Heritage Cases

The construction of the Solar Energy Land (Pty) Ltd 300 MW Photovoltaic Electricity Generation and 132 kV power line on Portion 6 and 3 of Farm Olyvenkolk, located approximately 37km southwest of the town of Kenhardt in the Northern Cape Province. The infrastructure associated with this facility includes: • Solar panels arranged in units with a generating capacity of approximately 300 MW and a total footprint of approximately 600ha. • A 132 kV power line (mono pole structures) of approximately 7 km over Portions 6 and 3 of Farm 187 to feed the electricity generated into the existing Aries substation. • Expansion of the Aries substation to receive the generated electricity into the ESKOM grid; and • Ancillary infrastructure such as inverters and transformers, conductors (cables), a central bushbar, isolators, switch gear, protection infrastructure, measurement devices and maintenance facility and security and control room. The proposed development will be constructed closer than 32 meters from watercourses. The electricity cable connecting the panels to each other, the distribution network will be laid underground and access roads will be constructed through some of the drainage lines. The panels would be mounted on the ground using a ground screw. A concrete foot piece secured to a steel pen driven into the ground would be used where it is not feasible to use ground screws. The maximum height of the panels in operation would be approximately 5m and would allow some ground clearance for the free flow of surface water underneath the panels and for agricultural purposes where required. The solar panels may be equipped with sun-trackers. The facility and associated infrastructure will be accessed on a 6m wide road with direct access off the Kenhardt to Pofadder gravel road. A combination of paving and or treated gravel may be utilised for this road. A 5m management track will surround each block of photovoltaic arrays, totalling approximately 9km of gravel road. These single track management roads will be used as access roads to service and maintain structures and to serve as fire breaks. On full commissioning of the facility, any access points to the site which are not required during operational phase will be closed and rehabilitated. Water will be sourced from existing boreholes, which will be registered under the National Water Act water use.