PROJECT DETAIL DEA Reference No. : 14/12/16/3/3/2/835 Project Title : Proposed Grootpoort Photovoltaic Solar Energy Facility near Luckhoff, Free State Province Authors : Mrs. Carli Otte Ms. Marelie Griesel Client : Pele Green Energy (Pty) Ltd. Report Status : Amended Draft Environmental Impact Report Submission date : 25 April 2016 When used as a reference this report should be cited as: Environamics (2016) Draft EIR Report: Proposed Grootpoort Photovoltaic Solar facility and associated infrastructure near Luckhoff, Free State Province. COPYRIGHT RESERVED This technical report has been produced for Pele Green Energy (Pty) Ltd. The intellectual property contained in this report remains vested in Environamics and Pele Green Energy (Pty) Ltd. No part of the report may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from Environamics or Pele Green Energy (Pty) Ltd. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS PROJECT DETAIL .......................................................................................................................... 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................... 2 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................ 5 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................... 6 PLATES ........................................................................................................................................... 6 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................. 7 GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS .................................................................................... 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................. 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... 10 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 13 1.1 LEGAL MANDATE AND PURPOSE OF THE REPORT ................................................... 13 1.2 DETAILS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PRACTITIONER (EAP) .............. 16 1.3 DETAILS OF SPECIALISTS .............................................................................................. 16 Table 1.2: Details of specialists ................................................................................................. 16 1.4 STATUS OF THE EIA PROCESS ..................................................................................... 17 1.5 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT ...................................................................................... 18 2 ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION................................................................................................. 23 2.1 THE LOCATION OF THE ACTIVITY AND PROPERTY DESCRIPTION .......................... 23 2.2 ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION................................................................................................. 24 2.3 PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY .................................................................................... 26 2.4 LAYOUT DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................. 27 2.5 SERVICES PROVISION ................................................................................................... 28 3 LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY CONTEXT........................................................................... 30 2 3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 30 3.2 LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT ................................................................................................. 32 3.3 POLICY CONTEXT ........................................................................................................... 37 3.4 OTHER LEGISLATION ..................................................................................................... 43 3.5 RELEVANT GUIDANCE ................................................................................................... 43 3.6 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 43 4 THE NEED AND DESIRABILITY ...................................................................................... 45 4.1 THE NEED FOR THE PROPOSED ACTIVITY ................................................................. 45 4.2 THE DESIRABILITY OF THE PROPOSED ACTIVITY ..................................................... 45 5 DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES .............................................................. 48 5.1 CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES........................................................................... 48 5.1.1 No-go alternative ............................................................................................................... 48 5.1.2 Location alternatives ......................................................................................................... 49 5.1.3 Activity alternatives ........................................................................................................... 50 5.1.4 Technical alternatives ....................................................................................................... 51 5.1.5 Design and layout alternatives .......................................................................................... 51 5.1.6 Technology alternatives .................................................................................................... 52 5.2 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS .............................................................................. 53 5.2.1 General ............................................................................................................................. 53 5.2.2 Consultation process ......................................................................................................... 57 5.2.3 Registered I&APs .............................................................................................................. 57 5.2.4 Issues raised by IAPs and consultation bodies ................................................................. 57 5.3 THE ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTES ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT FOOTPRINT ..................................................................................................................... 60 5.3.1 Biophysical environment ................................................................................................... 60 5.3.2 Description of the socio-economic environment ................................................................ 69 3 6 DESCRIPTION OF THE IMPACTS AND RISKS .............................................................. 72 6.1 SCOPING METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................ 73 6.1.1 Checklist analysis .............................................................................................................. 73 6.1.2 Matrix analysis .................................................................................................................. 75 6.2 KEY ISSUES IDENTIFIED ................................................................................................ 89 6.2.1 Impacts during the construction phase .............................................................................. 89 6.2.2 Impacts during the operational phase ............................................................................... 89 6.2.3 Impacts during the decommissioning phase ..................................................................... 90 6.3 ASPECTS TO BE ASSESSED ......................................................................................... 90 6.4 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM SPECIALIST STUDIES .......................... 91 6.4.2 Issue 2: Heritage and archeological impacts ..................................................................... 92 6.4.3 Issue 3: Ecological Impacts ............................................................................................... 93 6.5 METHOD OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ........................................................... 96 6.5.1 Impact Rating System ....................................................................................................... 96 7 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ASSESSMENT ...................................................................... 102 7.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 102 7.2 Geographic Area of Evaluation ....................................................................................... 102 7.3 Temporal Boundary of Evaluation ................................................................................... 103 7.4 Other projects in the area ................................................................................................ 104 7.4.1 Existing projects in the area ............................................................................................ 104 7.4.2 Projects in the foreseeable future .................................................................................... 105 7.5 SPECIALIST INFORMATION