), within a given hour, is not expected to exceed seven; - Diurnal Traffic: Approximately twenty-four trips a day are generated on the R381, the majority of which are on the R381 (North). The maximum number of vehicles on this section of the road, within a given hour, is not expected to exceed three. • The cumulative traffic volume generated, during the peak construction phase of all three Nuweveld Wind Farms and the Nuweveld Grid Connection, is in the order of: - Peak Traffic: Forty-eight vehicles generate ninety-six trips a day. The maximum number of vehicles within a given hour, is expected to be in the order of thirty- two on the R381 (South), sixteen on the R381 (North) and twenty-four on the DR2317; - Diurnal Traffic: Approximately one-hundred-and-ninety-two trips a day are generated on the R381, of which one-hundred-and-sixty-six are on the R381 (North) and twenty-six are on the R381 (South). The maximum number of vehicles on the R381 (North), within a given hour, is not expected to exceed twenty-one. Safety • The winding road through the Molteno and De Jager's Passes are serious safety concerns that needs to be addressed by the developer in consultation with the local road’s authority; • This is an agriculture area, home to many species of small fauna. Stray on/crossing the road, is a common occurrence which could result in a collision; • Excessive fine and loose material was observed along the road creating visibility concerns in dry weather and slippery conditions in wet weather; • Pedestrians on the roads, specifically in Loxton and where the roads pass through a farming homesteads, are a serious safety concern; • Additional vehicles on the road network increase the potential risk of accidents.
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11.2 RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the conclusions of this report, the following recommendations are made and should be included in the conditions of the environmental authorisation: • All remedial work or modifications to any of the public roads shall be done in consultation with and have the approval of the local road’s authority (as is standard practice this will be finalised during and be a requirement of the municipal planning approval process); • The treacherous southern section of the gravel road, between Beaufort West and site, R381, is to be upgraded by the developer, to improve the safety of the road for all road users, including the personnel commuting to and from the site on a daily basis. This upgrade would need to be implemented prior to or during site establishment but before major earthworks commence on the wind farm site; • The intersection between the R63 and R381 is to be upgraded by the developer to accommodate the expected transportation requirements. This upgrade would need to be implemented in order to facilitate the delivery of abnormal loads to the site; • The developer shall contribute to the maintenance of the road network, affected by the development, during the construction and operational phases of the development; • A Traffic Management Plan is required. The TMP is to be compiled once the contractor has been appointed and all the relevant details of the construction processes are known. The TMP needs to address: - outline specific traffic management measures across all phases of the development; - include measures to minimise impacts on existing road users; - define the repair and maintenance strategy to be adopted during the various phases of the development; - schedule deliveries by heavy vehicles to avoid the formation of convoys. Sufficient distance must be maintained between heavy vehicles to allow light vehicles to overtake safely. • The developer shall implement the necessary steps to protect the pedestrians on the roads, specifically in Loxton and where the roads pass through farming homesteads, as these are a serious safety concern; • The TMP should consider the scope of the development and take cognisance of the existing condition of the road network at the time the project commences; • The developer shall ensure that the contractor provides the necessary driver training to key personnel, to minimise the potential of incidents on the public road network; • Temporary signs warning motorists of construction vehicles should be erected on the approaches to the access roads; • The developer shall ensure that the condition of the roads impacted by construction of the development is left in a similar or better state once the construction phase is complete; • The implementation of the relevant transport impact mitigations measures. Which includes inter alia;
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- Provide regular information to the local community and individuals on the volumes of traffic particularly heavy vehicles, anticipated on the road during construction and operation phases. Taking the above findings into consideration it can be concluded that the construction of the Nuweveld Grid Connection will have a notable increase in traffic volumes on the road network during the construction phase of this development. However, this report has assessed the impact of this additional traffic on the surrounding road network and found that the existing road network is currently operating at well below its capacity and provides an adequate level of service, although the road network is not well maintained due to budgetary constraints within various spheres of government. The increase in traffic volumes will lead to greater wear and tear, especially during construction, but will not have an undue detrimental impact on the road network within the study area if the mitigation measures are undertaken. It is the reasoned opinion of the author, from a traffic and transportation perspective, that the current preferred Nuweveld grid alignment using either a 132kV or 400kV line, together with the collector switching station or collector substation and switching stations do not present a potential fatal flaw. Should the line routing change, the specialist would need to reconsider the alignment during micro siting but would generally be comfortable with a change, as long as it remains within the corridor assessed and it avoids the no-go areas identified, as required.
12 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Declaration Appendix 2: NEMA Requirements for Specialist Reports Appendix 3: Curriculum Vitae
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APPENDIX 1 - DECLARATION I, Athol Carl Schwarz, as the appointed specialist hereby declare/affirm the correctness of the information provided or to be provided as part of the application, and that I:
• in terms of the general requirement to be independent: o other than fair remuneration for work performed/to be performed in terms of this application, have no business, financial, personal or other interest in the activity or application and that there are no circumstances that may compromise my objectivity; or o am not independent, but another specialist that meets the general requirements set out in Regulation 13 has been appointed to review my work (Note: a declaration by the review specialist must be submitted); • in terms of the remainder of the general requirements for a specialist, am fully aware of and meet all of the requirements and that failure to comply with any the requirements may result in disqualification; • have disclosed/will disclose, to the applicant, the Department and interested and affected parties, all material information that has or may have the potential to influence the decision of the Department or the objectivity of any report, plan or document prepared or to be prepared as part of the application; • have ensured/will ensure that information containing all relevant facts in respect of the application was/will be distributed or was/will be made available to interested and affected parties and the public and that participation by interested and affected parties was/will be facilitated in such a manner that all interested and affected parties were/will be provided with a reasonable opportunity to participate and to provide comments; • have ensured/will ensure that the comments of all interested and affected parties were/will be considered, recorded and submitted to the Department in respect of the application; • have ensured/will ensure the inclusion of inputs and recommendations from the specialist reports in respect of the application, where relevant; • have kept/will keep a register of all interested and affected parties that participate/d in the public participation process; and • am aware that a false declaration is an offence in terms of regulation 48 of the 2014 NEMA EIA Regulations.
Signature of the specialist:
Athol Schwarz Name:
14th April 2021 Date:
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APPENDIX 2 - NEMA REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIALIST REPORTS
Specialist Report content as required by the NEMA 2014 EIA Appendix 6 Section Regulations, as amended (i) the specialist who prepared the report; and 1 (1)(a) (ii) the expertise of that specialist to compile a specialist report including a Appendix 3 curriculum vitae; a declaration that the specialist is independent in a form as may be (b) Appendix 1 specified by the competent authority; an indication of the scope of, and the purpose for which, the report was (c) Section 3.2 prepared; an indication of the quality and age of the base data used for the (cA) Section 7.1.2 specialist report; a description of existing impacts on the site, cumulative impacts of the (cB) Section 8 & 9 development and levels of acceptable change; the duration, date and season of the site investigation and the relevance (d) of the season to the outcome of the assessment; a description of the methodology adopted in preparing the report or (e) carrying out the specialised process, inclusive of equipment and Section 5.4 modelling used; details of an assessment of the specific identified sensitivity of the site (f) related to the proposed activity or activities and its associated structures Section 6.1 and infrastructure, inclusive of a site plan identifying site alternatives; (g) an identification of any areas to be avoided, including buffers; NA a map superimposing the activity including the associated structures and (h) infrastructure on the environmental sensitivities of the site including areas NA to be avoided, including buffers; a description of any assumptions made and any uncertainties or gaps in (i) Section 5.5 knowledge; a description of the findings and potential implications of such findings on (j) Section 10 the impact of the proposed activity, or activities; (k) any mitigation measures for inclusion in the EMPr; Section 11.2 (l) any conditions for inclusion in the environmental authorisation; Section 11.2 any monitoring requirements for inclusion in the EMPr or environmental (m) NA authorisation; a reasoned opinion- (i) whether the proposed activity or portions thereof should be authorised; and (n) (iA) regarding the acceptability of the proposed activity or activities; and Section 11.2 (ii) if the opinion is that the proposed activity or portions thereof should be authorised, any avoidance, management and mitigation measures that should be included in the EMPr, and where applicable, the closure plan; a description of any consultation process that was undertaken during the (o) NA course of preparing the specialist report; a summary and copies of any comments received during any consultation (p) NA process and where applicable all responses thereto; and (q) any other information requested by the competent authority. NA Where a government notice gazetted by the Minister provides for any 2 protocol or minimum information requirement to be applied to a specialist N/A report, the requirements as indicated in such notice will apply.
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APPENDIX 3 - CURRICULUM VITAE
ATHOL SCHWARZ Pr Tech Eng Independent Author
Athol, is a Professionally Registered Civil Engineering Technologist with more than 35 years of experience, specialising in Civil and Structural Engineering services for renewable energy facilities and infrastructure. These services range from the concept phase all the way through to project close-out, including inter alia: design, contract and construction management phases. Since 2010, Athol was employed by Hatch, as a Civil Engineering Author working on numerous infrastructure and renewable energy projects (including wind farms, fixed and rotating PV solar plants, CPV solar plants) for various Independent Power Producers (IPP) / Developers. Athol has experience in traffic impact assessments, transportation route analysis, infrastructure development and design, construction and project management (NEC), with a keen eye for detail. SPECIFIC RELEVANT EXPERIENCE EDUCATION • Red Cap Energy (Pty) Ltd - Impofu Wind Farms consisting of Impofu North Master’s Diploma in Wind Farm, Impofu West Wind Farm and Impofu East Wind Farm Technology – Civil: • juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd – Paulputs Traffic Impact Assessment Structures (1989) • CPV1 Solar - Touwsriver Solar, Western Cape, 36 MW Concentrated Photovoltaic Plant (1500 trackers), supervised civil infrastructure activities National Higher Diploma • juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd - Moorreesberg Wind Energy Facility, (1987) Moorreesberg, Western Cape, consisting of 25 wind Turbine Generators - National Diploma (1986) feasibility study for the routing of the access roads. • juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd - Garob Wind Farm, Copperton, Northern LANGUAGES Cape, consists of 46 Acciona 3.0 MW Wind Turbine Generators - conducted a • English hydrological study to determine the potential impact of the flood levels on the • Afrikaans development, • French (limited) • juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd - Wolf Wind Farm, Kleinpoort, Eastern PROF AFFILIATIONS Cape, consisting of 28 Wind Turbine Generators - identify the most viable access point onto the property and internal access road. • ECSA - Professional • Scatec Solar AS (Norway) - Dreunberg Filter Yard (Capacitor bank), 75 MW Engineering Single-axis PV plant – Burgersdorp, Eastern Cape – Quality control of civil Technologist, activities. • SAICE - South African • Scatec Solar AS (Norway) - Linde Filter Yard (Capacitor bank), 36.8 MW Institution of Civil Single-axis PV plant – Hanover, Northern Cape – Quality control of civil Engineering - Member activities. COMPETENCES • Scatec Solar AS (Norway) - Kalkbult Filter Yard (Capacitor bank),75 MW Single-axis PV plant – De Aar, Northern Cape – Quality control of civil • Structural Design activities. (concrete and steel), • juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd - Keiskammahoek Wind Farm, King • Project and William's Town, Eastern Cape, consisting of 16 Wind Turbine Generators - Construction feasibility study to minimise the impact on the commercial plantation due to Management the development of Keiskammahoek Wind Farm SOFTWARE • South Africa Mainstream Renewable Power De Aar PV (Pty) Ltd - 50 MW PV Plan – De Aar, Northern Cape – clients engineer • MS Office • South Africa Mainstream Renewable Power Droogfontein PV (Pty) Ltd - • MS Projects 50 MW PV Plan - Kimberly, Northern Cape – clients engineer • Micro Station and • juwi Solar ZA Construction 3 (Pty) Ltd - Aries, 9.7 MW PV Plant - Kenhardt, Autocad Northern Cape - civil author services and Traffic Impact Assessment • Prokon • juwi Solar ZA Construction 3 (Pty) Ltd - Konkoonsies, 9.7 MW PV Plan – • Model Maker Pofadder, Northern Cape - civil author services and Traffic Impact Assessment • juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd - Namies Wind Energy Facility, near Aggeneys, Northern Cape, consist of between 46 and 58 wind turbine generators - transportation route assessment
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ATHOL SCHWARZ Pr Tech Eng Independent Author • juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd - Outeniqua Wind Farm (North), Uniondale, Western Cape - transportation route assessment • juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd - Wolf Wind Farm, Kleinpoort, Eastern Cape consisting of 25 Wind Turbine Generators - feasibility study for the access routes • juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd - Outeniqua Wind Farm (South), Uniondale, Western Cape, 16 Wind Turbine Generators - feasibility study for the access routes • UMOYA ENERGY (Pty) Ltd - Hopefield Wind Farm, approximately 6 km south-east of the town of Hopefield, Western Cape, consisting of 37, Vestas 1.8 MW WTG – ACS HV Yard and Substation. • South Africa Mainstream Renewable Power Jeffreys Bay (Pty) Ltd - Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm, Humansdorp, Eastern Cape, consists of 60 Siemens 2.3 MW WTG - review the foundation design for the wind towers - review the designs for compliance to the national standards. • juwi Solar ZA Construction 3 (Pty) Ltd - RustMo1, 6.8 MW PV Plant – Rustenburg, North-West - author services regarding access and internal gravel roads • Barrick Africa (Pty) Ltd - Buzwagi Gold Mine in Tanzania – a feasibility study. • juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd - Garob Wind Farm, Copperton, Northern Cape, consists of 46 Acciona 3.0 MW Wind Turbine Generators - transportation management plan. • Slim Sun Swartland Solar Park - SlimSun Solar - 5 MW PV Plant – Malmesbury, Western Cape – ACS for HV Yard and Substation. • Cennergi (Pty) Ltd - Kopleegte Switching Station at Amakhala Emoyen Phase 1, Bedford, Eastern Cape, consisting of 56 Nordex, 2,4 MW Wind Turbines Generators- ACS for HV Yard and Substation. • EXXARO Resources Ltd And Watt Energy (Pty) Ltd - Wittekleibosch Switching Station at Tsitsikamma Community Wind Farm, Tsitsikamma, Eastern Cape, consists of 31 Vestas 3.0 MW WTG - ACS for HV Yard and Substation. • Windlab Developments South Africa (Pty) Ltd - AMAKALA EMOYENI – Phase 2, Bedford, Eastern Cape, consisting of 66 WTG - feasibility study for access and internal road network • Windlab Developments South Africa (Pty) Ltd – Phase 1, Bedford, Eastern Cape, consisting of 56 Nordex, 2,4 MW Wind Turbines Generators - feasibility study for access and internal road network • IBEDRROLA - Klip Heuwel Switching Station at Caledon Wind Farm, Caledon, Western Cape, consisting of 9, Sinovel 3.0 MW Wind Turbines Generators – ACS for HV Yard and Substation. • EXXARO Resources Ltd - Lephalale 60 MW PV Plant, 13 km north-west of the town of Lephalale, Limpopo - ACS for HV Yard and Substation. • SASOL Technology - 3.6 MW PV Demonstration Plant – civil author services • Solafrica Pty (Ltd) - Bokpoort CSP Project, a 50 MW Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Station (CSP – parabolic trough) located approximately 80 km east-south-east of Upington, Northern Cape - prepared enquiry documentation for the geotechnical investigation and topographic survey
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