The Proposed Kerrie Fontein and Darling Wind Farm Final Environmental Impact Report DEA Ref: 12/12/20/1928 September 2011 Prepared for: Prepared by: CK Darling IPP (Pty) Ltd Environmental Evaluation Unit P.O. Box 13 University of Cape Town Darling Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7345 Cape Town 7701 PROJECT INFORMATION PROJECT: Kerrie Fontein and Darling Wind Farm REPORT TITLE: Final Environmental Impact Report EEU REPORT REFERENCE: 5/11/312 ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY: The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) DEA REFERENCE NO: 12/12/20/1928 APPLICANT: CK Darling IPP (Pty) Ltd ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS: Environmental Evaluation Unit, University of Cape Town DATE: 20 September 2011 i ii STATEMENT OF INDEPENDENCE The Environmental Evaluation Unit (EEU) has been commissioned by CK Darling IPP (Pty) Ltd to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (107 of 1998) EIA Regulations (Government Notice (GN) R385, GN R386 and GN R387 of April 2006). The EEU has complied with the general requirements for Environmental Assessment Practitioners (EAPs) as set out below, from Chapter 3 (18): An EAP appointed in terms of regulation 17(1) must – (a) be independent; (b) have expertise in conducting environmental impact assessments, including knowledge of the Act, these Regulations and any guidelines that have relevance to the proposed activity; (c) perform the work relating to the application in an objective manner, even if this results in views and findings that are not favourable to the applicant; (d) comply with the Act, these Regulations and all other applicable legislation; (e) take into account, to the extent possible, the matters listed in regulation 8(b) when preparing the application and any report relating to the application; and (f) disclose to the applicant and the competent authority all material information in the possession of the EAP that reasonably has or may have the potential of influencing – (i) any decision to be taken with respect to the application by the competent authority in terms of these Regulations; or (ii) the objectivity of any report, plan or document to be prepared by the EAP in terms of these Regulations for submission to the competent authority. iii iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION CK Darling IPP (Pty) Ltd is planning to develop the ‘Kerrie Fontein and Darling Wind Farm’ on a site located at the junctions of the R27 and the R315 between Yzerfontein and Darling, approximately 85km north of Cape Town. It falls within the jurisdiction of the Swartland Local Municipality. The Project will be a wind farm with a capacity of 20‐21 MW for national distribution and will contribute to targets for renewable energy generation in South Africa and the Province. The proposed Project is located on the farms Slangkop (3/552) and Kerrie Fontein (0/555) and will be an extension of the existing four turbines comprising the Darling National Demonstration Wind Farm. This existing wind farm was conceptualised in 1996 by the Oelsner Group and was developed by the Darling Independent Power Producer (Pty) Ltd (known as DARLIPP) and operational by 2008. As the Project will be related to electricity generation where “(i) the electricity output is 20 megawatts or more; and (ii) the elements of the facility cover a combined area in excess of 1 hectare”, under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, (GN R387) a Scoping and EIA are triggered. The Environmental Evaluation Unit (EEU) have been commissioned to manage the Scoping and EIA environmental authorisation process. Scoping was undertaken between June and December 2010 and concluded with an approval of the Final Scoping Report from the Department of Environmental Affairs. The EIA commenced in March 2011 and followed the Plan of Study (PoS) which set out the methodology for this Phase. The EIA has been an iterative process involving: botanical; avifaunal; visual; heritage; noise and social specialist studies and a Public Participation Process (PPP). The key deliverables of the EIA phase are an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Environmental Management Programme (EMP). The Draft EIR and EMP were made available for public comment to allow the registered I&APs an opportunity to comment on the findings. I&APs were notified of the review period and encouraged to provide written comment to the EEU. Comments are documented in the IRR and recommendations have been updated in the body of the report where necessary. ROLEPLAYERS The Applicant The applicant, also referred to as the developer, is CK Darling IPP (Pty) Ltd. This entity has been created for this purpose, by the Oelsner Group (Pty) Ltd, a South African company active in research, development and implementation of new energy projects, in particular technologies from Renewable Energy sources. The Environmental Assessment Practitioner The Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) is the EEU who will manage the application for environmental authorisation on behalf of the applicant. The EEU is an independent, self‐funded, research, consulting and training unit based at the University of Cape Town (UCT) which focuses on various aspects of sustainability. Specialists Independent Specialists have been commissioned by the EEU to undertake studies specific to their discipline: botanical; avifaunal; visual; heritage; noise and social. v Interested and Affected Parties I&APs are any person, group or organisation interested in or affected by the proposed activity; and any organ of state that may have jurisdiction over any aspect of the activity. The environmental authorisation process aims to provide opportunities for everyone to contribute to the process. Commenting Authorities Commenting authorities are those organisations or bodies whose focus or mandate is relevant to the Project and associated activities. They are required to issue comments and recommendations to ensure the process is robust and all aspects are considered. Competent Authority The competent authority is the decision‐making authority and in this case the listed activities require a decision at the national level. The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is therefore the competent authority for this Project. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Background The proposed Kerrie Fontein and Darling Wind Farm will be an extension of the existing Darling National Demonstration Wind Farm which was conceptualised in 1996 by the Oelsner Group. Darling Independent Power Producer (Pty) Ltd (known as DARLIPP) was established to develop the wind farm as an Independent Power Producer (IPP). The environmental authorisation process was contested and protracted and included appeals. The original proposal was for 10 turbines of 1.3MW output; however only a first phase of four turbines was approved and became known officially as the Darling National Demonstration Wind Farm. The Record of Decision (RoD) was issued in February 2005. The Danish agency DANIDA, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) were funders of the development. A new company, Darling Wind Power (Pty) Ltd was then formed to develop the wind farm, equity holders being CEF, DBSA and DARLIPP. In 2006, Darling Wind Power (Pty) Ltd entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with the City of Cape Town for a term of 20 years and contributes towards the City achieving its targets for renewable energy. The applicant for the Darling Demonstration Wind Farm was DARLIPP, while the present applicant is the CK Darling IPP (Pty) Ltd. Technology Wind turbines are made up of three key components: a steel tower, a nacelle which is positioned on top of the tower; and the rotor which comprises the three blades and a hub in the centre. Energy is produced when wind blows over the turbine blades, causing them to lift and rotate. Components in the nacelle convert this kinetic ‘movement’ energy to electrical energy and control the operation of the machine. The electricity that is produced is converted to a voltage that can be fed into the national electricity grid. The capacity of the Project will be 20‐21 MW depending on the technology and the number of turbines used. Nordex, a German manufacturer of wind turbines, is the preferred supplier and the N77 or N60 models have been considered. Depending on the model, either 14 or 16 turbines respectively, will be erected, each with a nominal power of 1.5 or 1.3 MW each. vi Infrastructure There are two sets of components to the Project as it falls onto two different farm portions, this is summarised below: Slangkop (3/552) / ‘Windhoek Farm’ Kerrie Fontein (0/555) 5‐6 Nordex turbines 9‐10 Nordex turbines Underground cabling linking turbines to Underground cabling linking turbines to (existing) substation substation Internal roads ‐ stabilised dirt tracks to access Internal roads ‐ stabilised dirt tracks to access each turbine each turbine N/A New 66/11kV substation N/A Direct connection with existing overhead power lines linking substation to national electricity grid (no new overhead power lines required) Construction Phase Construction is proposed for 6‐9 months commencing first half of 2012, commissioning and testing of the individual turbines will require one month thereafter. Construction will be done in phases, initially access will need to be established to accommodate the various loads of the materials and components. It is proposed that heavy vehicles will enter the site from the existing road off the R315. A temporary construction compound area is required in support of the staff and labour and includes offices, storage areas and welfare facilities. A temporary laydown area will be required alongside each proposed turbine, approximately 1,600 m2 becoming 875 m2 permanently during operation. This will support the cranes, allow for blade storage and provide an area in which the parts can be assembled. A storage and laydown area is also required for civil engineering components during construction (2,000m2). The turbines will be constructed one at a time, commencing with the construction of the foundation, the erection of the tower in sections by cranes, the positioning of the nacelle by cranes, assembly of the rotor on the ground and erection of the nacelle into position by cranes.