Heritage Cases

This application is for the proposed amendment to the existing Noblesfontein WEF located on the Northern Cape side of the boundary with the Northern and Western Cape. The DFFE has advised that a Basic Assessment process must be followed for this proposed amendment. The Noblesfontein WEF is located in the Northern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa within the Ubuntu and Beaufort West local municipalities, approximately 25km from Victoria West, 25km South of Hutchinson and 7.5 km North of Three Sisters. However, the proposed amendments are located only within the Northern Cape. The wind energy facility is on the Noblesfontein farm, which consists of 11 000 hectares of Karoo veld. The Noblesfontein WEF is approved for 44 turbines (DEFF 12/12/20/1993/1) and currently only has 41 installed with an output of 2MW per turbine. The Client wishes to construct two more turbines with a technical specification upgrade of between 4MW and 5.6MW. These 2 turbines will be a larger version of the currently installed turbines and hence the requirement for a Basic Assessment Process. The location of these 2 additional turbines will form part of the authorized and approved Noblesfontein WEF Project footprint. This desktop assessment is intended to identify opportunities and heritage constraints within the broader development area to inform the proposed layout. Detailed WTG dimensions for the 10MW facilities: Upgrading 2 WTGs from 3MW specifications (with a total output of 6MW) to 2 WTGs of between 4MW and 5.6MW specifications (with a total output up to 10MW) Each turbine will be a steel tower with a maximum height of up to 137.5m and will include a nacelle (gear box) with three rotor blades Each rotor blade will have a maximum length of up to 82m in length with a total rotor diameter of up to 165m The total swept rotor area is a maximum of 21382.5m2 The total turbine height will be a maximum of up to 220m Maximum sound output will be up to 104.9dB