Mainstream- Bultfontein Grid Connection Infrastructure Projects, Free State

South Africa Mainstream Renewable Power Developments (Pty) Ltd, henceforth referred to as Mainstream, is proposing the development of the grid connection infrastructure to support the Bultfontein Solar PV (Photovoltaic) Cluster, comprising nine Solar Energy Facilities (SEFs) with associated infrastructure. The overall objective of the proposed Solar Energy Facility (SEF) is to generate electricity by means of renewable energy technology, capturing solar energy to feed into the national grid via the proposed grid connection infrastructure.

The proposed development will support nine SEFs collectively referred to as the “Bultfontein Solar PV Cluster”, with a total combined capacity of up to 960 megawatts (MW).

Each individual SEF within the Bultfontein Solar PV Cluster will connect to the grid by way of its own supporting grid connection infrastructure (undertaken as separate standalone applications and basic assessment reports to support each individual PV facility). The supporting grid connection infrastructure (i.e. one x 132 kV Eskom switching substation, one x 132 kV overhead power line (OHL), one x up to 400 kV Main Transmission Substation (MTS) and its associated up to 400 kV OHLs that will connect to the existing Perseus/ Theseus 1 400 kV Eskom OHL via a “Loop-in-Loop-out (LILO) connection) is required to evacuate and feed the electricity generated by the Bultfontein Solar PV Cluster to the national grid.

Ten separate applications for Environmental Authorisation (EA) will be submitted for the associated grid connection infrastructure projects. It should be noted that the entire Grid Connection component associated with the Bultfontein Solar PV SEF Cluster (substations and power lines) are located within the Central Strategic Transmission Corridor as per GN R113 of 2018, thus a BA process for the application for EA must be undertaken.

The ten separate applications for Environmental Authorisation (EA) that will be submitted for the associated grid connection infrastructure, are as follows:

• Nine applications for the 132 kV Eskom switching substation and 132 kV OHLs connecting to the up to 400 kV MTS (i.e., 132 kV grid connection infrastructure applications) (1 x 132 kV OHL & switching substation application per SEF project); and
• One application for the up to 400 kV MTS and up to 400 kV OHLs connecting to the existing Perseus/ Theseus 1 400 kV Eskom OHL (LILO connection) (i.e., Two400 kV grid connection infrastructure application).

Each of the nine supporting 132 kV grid connection infrastructure applications will consist of the following key infrastructure:

• One x 132 kV Eskom switching substation, approximately 2 hectares (ha) in size;
• One x 132 kV OHL which will connect the Eskom switching substation to the MTS (132 kV busbar portion); and
• Each OHL will be within a 300 m wide corridor (150 m on either side of the centre line), which had also been applied to the perimeter of each substation and assessed accordingly.

Status

Notice is hereby given, in terms of the EIA Regulations, 2014 promulgated under NEMA, that the 10 X Final Basic Assessment Reports (FBARs) prepared for the above-mentioned projects were submitted to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for review and approval.

The reports are available for download below.