INSTALLATION OF A SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANT AT ESKOM S DUVHA POWER STATION: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Transcription

1 INSTALLATION OF A SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANT AT ESKOM S DUVHA POWER STATION: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT APPENDIX B6: ISSUES AND RESPONSES REPORT VERSION 3 November 2015 DEA REF No. 114/12/16/3/3/2/759 Issues and Responses Report i

2 Acronyms and Abbreviations DAFF DEA DM DSR DWS EAP EIA ELM I&APs NEMA NDM PM RFSR Department of Agriculture, forestry and fisheries Department of Environmental Affairs District Municipality Draft Scoping Report Department of Water and Sanitation Environmental Assessment Practitioner Environmental Impact Assessment Emalahleni Local Municipality Interested and Affected Parties National Environmental Management Act Nkangala District Municipality Public Meeting Revised Final Scoping Report Issues and Responses Report ii

3 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR THE INSTALLATION OF A SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANT AT ESKOM S DUVHA POWER STATION ISSUES AND RESPONSES REPORT 1. INTRODUCTION Background Eskom Holdings SOC Limited (Eskom), proposes to construct and operate a PV plant on the property of Eskom Duvha Power Station, located on the farm Duvha Kragstasie 337JS in Mpumalanga. The Duvha Power Station is located approximately 15 km east of Witbank and forms part of the Emalahleni Local Municipality (ELM) in Mpumulanga. The installation of the proposed PV plant on the property of Eskom s Duvha power Station includes a solar field and associated infrastructure. The solar field will consist of solar panels and will require a Substation; Meteorological station; Control and Operation Buildings. Existing access roads will be upgraded and new internal roads will be constructed to gain access to the solar field and associated infrastructure. The total footprint required for the proposed PV plant is ha which includes the associated infrastructure. The projected power peak is 23.5 MWp. ILISO Consulting (Pty) Ltd, (ILISO) has been appointed to undertake the necessary environmental process as required in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA), as amended, on behalf of Eskom. Purpose of this report This report provides a formal and integrated record of all the issues raised by Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) at the meetings or by letters, s or telephone and the responses provided by Eskom and ILISO Consulting up to the 17 th November All written submission are provided as an attachment to the IRR. Structure of report Comments received have been divided into categories for ease of access (Chapter 3) as follows: 1 Water Use Licence Mining Project Support Employment EIA Process Project Details Authority Consultation... 8 Issues and Responses Report 1

4 Public Meetings (PM) The following public meetings took place: No Date Time Place Type of Meeting rd March :00am Protea Hotel, Highveld Public Meeting rd March :00pm Protea Hotel, Highveld Public Meeting th October :00pm Buthanani Home Base Care Centre Public Meeting Documents made available to stakeholders The following documents have been distributed to the registered I&APs during the public participation process: No Date Report th January 2015 Letter notifying I&AP of the application th January 2015 Background Information Document th March 2015 DSR Notification letter th April 2015 Public Meeting Minutes th April 2015 FSR Notification letter th June 2015 Revised Final Scoping Report (RFSR) and Notification letter th October 2015 DEIAr Notification letter and Invitation to attend Public Meeting th October 2015 DEIAr th November FEIAr 2015 Issues and Responses Report 2

5 2. SUMMARY OF THE KEY ISSUES The key issues that have been raised have been divided into categories. These are highlighted below and detailed comments received are recorded in Chapter 3. 1 Water Use Licence 2. Mining 3. Project Support 4. Employment 5. EIA Process 6. Project Details 7. Authority Consultation Issues and Responses Report 3

6 3. ISSUES AND RESPONSES The comments and issues received from I&APs are recorded in Table 2. Table 2: Issues and Responses Issue/Comment/Question Date received Origin Response 1 Water Use Licence 1.1 What is the proximity of the project to water resources? 1.2 If the proposed project will trigger water uses in terms of section 21 (a) of the National Water Act, Act 36 of Mining 2.1 The project overlies areas in respect of which BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa (Pty) Limited (BECSA) holds a mining right to mine coal. In order to assess impacts of the proposed project kindly provide us with plans of the project are in dxf, dwg or dgn format. 3. Project Support 3.1 The EIA should consider the high potential of agricultural land on the proposed sites. 30/01/2015 Betty Mnguni Both site alternatives fall within 500m of a wetland and will require a water use license. 30/01/2015 Betty Mnguni According to GN199 of the National Water Act all activities within 500m of a wetland must be authorised in terms of Section 21c and 21l of the National Water Act (Act 36 of /02/2015 Vikesh Dhanooklal The requested files were submitted on the 19 th February Eskom is currently liaising with BHP Billiton to resolve this issue. 15/01/2015 Robert Davel The Plan of Study for the EIA includes a Soils and Agricultural impact assessment. Regardless, we understand and support the development of alternative energy sources and we prefer solar energy to that of coal in the light of damage done to agricultural land in mining coal. 3.2 It is expected that the outcome of the EIA and the proposed project will improve the local community. I would therefore like to see the project continue and appreciate the information provided thus far. Noted 23/03/2015 Lindiwe Shoyisa Noted. 4

7 Issue/Comment/Question Date received Origin Response 4. Employment 4.1 Will there be job opportunities for the local community. Can skilled people within the community apply for this project? 4.2 The semi-skilled and unskilled workers should be hired from the community. 4.3 Will there be any permanent jobs created once the project is operational and what skills would be required for the job. 4.4 Will retrenchment of staff at the end of the project occur? 5. EIA Process 5.1 The community members and community development is important. Please do not use the community in this process if there is no direct benefit to the community. 5.2 The venue for the next meeting should be closer to the community. 23/03/2015 Bongani Nkosi Phumla Malebe 23/03/2015 Ms Motloung 23/03/2015 Phumla Malebe The direct potential of jobs is estimated at approximately 35 direct jobs. Note however, not all these employment opportunities are necessarily available for employment of local workforce within the immediate surrounds of the project. The actual number is also likely to vary based on final designs and size of the proposed project, as well as based on the level of skills and resources of the contractor. 23/03/2015 Mr Masango Mr Thakuri stated that the personnel working on the plant would need to have an understanding of the plant and the electrical workings, such as electrical technicians. At this stage it cannot be stated if this project will create any new jobs, the purpose of this project is to assist Eskom to operate more functionally 23/03/2015 Phumla Malebe Mrs Calmeyer stated that there would be no retrenchments as the PV plant would not replace any existing operations of the Power Station. 23/03/2015 Phumla Malebe Noted. However the law states that the EIA team need to give the community the information and allow them the opportunity to comment. It is the community s free will to attend the meetings. 23/03/2015 Bongani Nkosi Ms Motloung The EIA team will look at suitable venues closer to the community for future meetings. 5.3 How many people are made aware of these public meetings? 23/03/2015 Bongani Nkosi Mrs Calmeyer stated that Government has promulgated regulations in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA) and these regulations state what needs to be done to be considered adequate by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). These include: 5

8 Issue/Comment/Question Date received Origin Response 5.4 Eskom personnel working at the Duvha Power Station should be informed about this project. 5.5 Cllr Nkosi asked if the proposed PV plant was on Eskom s land. 5.6 Cllr Nkosi asked why an EIA was being done for this project if it is on Eskom s property. An advertisement in a local newspaper; An on-site notice is to be erected; Written notification to be given to the Ward Councillors, as he represents the interest of the people in the area; Written Notification to all adjacent landowners; Any draft documents need to be made available to all interested or affected people for a comment period so as to allow for any comments or concerns to be submitted; and A stakeholder database is to be maintained for any people who register as a stakeholder. Public meetings are not a legal requirement, it is something extra that is often done to provide guidance to stakeholders to better understand the information provided in the reports. 23/03/2015 Phumla Malebe Mrs Calmeyer stated that no meetings are to be held at the Power Station but all working personnel are welcome to come if they wish to find out more. Ms Emmy Molepo added that this meeting does not have a set number of people that need to attend, it is an open meeting for any public members. 23/03/2015 Bongani Nkosi Mrs Calmeyer confirmed that it would be on their land and would not affect any surrounding landowners. The PV plant would be approximately 2 m high and will not impact the community as no emissions or water vapour would be emitted from the PV panels. The advantage of this PV plant will be to provide Eskom with additional power to use at Duvha Power Station, thus allowing Eskom to increase its electricity export to the grid. 23/03/2015 Mrs Calmeyer stated that an EIA is a legal requirement as the development triggers the following listed activity under the 2010 NEMA regulations, Government Notice 545: (1) The construction of facilities or infrastructure for the generation of electricity where the electricity output is 20 megawatts or more; and (15) Physical alteration of undeveloped, vacant or derelict land for residential, retail, commercial, recreational, industrial or institutional use where the total area to be transformed is 20 hectares or more. 6

9 Issue/Comment/Question Date received Origin Response 5.7 Why are we at this meeting if this project does not affect the community at all? 5.8 Ms Motloung asked if they would be informed if the EIA is not approved. The community often gets left hanging as they are not informed when projects are denied or delayed. 5.9 Ms Motloung pointed out that there is a school near alternative site 1 and a residential area near alternative site 9 and asked whether it has been considered in the EIA Process that the project might cause nuisance. 23/03/2015 Ms Motloung Mrs Calmeyer stated that the law states that the team need to give the community the information and allow them the opportunity to comment. It is the community s free will to attend the meetings. 23/03/2015 Ms Motloung Mrs Calmeyer stated that this would be done 28/10/2015 Ms Motloung The Primary School was considered during the EIA. Section 8.8 in the Social Impact Specialist Study. The School is approximately 1 km from the boundary of alternative site 1. It is likely to be slightly impacted for a short time during the construction phase, by noise but the impacts will be mitigated (by ensuring that vehicles are serviced regularly and in good working order) to a moderate significance. During the Operational phase, the potential impact of glare from the panels is expected to be very low because the panels are designed to absorb and not reflect light One of the Participants mentioned that the copy of the DEIR was not available at the Witbank Library 6. Project Details 6.1 Mr Mpho Sefoka asked what the estimated time of construction would be. 6.2 Cllr Nkosi asked that the community be informed and introduced to the Contractor who will do this project. This is so that the Contractor will consider hiring members of the community with the necessary skills. The community should get preference for the work available. 28/10/2015 Participants ILISO made follow-up with the Witbank Library and confirmed the availability of the report, and requested the Library to avail the DEIR to the public 23/03/2015 Mr Mpho Sefoka Mr Thakuri stated that construction would take approximately 10 to 12 months, with core construction taking 6 to 12 months. The timeframe will be dependent on the Contractor s experience. 23/03/2015 Bongani Nkosi Mrs Calmeyer stated that this cannot be promised but the request can be passed on to the Eskom personnel who are in charge of the appointment of the Contractor. 7

10 Issue/Comment/Question Date received Origin Response 6.3 Mr Themba Masango asked when the construction of this project would commence. 6.4 Mr Sefoka asked about the two sites shown in the map (1 and 9). 7. Authority Consultation 7.1 DWS acknowledged receipt and provided comment to the FSR on the 29/04/ The Scoping Report and Plan of Study for the Environmental Impact Assessment (PoSEIA) dated 20 th April 2015 was rejected by DEA on the 25 th May 2015 (Appendix C1). A Revised Final Scoping Report (RFSR) was generated and described the potential environmental impacts, site alternatives, and Plan of Study (PoS) for the EIA and all requirements as per Appendix C1. The RFSR was submitted to DEA and accepted on the 6 th of August Specific Information required by the CA is detailed in Appendix C The Department of Agriculture, forestry and fisheries (DAFF) acknowledged receipt and confirmed that the application has been captured in their electronic AgriLand tracking and management system. 23/03/2015 Mr Themba Masango Mrs Molepo stated that the Environmental Authorisation is required before any construction can commence, this is expected to be obtained by the end of Thereafter it will take approximately another year for all the design and ordering of the parts. The community should expect this project to only start beginning of /03/2015 Mr Sefoka Mrs Calmeyer clarified that only one of these sites would be developed, not both. The EIA process is looking at both sites to determine which site would be the most suitable site to develop. 29/04/2015 Betty Mnguni Comments have been taken into consideration in the EIA phase. 25/05/2015 Mr Essop The DEIAr was revised in light of DEA requirements. Specific Information required by the CA is detailed in Appendix C and a summary provided in Table 6 of the DEIAr. 23/06/2015 B N DE Lange Noted 7.4 DAFF acknowledged receipt and accepted the proposed project with no objection as Eskom is a statutory body, as stated in section 2 of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act 70 of DWS acknowledged receipt and provided comment to the DEIR on the 29/10/ /08/2015 H.L Lindemann Noted. 29/10/2015 M. Kabasa Comments have been taken into consideration in the EMPr. 8

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