Public Participation report for the proposed SATO ... - SRK Consulting

* 

Public Participation report for the 

proposed SATO Energy Holdings 

photovoltaic project near 

Aggeneys, Northern Cape 

Report Prepared for 

Sato Energy Holdings (Pty) Ltd 

SRK Report Number: 435209/IRR 

NEAS references: DEA/EIA/0000868/2011; DEA/EIA/0000863/2011; 

DEA/EIA/0000867/2011; DEA/EIA/0000858/2011; DEA/EIA/0000857/2011: 

DEA/EIA/0000861/2011; DEA/EIA/0000869/2011 

DEA references: 12/12/20/2334/1; 12/12/20/2334/2; 12/12/20/2334/3; 12/12/20/2334/4; 

12/12/20/2334/5; 12/12/20/2334/6; 12/12/20/2334/7 

DEA/EIA/0000867/2011, DEA/EIA/0000858/2011, DEA/EIA/0000857/2011, 

DEA/EIA/0000861/2011, DEA/EIA/0000869/2011 

DEA references: (12/12/20/2334/1, (12/12/20/2334/2, (12/12/20/2334/3, 

(12/12/20/2334/4, (12/12/20/2334/5,(12/12/20/2334/6, (12/12/20/2334/7 

Report Prepared by 

April 2012

SRK Consulting 

Sato Public Participation Report 

LANJ/HELE/BROL G:\435209_ SATO HOLDINGS PHOTOVOLTAIC\7REPORTS\Final EIA\Appendices\Appendix E PPP & IRR\PPP report Final.docx April 2012 

Page 1 

Public participation report for the proposed 

SATO Energy Holdings photovoltaic project 

near Aggeneys, Northern Cape 


111 John Adamson Drive 

Montgomery Park 

Johannesburg 

SRK Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd. 

265 Oxford Rd 

Illovo 2196 

Johannesburg 

South Africa 

e-mail: johannesburg@srk.co.za 

website: www.srk.co.za 

Tel: +27 (0) 11 441 1111 

Fax:+27 (0) 11 880 8086 

SRK Project Number 435209 

April 2012 

Compiled by: 

Elin Heienerud 

Environmental Scientist 

Email: eheienerud@srk.co.za 

Jenny Lancaster 

Environmental Scientist 

Email:jlancaster@srk.co.za 

Peer Reviewed by: 

Lyn Brown 

Senior Environmental Scientist 

Email: lbrown@srk.co.za



Table of Contents 


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1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

2 The Public Participation Process ................................................................................ 3 

2.1 Purpose of Public Participation ........................................................................................................... 3 

2.2 Interested and Affected Parties (IAPs)................................................................................................ 3 

2.3 The proposed process ........................................................................................................................ 4 

3 Information Sharing Meetings ..................................................................................... 5 

3.1 Notification .......................................................................................................................................... 5 

3.1.1 Notification to relevant authorities ........................................................................................... 5 

3.1.2 Notification of IAPs .................................................................................................................. 5 

3.1.3 Notification of the public .......................................................................................................... 5 

3.2 The Background Information Document (BID) .................................................................................... 6 

3.3 Meetings .............................................................................................................................................. 6 

3.3.1 Meetings with the relevant authorities ..................................................................................... 6 

3.3.2 Public Meetings ....................................................................................................................... 6 

3.4 Availability of DSR and FSR ............................................................................................................... 6 

3.5 Availability of the EIR .......................................................................................................................... 7 

4 Issues and responses .................................................................................................. 7 

5 The Way Forward.......................................................................................................... 8 

Appendices ........................................................................................................................ 9 

Appendix A: Proof of site notices and their locations ............................................... 10 

Appendix B: Copy of site notice .................................................................................. 16 

Appendix C: Proof of advertisement ........................................................................... 19 

Appendix D: BID and blank comment form ................................................................... 26 

Appendix E: Public participation posters and presentation ..................................... 22 

Appendix F: Attendence registers ............................................................................... 27 

Appendix G: Copies of original correspondence with IAPs ........................................ 35 

Appendix H: Issues and responses ............................................................................... 42 

List of Figures 

Figure 2-1.The public participation process........................................................................................................ 4



1 Introduction 


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SATO Energy Holdings (Pty) Ltd (SATO) has appointed SRK Consulting (Pty) Ltd (SRK) as 

independent environmental consultants to undertake the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for 

the photovoltaic (PV) power generation facility which will be situated on Farm number 62, Zuurwater, 

situated near Aggeneys in the Northern Cape. The farm is located adjacent to the N14 between 

Springbok and Pofadder, in close proximity to the Namibian border. The PV plant is anticipated to 

have an array of photovoltaic panels in total covering just less than 900 hectares, with 500MW power 

generating capacity in all. Motivation for splitting the project into seven EIAs has been provided to 

DEA based on Department of Energy (DoE) requirements of restricting the capacity per application 

and environmental authorisation to 75MW. The format of the development is thus now as follows: 6 

x 75MW units and 1 x 50 MW unit, together which comprise the original 500MW project. 

In terms of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) Act 107 of 1998 as amended in 

2010, a full EIA is required for this project incorporating a public participation component. The 

competent authority for the project is the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), with the 

Northern Cape Department of Environment and Nature Conservation (NCDENC) being the 

commenting authority. This report presents the outcome of all the issues and responses received 

thus far from the stakeholders and commenting authority. This Issues and Responses Report will be 

updated regularly as the report progresses to the Environmental Impact Phase of the project. 

Further to the above, a Waste License Application (contained in the main EIR report Appendix U) is 

in progress and is incorporated as part of this public participation process. This is being done in 

terms of the Waste Act (Act 59 0f 2008). 

It should be noted that in order to facilitate understanding of the proposed project by IAPs. The 

Executive Summary for both the DSR and FSR were translated into Afrikaans. These were 

distributed to IAPs appended to the correspondence notifying IAPs of the availability of the DSR. 

The draft environmental impact report (DEIR) was made available to IAPs for comment for the 

requisite comment period, and now the final EIR has been distributed for review. 

2 The Public Participation Process 

2.1 Purpose of Public Participation 

The public participation process aims to: 

Inform the public of the proposed project 

Obtain issues and concerns from Interested and Affected Parties (IAPs) 

Influence the scope of specialist studies 

Check the validity of reporting. 

2.2 Interested and Affected Parties (IAPs) 

A list of potential IAPs (any person who is affected by and/or interested in the project) was compiled 

using information from previous projects in the area, using DEA recommendations, as well as 

through identifying authorities during site visits. This database will be updated on an ongoing basis 

as more IAPs register. IAPs were further invited to register as stakeholders via advertisements




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placed in newspapers as well as on public notices displayed at central locations (see Appendices B 

and C of this Appendix E). The stakeholder database for the project covers: 

National and provincial authorities including the DEA; NCDENC; the Northern Cape Department 

of Water Affairs (NCDWA); and the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture,Forestry and 

Fisheries (NCDWA); South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) 

District and local authorities, including the Namakwa District Authority, as well as the Khai-Ma 

Local Municipality; 

NGOs; 

Labour unions and associations; 

Agricultural and farmers associations; 

Surrounding businesses; 

Surrounding landowners; 

Surrounding communities; 

Parastatals and infrastructure providers including SANRAL, Eskom and Water Boards; and the 

General public. 

2.3 The proposed process 

Figure 2-1 below indicates how public participation feeds in to the EIA process. Public participation is 

phased in alignment with the EIA process to ensure that IAP issues and concerns are adequately 

addressed. 

Figure 2-1.The public participation process



3 Information Sharing Meetings 

Information sharing meetings for the scoping phase of the EIA process were held as follows: 


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Khai Ma Municipal Manager meeting on Wednesday 17th August 2011: 14:00 – 15:30 at 

Pofadder Community Hall 

Public meeting on Wednesday 17th August 2011: 16:00 – 18:00 at Pofadder Community Hall 

Authorities meeting on Thursday 18th August 2011: 10:00 – 12:00 at NCDENC offices in 

Springbok 

Public Meeting on Thursday 18th Aug16:00 – 18:00 at Aggeneys Community Hall 

Public Meeting on Friday 19th August: 8:30 – 10:30 at Pella Community Hall. 

Stakeholders have further been kept notified of information sharing sessions held for the EIR phase 

of the project. 

3.1 Notification 

3.1.1 Notification to relevant authorities 

The relevant authorities were invited via email or fax on the 10th of August 2011 to attend the 

authorities meeting for the proposed project, and they were further sent copies of the Background 

Information Document (BID). Authorities were further notified of the availability of the DSR and FSR 

on the 31 st October 2011 and the 13 December 2011 respectlvely. The DEIR was released on 17 

Febrary and authorities were notified of its availability. The final EIR has now been released for 

review. 

3.1.2 Notification of IAPs 

All identified IAPs were notified of the proposed meetings electronically on the 10 th of August 2011. 

This communication included a letter of invitation and a copy of the BID. IAPs were notified on the 10 

August 2011 and 16 August 2011 respectively. The DEIR was released on 17 Febrary and IAPs 

were notified of its availability via email and fax on the 15 February. 

3.1.3 Notification of the public 

Members of the general public and individuals who may not have been identified as an IAP were 

notified via an advert placed in the Gemsbok News on the 10 th of August 2011 as well as the 

Business Day News on the 12 th of August 2011 (see Appendix C of this Appendix E). Notices in 

English and Afrikaans were placed at key locations to inform the public of the public meetings. 

Notices were placed at the following locations (see Appendix A of this Appendix E) notifying the 

public of the public meeting as follows: 


Pofadder Library 

Pella Community Hall 

Pella Library 

Pella Municipality 

At the road entrance to Pella 

Aggeneys Library 

Aggeneys shopping centre



In the Aggeneys south community. 


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A similar advertisement was placed in the above newpapers for the DEIR and Waste Licence 

application for sanitation works associated with the proposed PV plant. (See Appendix C). 

3.2 The Background Information Document (BID) 

The purpose of the BID was to provide IAPs with basic background information on the proposed 

activities, the public participation process and communication plan as well as the identified studies 

(see Appendix B of this Appendix E). It further provided the public with the opportunity to register as 

IAPs, by completing the registration sheet attached to the BID. This ensured that the names and 

contact details of new stakeholders were captured on the database and that they will receive all 

project-related information and invitations to future meetings. A comment sheet was provided at the 

back of the BID to enable IAPs to furnish SRK with written comments. This was used as the basis for 

the presentation for both the authorities and public participation meetings as well as the posters for 

the public meetings (see Appendix C of this Appendix E). 

The BID has now been superseded by the information contained in the FSR and subsequent 

documentation to be generated during the environmental impact assessment phase of the project. 

3.3 Meetings 

3.3.1 Meetings with the relevant authorities 

A representative from Northern Cape Water Affairs attended the public meeting held in Pella and 

provided feedback regarding water requirements to the EIA team. Since there were no 

representatives at the public meetings either from the Khai Mai Municipal Manager, nor the Northern 

Cape authorities, follow-up contact was subsequently made to ensure that these authorities did not 

have issues which they wished to raise. Registers for authorities meetings are contained in 

Appendix D of this Appendix E. 

3.3.2 Public Meetings 

The public meeting in Pofadder was held immediately after a Policing Community Forum and was 

well attended by community members. The meeting in Aggeneys was only attended by family 

members farming on the farm Zuurwater. Although there was relatively poor attendance at the Pella 

public meeting, those people that did attend had feedback to provide to the EIA team. Issues raised 

during these meetings, as well as written responses, are presented in Section 4 of this report. 

Registers from the public meetings are contained in Appendix D of this Appendix E. 

3.4 Availability of DSR and FSR 

Copies of the DSR were available for a 40 day comment period from 31 st October 2011 to 12 

December 2011, at the following locations: 


Pella Library 


Northern Cape Department of Environment and Nature Conservation 

Khai Mai Local Municipality 

Namakwa District Municipality.



The same locations are being used for providing the FSR to IAPs. The FSR was available from 3 

January 2012 for a period of 21 days for review to ensure that comment received was correctly 

captured. 

In order to facilitate ease of access, both the DSR and the FSR were made available of the SRK 

website - www.srk.co.za. 

3.5 Availability of the EIR 

The DEIR was be made available to the public for a 30-day period from 13 February 2012 at the 

following locations: 


Pella Library 


Northern Cape Department of Environment and Nature Conservation 

Khai Mai Local Municipality 

Namakwa District Municipality. 


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IAPs are being notified of the release dates of the final EIR. Reports will be made available 

electronically via the aSRK website (address indicated above in Section 3.4), as well as at the above 

venues. 

4 Issues and responses 

The issues and responses obtained to date from IAPs from public meetings and the project feedback 

process are contained in Appendix H of this Appendix E. These are split as follows: 

H1: Issues and responses raised during initial consultation 

H2: Issues and responses received following release of the DSR 

H3: Issues and responses following release of the FSR



5 The Way Forward 


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The Final Scoping Report (FSR) was submitted to the competent authority (DEA) for their review and 

approval. Based on feedback from the scoping process and authority approval of the FSR, specialist 

studies to assess impacts were commissioned. During the EIA phase of the project, stakeholders 

have been approached via site notices, e-mail and fax of the availability of reports. Additional 

stakeholder meetings/focus groups have not been schedules owing to a lack of response from IAPs. 

Comment of the final EIA should be submitted by IAPs directly to DEA as follows: 

Sandile F. Vilakazi (Ms) 

Department of Environmental Affairs 

Environmental Impact Management (Special Projects) 

Tel No: (012) 310 3891 Fax No: (012) 320 7539 

e-mail: SVilakazi@environment.gov.za 

SRK should be sent a copy of the comment as follows: 

Mrs SP Du Plessis 

SRK Consulting (Pty) Ltd 

Tel NM\o: 011 441 1043 

Fax No: 086 506 1737 

E-Mail: sduplessis@srk.co.za 

Prepared by 

Elin Heinerud Jenny Lancaster 

Reviewed by 

Lyn Brown 

All data used as source material plus the text, tables, figures, and attachments of this document 

have been reviewed and prepared in accordance with generally accepted professional engineering 

and environmental practices



Appendices 


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Appendix A: Proof of site notices and their locations 


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Public Meeting Notices 

Pofadder Community Hall and Library: (29° 07’30.60’’ S 19° 23’ 05.10’’E) 


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Pella Community Hall (all 29° 01’ 59.58” S 19° 09’ 13.38” E) 

Pella Library 

Pella Municipality 

Entrance to Pella (29° 02’ 24.36” S 19° 09’ 08.38” E) 


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Aggeneys Library (29° 14’ 15.88” S 18° 50’ 44.12” E) 

Aggeneys shops (1) (29° 14’ 11.73” S 18° 50’ 46.45” E) 


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Aggeneys shops (2) 

Aggeneys South Community Hall (29° 15’ 01.81” S 18° 50’ 20.16” E) 


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Availability of Draft EIR Notices 

ggeneys Family Store Aggeneys Post Office 

klkl 

Dd 

D 

Khai Ma Municipality Poffader Pella Post Office 



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Appendix B: Copy of site notice 


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Appendix C: Proof of advertisement 


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C1: Public Meeting Advert in the Gemsboknuus placed on the 19th August 2011 


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C1: Availability of DEIR Advert in the Gemsboknuus placed on the 17th February 2012 


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C2: Public Meeting Advert in the Business Day placed on the 12 th of August 2011 


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C2: Availability of DEIR Advert in the Business Day placed on the 15 th of February 2012 


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C3: Text contained in the advertisements 


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Appendix D: BID and blank comment form 


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Figure 1: The proposed project site 

PURPOSE OF THIS BACKGROUND INFORMTION DOCUMENT (BID) 

The purpose of this BID is to: 

Inform stakeholder about the environmental authorisation process for the proposed project 

Provide a basic description of the project (components, phasing, public participation) 

Allow feedback from stakeholders. 


Please provide feedback by FRIDAY 26 th AUGUST 2011 to Shannon Du Plessis at 

sduplessis@srk.co.za OR (011) 441 1043 (tel) OR 086 506 1737 (fax) or P.O. Box 55291, Northlands, 2116 


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Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed Sato 

Photovoltaic Project, near Aggeneys, Northern Cape 

NEAS Reference: DEA/EIA/0000368/2011 

DEA Reference: 12/12/20/2334 

Background Information Document for Scoping



INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 

SRK Consulting (Pty) Ltd (SRK) has been 

appointed by Sato Energy Holdings (Pty) 

Ltd (Sato) to undertake a full 

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), 

to be approved by the Department of 

Environmental Affairs (DEA) in terms of 

the National Environmental Act (NEMA) 

Act 107 of 1998 as amended in 2010 for 

the construction and operation of a 

photovoltaic (PV) power generation facility 

and associated infrastructure. A DEA 

application for the establishment and 

operation of a photovoltaic project has 

been submitted with NEAS reference 

DEA/EIA/00000368/2011 and DEA 

reference 12/12/20/2334. 

PROJECT LOCATION 

The project is situated on the farm 

Zuurwater near Aggeneys in the Northern 

Cape. The farm is located adjacent to the 

N14 between Springbok and Pofadder 

(Figure 2). 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION 


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The photovoltaic plant is expected to 

generate 500MW from 19.5MW units 

distributed over 884ha. A PV plant usually 

comprises of: 

PV panel array (see Figure 3) 

Wiring to central inverters 

Connection to the grid 

Balance of plant 

PV Array 

The PV Array is proposed to cover 

approximately 884ha and produce 

500MW. This is made up of about 26 

adjacent sites (19.5MWp each), with each 

site containing about 820 tables (41 

tables in 20 rows). The final number of 

panels depends on the configuration of 

the array and power rating of the panels. 

The panel rows will be 8.5m away from 

each other to prevent shading and are 

expected to not exceed 4m in height. 

Panels (1.9m x 0.9m) will be mounted on 

aluminium structures that will be fixed into 

the ground using a concrete strip 

foundation.



Figure 2: Site Location 

The PV sites will be connected to central 

inverters with a rated power of 12 x PVS 

2000 1000kW to 2000kW. The 

inverters will be housed in small 

Figure 2: Site Location 

structures situated close to the point of 

connection to the panels. The central 

inverters will convert direct current (DC) to 

alternating current (AC) at the required 

frequency to feed into the Eskom grid. 

Each inverter will have an output voltage 

of about 288Vac. 

Figure 3: A PV Array 

Fixed tilt panels are proposed to be used for the 

development rather than tracking panels. The 

panels will face north and will be tilted at 25 

degrees which is the optimum angle for collection 

of sunlight at the project site. The panels will have 

low-reflective surfaces to enhance the absorption 

of sunlight. 

Construction Activities 

The activities involved with construction will 

include levelling, access by construction vehicles, 

development of trenches for the placement of 

cables underground and the development of 

concrete foundations for the placement of panels. 

Levelling of the site is anticipated to be relatively 

minimal since the proposed site is primarily flat. 

Use of existing farm roads will be made, and 

where necessary construction of new access 

roads for use during construction and operation 

will be undertaken. Where possible, the existing 

farm roads will be used rather than the 

development of new roads. During the 

operational phase, it is anticipated that only very 

limited vehicular access will be required. 

Connection to Grid 

The grid connection requires transformation of the 

voltage from the 288Vac inverter output. The 


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inverter output will be stepped up to 20kV/66kV 

via transformers housed in the inverter houses. 

Underground cables will be routed to a central AC 

bus bar in a small substation located within the 

confines of the PV plant. Transmission cables to 

the grid from the plant will either be via overhead 

or underground transmission lines. A mini 

substation will route electricity to the grid. The site 

is within a short radius of the Eskom substation 

which is linked to the National Grid (see Figure 2). 

Centralised control facility and security 

A building anticipated to be under 300m² in area 

will be constructed for accommodate control 

facilities for the PV plant. Monitoring and security 

equipment for the PV plant will also be housed in 

this facility. 

In order to ensure the security of the facility, the 

entire plant will be surrounded by perimeter 

fencing which will be supplied with sensors and 

alarms to detect any irregular activity. Amongst 

the technologies available, optic fibre may be 

used, in which case trenching of the cables will be 

required. In order to maximise security and to 

assist with the detection of any breaches, CCTV 

cameras and flood lights will also be installed. 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMAPCT ASSESSMENT 

PROCESS 

The EIA process comprises listed activities 

published as a Government Notice No. R. 545 in 

the Environmental Impact Assessment 

Regulation, 2010 in terms of the National 

Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 

107 of 1998). Activities identified in Government 

Notice No R. 545 are those likely to cause 

significant environmental and social impacts. 

The EIA process requires public participation to 

be conducted as a way of identifying other issues 

from the IAPs and providing an opportunity for 

them to comment on the documents for the project. 

The flow diagram represented in Figure 4 presents the 

key activities that will be undertaken for the duration 

of the project. 

YOUR ROLE IN THE PROCESS



As a member of the public potentially interested in 

or affected by the project, you are requested to: 

Register as an IAP to be included on a 

database using the attached response sheet; 

Contact the project team to obtain further 

project information and/or raise issues and 

concerns; and 

Review this BID and comment by 26 August 

2011. 

Please submit your comments in writing to 

Shannon Du Plessia at SRK on: 

Tel: (011) 441 1043 Fax: 086 506 1737 

Email: sduplessis@srk.co.za 

P.O. Box 55291, Northlands, 2116 


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Figure 4: EIA Process 


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Name: 


Environmental impact assessment for the proposed Sato 

Photovoltaic Project 

NEAS REFRERENCE: DEA/EIA/0000368/2011 

DEA REFERENCE : 12/12/20/2334 

Response Sheet 

Please return to: Shannon du Plessis 

Fax: 083 506 1737 

E-mail: dups@srk.co.za 

Address: P.O. Box 55291, Northlands, 2116 


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Please complete Section A of this form for our database purposes and detail any comments and questions with 

regard to the proposed project in Sections B – E. Your assistance will ensure that our database is kept up to date 

and that we can develop a better understanding of your information needs. Additional pages may also be attached 

if sufficient space has not been provided. 

Postal Address: 

A. Your contact details: 

Telephone Number: 

Cell Phone Number: 

Fax Number: 

E-mail Address: 

Organization/Department that you 

represent: 

Position within Organization/Department: 

Property name and portion number if you 

are a resident/property owner in the area:



B. What is your interest in the project? 


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__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

C. Do you have any comments, queries or concerns about the proposed project? 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

D. Do you require further information? If so, please detail this below 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

E. Other contacts: If you know of anyone else who should be informed about this project please 

could you provide their details in the table below 

Name: 

Organization: 

Address: 

Contact 

number: 

Thank you for taking the time to provide comment. If you would like to discuss this project further, 

please contact Shannon du Plessis as follows:



Ph: +27 (0) 11 441 1043 

E-mail: sduplessis@srk.co.za 

Fax: +27 (0) 86 506 1737 

Post: PO Box 55291 

Northlands 

2116 South Africa 

Attention: Shannon du Plessis 


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Appendix E: Public participation posters and presentation 


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Appendix F: Attendence registers 


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F1: Attendance register: Pofadder community hall 


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F2: Attendance register: Springbok municipal lecture room 

F3: Attendance register: Aggeneys community hall 


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F4: Attendance register: Pella community hall 


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Appendix G: Copies of original correspondence with IAPs 


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Appendix H: Issues and responses 


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H1: Issues and responses raised during initial consultation 

Reference Name and Organisation Issue/Comment raised Response 

001 Mr Pieter Venter 

(Black Mountain Mining (Pty) Ltd) 

002 Dirkie Brandt 

(Pella – Resident) 





Black Mountain is a direct neighbour to the 

proposed project, and supplies potable water 

Zuurwater for household purposes. Black 

Mountain has serious reservations regarding 

the availability of water needed to wash the 

PV panels as the Pella water treatment 

facility is already running at maximum 

capacity. Clarity on water management is 

needed. 


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Water sources are being investigated by Sato and 

will be addressed as part of the EIA process 

What are the PV panels made of? The panels are comprised of the following 

components: polycrystalline solar cells, tempered 

glass; anodized aluminium alloy; a junction box; 

connectors and output cables. 

Are there any health impacts? The technology used for PV developments is not 

generally associated with health concerns. A socioeconomic 

specialist study will be commissioned to 

address any potential health issues related to the 

development, such as from sanitation and any public 

health concerns. Further, an air quality specialist 

study will be commissioned. It is anticipated that 

there will be positive health impacts on air quality 

(and thus health) in coal-mining areas due to 

reduced requirement for power generation from coal. 

Measures including dust suppression will be included 

in the EMP. 

What about the unseen future impacts? The EIA process is designed to identify all key 

potential impacts through scoping, specialist 

investigation and environmental assessment 

activities. These potential impacts will be avoided 

and/or mitigated by means of management 

measures contained in the EMP. The designated 

Environmental Control Officer (ECO) will be able to 

use the management measures contained in the 

EMP to address any unseen issues or impacts that 

arise in future.






006 Henry Abott 

(Department of Water Affairs) 

007 Henry Abott 

(Department of Water Affairs) 

008 Stefanus April 




Future public participation correspondence, 

notices etc. should is mainly in Afrikaans. 


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Your comment is noted. Site notices and 

advertisements notifying the public of the project and 

meetings were placed in Afrikaans and English. SRK 

have undertaken to provide Afrikaans translations of 

the executive summary of the draft scoping and EIA 

reports, and will organise Afrikaans translations of 

posters at meetings. 

Water Availability. Noted. Water sources are being investigated by Sato 

and will be addressed as part of the EIA process 

PV panels may contain hazardous waste at 

closure 

Noted. Impacts from decommissioning and closure 

will be dealt with in the EIA process; The EMP will 

further contain requirements for the legal and safe 

disposal of any components classified as hazardous 

How many people will be employed? It is currently anticipated that approximately 130 

people will be employed on-site during construction 

which is expected to be phased over about 5 years. 

About 20 people will be employed off-site in major 

centres in South Africa and internationally. During 

the operational phase, there will be about 20 

How will this plant benefit the people in 

Pella? 

people employed on-site. 

Some employment of local community members is 

planned during the construction and operational 

phases. Further, the project will benefit the South 

African economy through improved stability of power 

supply. The additional power being available to 

business and mining activities in the area is likely to 

stimulate the local economy. The company will, 

where feasible, purchase construction, operational 

and service requirements from local business. The 

project is committed to roll out a socio-economic 

programme to the benefit of the local community 

which will be outlined in the EMP.






011 PetrusBasson 


012 PetrusBasson 



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What specialist studies are being proposed? Various specialist studies are being done with the 

results reported in the EIR. Specialist studies will 

cover: 

Flora 

Fauna 

Surface hydrology 

Visual impacts 

Socio-economic impacts 

Heritage and palaeontology 

Agriculture and land use 

Air quality 

How long will construction last? Construction will be phased over approximately 5 

years 

What is the duration of this project? The plant will run for a minimum of 25 years.



H2: Issues and responses received following release of the DSR 

Reference Commentator Issue/Comment Response 

001 

002 Mrs Rene de Kock 

(SANRAL) 

Mrs Hester Maasdorp, 

(landowner and resident on the farm 

Zuurwater) 

11 November 2011: DSR reflects that Sato 

has ownership of the Zuurwater Land. It 

was pointed out by Mrs Maasdorp that in 

fact this has not yet been concluded. 

15 November 2011: Requested locality map 

and information regarding where access to 

the site will be obtained from. 


Page 21 

Telephonic communication with Mrs Maasdorp was 

carried out on Monday 14 November 2011, thanking 

her for noting the error in the text. She was informed 

that the text of the FSR would be amended to read 

as follows: 

“The proposed project will be located on the Farm 

Zuurwater. Sato Energy Holdings has an option to 

purchase the property. The current land owners will 

continue to reside and farm on the land as per the 

option contract”. 

Electronic communication with Mrs Rene de Kock 

was carried out on the Wednesday the 23 November 

2011 showing a locality map as well as an 

infrastructure map showing entrances. It was also 

indicated that Sato will contact SANRAL regarding 

way leave approvals and other requirements that 

SANRAL may have regarding this project. Figure 3-5 

in the main FSR indicates the entrances on to the 

property from the N14, as well as the proposed 

location of the directional drill/overhead powerlines 

linking the southern portion of the development to the 

northern portion.




003 

Dr. Mariagrazia Galimberti 

(SAHRA) 

7 December 2011: In terms of the National 

Heritage Resources Act, no 25 of 1999, 

heritage resources, including archaeological 

or palaeontological sites over 100 year old, 

graves older than 60 years, structures older 

than 60 years are protected. They may not be 

distributed without a permit from the relevant 

heritage resources authority. This means that 

before such sites are disturbed by 

development it is incumbent on the developer 

to ensure that a Heritage Impact Assessment 

is done. 

According to the information provided in 

section 9.5.3 of this document, a Heritage 

Impact Assessment will be included in the 

Environmental Impact Assessment Report. 

SAHRA would like to thank you for your cooperation 

in this matter and would like to 

highlight that: 

Sampling may not be part of the 

Phase 1 Archaeological Impact 

Assessment; 

If the palaeontologist deems it 

necessary, it is advisable to 

undertake a Phase 1 

Palaeontological Impact Assessment 

inclusive of a field survey during this 

phase and not at a later stage. 


Page 22 

Noted. Comments wil be addressed in the draft 

Environmental Impact Assessment Report as a 

Specialist Archaeological Impact Assessment is 

currently been undertaken.




004 

Mr. S C Cloete 

(Water Affairs Provincial Office: Northern 

Cape Lower Orange Water Management 

Area (DWAF)) 

23 November 2011: Comments on a Draft 

Scoping Report for the Proposed 

development of a Photovoltaic project near 

Aggeneys in the Northern Cape. 

On page 3 of 8 of the draft Scoping Report, 

you mentioned that issues regarding sourcing 

of water and suitable disposal of waste 

including domestic waste are under 

investigation by Sato. Please note that, 

taking water from or disposal in any water 

resource (either groundwater or surface 

water) should be Authorised by this 

Department as described in section 21(a) and 

(g) of the NWA (Act no. 36 of 1998). 

Therefore a water use license application 

should be made in this regards, if the water 

will be abstracted from the nearby water 

resource, the applicant must provide details 

of the river, stream etc. 

According to section 21(c) and (i) of the 

National Water Act 36 of 1998, any 

development that will take place on the banks 

of a water resource or any activity that will 

disturb the flow of water in a water resources 

should also be authorized under the National 

Water Act. 

The Department of Water Affairs need written 

clarification on the above mentioned issues 

namely: 

Where water will be abstracted from 

How much water will be abstracted 

(Volumes) 

Will waste water be generated and 

where will it be disposed off. 


Page 23 



Sato are planning to obtain water from an existing 

licences source. Should the situation arise where 

water is abstracted on site (via a borehole), the 

necessary water use licence application will be 

made. 

The layout of site LA2 and revised site LA2 (see 

Figures 2-2 and 2-3) avoid the pan/wetland system 

located to the north. This system wasa impinged 

upon by the original layout which was altered afterd 

screening by specialsits to LA2 (thereafter revised 

site LA2). 

Appendix H of the EIR contains correspondence 

from Sato regarding the sourcing of water. Details 

on volumes of water required for the project are 

contained in Section 2 of the EIR. 

Limited volumes of waste water will be generated 

arising from sanitation and domestic ablutions on 

site. Appendix U contains the Waste Licence 

Application and basic assessment report for a 

package sewage treatment plant. 

It is planned that activities will avoid the 1:100 year 

floodline. A recommendation has been provided 

that at the outset of detailed design, that a 1:100 

year floodline assessment be undertaken by Sato




005 

Mrs. Jacoline Mans 

(Forestry & Natural Resource Management 

(DWA)) 

Any activities that will take place 

within the 1:100 year flood line or on 

the bank of a water resource. 

5 December 2011: Forestry and Natural 

Resource Management in the Department of 

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) 

would hereby like to make the following 

comments on the above-mentioned proposed 

development: 

The Department of Agriculture, 

Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) is 

mainly concerned about the possible 

impact on protected trees and plants 

(National Forests Act, Act 84 of 1998 

and other applicable legislation). 

The DAFF is kindly requesting a copy 

of the biodiversity study that will be 

commissioned during the EIA phase 

and would like to comment on it, 

should it be deemed necessary. The 

DAFF would also like to get a copy of 

the Environmental Impact 

Assessment Report (EIR) and the 

Environmental Management Program 

(EMP). 


Page 24 



A copy of the Biodiversity Study will be attached 

as an appendix in the draft Environmental Impact 

Assessment Report and will further be proived to 

DAFF for their comment.



H3: Issues and responses received following release of the FSR 


Page 25



001 

René de Kock (Statutory control at 

SANRAL) 

Original dated 20 January 2012: The South 

African National Roads Agency Limited 

(SANRAL) has the following comments: 

(1) Should abnormal loads have to be 

transported by road to the site, a permit 

needs to be obtained from the Provincial 

Government Northern Cape (PGNC). 

(2) The solar facility must be at least 500m 

from the road reserve fence. 

(3) SANRAL requests a Traffic Impact 

Assessment where access will be 

obtained on the N14. 

(4) If the access requires upgrading, 

SANRAL requires detail plans for 

approval, produced by an ECSA 

registered consulting engineer. 

(5) A building restriction of 60m, measured 

from the road reserve fence, is 

applicable to building works, other than 

the photovoltaic plant. 


Page 26 

Your comment has been noted and addressed by 

the EAP project team as follows: 

1. A requirement for the permiting of 

abnormal loads has been incorporated into 

the prerequisites stipulated in the EMP 

dealing with traffic hazards, as well as 

disruption of infrastructure including the 

N14 (see Section 10). 

2. The project team have revised the layout of 

the proposed development (referred in the 

document to revised site LA2) to provide at 

least 60m from the road reserve fence, in 

line with regulatory requirements. A traffic 

specialist was commissioned whose terms 

of reference included the assessment of 

the suitability of a 60m buffer, and whether 

this was sufficient to overcome risks posed 

by driver distraction (see Appendix T). 

It was noted by the specialist that driver 

distraction is one of the biggest potential 

impacts of this project (due to novelty 

factor and potential glare/reflection). 

However, tt was noted that setting the 

arrays back by 60m from the road reserve 

will reduce thepotential impact of the 

panels. The rationale for why 

glare/reflection is not anticipated to be a 

key issue is detailed in the specialist report 

(see Appendix T). 

3. The traffic specialist report is contained in 

Appendix T.



002 Sandile Vilakazi (DEA case officer) Telephonic communication late in January 

refers. Ms Vilakazi incidatd that whole the 

overall content of the FSR was satisfactory, 

further information on the location 

alternatives considered was required 


Page 27 

4. The baseline environment plus the Sato 

PV facility generated traffic flows are 

considered to be very low and the N14 will 

still operate at a very good Level of 

Service A even with this additional traffic. 

The new, left- and right-turning traffic from 

the N14 into the formal access to the 

facility is not considered to be high and no 

exclusive right-turn lanes or left-turn 

deceleration lanes will be required to 

accommodate the facility generated traffic. 

The access approach from the site to the 

N14 only needs to be single lane which will 

be able to accommodate both the leftturning 

and right-turning traffic. 

5. This issue has been addressed through 

the revision of the site layout (see Figure 

2-3). 

Based on the input received, Ms Lyn Bornw of 

SRK submitted an addendum to the FSR to DEA 

on 1 February 2012. Ms Vilikaze has given 

provisional feedback that the information 

provided sufficiently covers the alternatives issue. 

The information submitted is incorporated into the 

body of the EIR in Section 7 which deals with 

altenratives considered.



H4: Issues and responses received following release of the DEIR 


Page 18



Reference Name and organisation Issue/comment Response 

001 Shaun Cloete (Water Affairs 

Provincial Office: Northern 

Cape Lower Orange Water 

Management area) 





The water user is expected 

to assess all the potential 

water uses, associated with 

the development. All 

identified water uses will 

need to be authorised in 

terms of section 40 of the 

National Water Act unless 

such a water use is 

permissible under section 22 

of the Act. Kindly note that 

energy developments 1 

projects are not part of small 

industrial users as 

determined by the General 

Authorisation 

Activities which might have 

an impact on water 

resources should be 

managed and mitigated as 

stated in the EMP of the 

Proposed Project. Kindly 

note that any deviations to 

these measures should be 

communicated to DWA in 

writing. 


Information on the water 

uses is supplied under the 

project description contained 

in Section 2 of the report. 

These are detailed in 

particular in section 2-10. It is 

intended that water will be 

obtained from a licenced 

Water Service Provider. 

Stormwater management 

plan: 

Measures for stormwater 

management are contained 

in Table 11-5. Further 

sections relevant to 

stormwater management 

are: The soil conservation 

management principle 

(section 11.12.2), Water and 

effluent management 

principle (see Section 

Page 19




11.12.3) and the 

Conservation and natural 

habitat management 


11.12.5). There are 

requirements in place for 

revegetation associated with 

decommissioning. The 

construction management 

control plan (see Section 

11.13.2) includes relevant 

sections including: the 

control of construction based 

on vegetation conservation; 

control of vegetation 

clearing; control of topsoil 

and subsoil; rehabilitation. 

Furthermore, Section 11.18 

contains rehabilitation 

requirements for 



and control plan (see Section 

11.12.2) and the operational 

management and control 

plan (see Section 11.14) are 

also relevant for stormwater 

management. 

Erosion management control 

plan: 

Page 20




The soil conservation 

management principle 

(section 11.12.2), Water and 



11.12.3) the and the 




11.12.5). There are 

requirements in place for 

revegetation associated with 



control plan (see Section 

11.13.2) includes relevant 

sections including: the 

control of construction based 

on vegetation conservation; 

control of vegetation 

clearing; control of topsoil 

and subsoil; rehabilitation. 

Furthermore, Section 11.18 

contains rehabilitation 

requirements for 

decommissioning. 

Monitoring of leaks and 

spillages: 

Page 21




Water and effluent 

management principle (see 

Section 11.12.3) and the 



principles (see Section 

11.12.5) are relevant. The 



11.13.2): Management of 

fuels and waste materials 

and operational control plan 

(see Section 11.14) are 

relevant. 

Measures to protect 

hydrological features: 

Design management plan is 

pertinent as the location of 

the PV facility away from 

wetland/pan habitat has 

relevance. Water and 



11.12.3) and the 



principles (see Section 

Page 22











Due to a high number of 

renewable energy projects 

taking place in the DOE 

bidding process, the DWA 

has resolved to only 

processing applications that 

have attained preferred 

bidder status. The attached 

Annexure 1 must be 

submitted as part of the 

application for water use 

authorisation. 

As part of the requirements 

for the DOE proposals, the 

DWA will issue non-binding 

letters to water users 1 


11.12.5) are relevant. The 



11.13.2): Management of 

fuels and waste materials 

and operational control plan 

(see Section 11.14) are 

relevant. 

Deviations from the 

requirements in the EMPr will 

be communicated to DWA in 

writing 

This comment is noted by 

Sato 

This comment is noted by 

Sato 

Page 23



002 Gillian Daniels (Planning 

Partners) 

bidders as required under 

clauses 2.4.4.1.2 and 

2.4.4.1.3 of Part B: 

Qualification Criteria of 

Tender Number 

DOE/001/2011/2012. The 

information required by the 

department in order to issue 

the non-binding letters is 

contained on the attached 

Annexure 2. 

Received email 

correspondence requesting 

to be added onto the 

database and to forward a 

copy of the DEIR. 

003 Simon Haw ( APSolutions) Please could you supply us 

with further information to be 

able to understand the 

impacts better. It iseems 

that there there is a massive 

footprint area right in a very 

sensitive terrestrial corridor. 

Will the entire project not 

have a major impact on 

habitat loss? 


Ms Daniels has been added 

to the database and the 

DEIR was made available 

The ecological specialist 

report (see Appendix M) and 

the vegetation sensitivity 

map (see Figure 4-3 of the 

main EIR report) present the 

findings that the footprint of 

the development is within 

areas of relatively low 

ecological sensitivity. It 

should be noted that the 

footprint of the development 

was shifted to take account 

of ecological sensitivities 

during the initial screening 

process (see Section 7). 

Page 24



004 Mariagrazia Galimberti 

(SAHRA) 

SAHRA acknowledges that 

all necessary studies were 

done, and that no further 

studies are requested. The 

Archaeology, Palaeontology 

and Meteorites Unit has no 

objection to the 

development. However if 

any new evidence of 

archaeological sites or 

artefacts, paleontological 

fossils, graves or other 

heritage resources are found 

during construction, SAHRA 

must be alerted immediately. 


Comment Noted. 

Page 25

Public Participation report for the proposed SATO ... - SRK Consulting

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