Final EIAR - Aurecon AME Environmental | Environmental Projects

Proposed Wind and Solar (Photovoltaic) Energy Facilities on Kangnas Farm near Springbok in the Northern Cape: Final EIR 17
If the report is accepted, DEA must within 45 days:
• Grant authorisation in respect of all or part of the activity applied for; or
• Refuse authorisation in respect of all or part of the activity.
Once DEA issues their decision on the proposed project, all registered I&APs on the project
database will be notified of the outcome of the decision within 12 calendar days of the
Environmental Authorisation having been issued. Should anyone (a member of public,
registered I&AP or the Applicant) wish to appeal DEA’s decision, a Notice of Intention to Appeal
in terms of Chapter 7 of the EIA Regulations (GN No. 543) in terms of NEMA must be lodged
with the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs within 20 calendar days of the decision
being issued and the substantive Appeal must be lodged within 30 days of the Notice.
1.5 ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS
1.5.1 Assumptions
In undertaking this investigation and compiling the EIR, the following has been assumed:
• The strategic level investigations undertaken by the Department of Energy regarding
South Africa’s proposed energy mix prior to the commencement of the EIA process are
technologically acceptable and robust;
• The information provided by the applicant is accurate and unbiased; and
• The scope of this investigation is limited to assessing the environmental impacts
associated with the proposed wind and solar energy facilities and connections to the grid.
The EIA does not include any infrastructure upgrades which may be required from Eskom
to allow capacity in the local grid for the proposed projects.
1.5.2 Gaps in knowledge
This EIA Report has identified the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed
activities. However, Mainstream is undertaking further work on the proposed project and
investigations in parallel with this EIA process from a technical feasibility perspective. As such
the nature and significance of the impacts presented in this report could change, should new
information become available, or as the project description is refined. The purpose of this
section is therefore to highlight gaps in knowledge when the EIA Phase of the project was
undertaken, namely that the planning for the proposed projects is at a feasibility level and
therefore some of the specific details are not available to the EIA process. This EIA process
forms a part of the suite of feasibility studies, and as these studies progress, more information
will become available. This will require the various authorities, and especially DEA, to issue their
comments and ultimately their environmental decision to allow for the type of refinements that
typically occur during these feasibility studies and detailed design phase of projects.
Undertaking the EIA process in parallel with the feasibility study does however have a number
of benefits, such as integrating environmental aspects into the layout and design and therefore
ultimately encouraging a more environmentally sensitive and sustainable project.
© Aurecon (2012) No unauthorised reproduction, copy
or adaptation, in whole or in part, may be made.
P:\Projects\108495 Kangnas WEF & PV EIA's\3 Project Delivery\4 Reports\FEIR\FEIR 210213 Final.doc