Red Cap Energy (Pty) Ltd (Red Cap) want to develop three wind farms 65km north of Beaufort West along the R381 to Loxton, in the Beaufort West Local Municipality, Central Karoo District Municipality, Western Cape. The wind farms will be developed on the adjacent farms Leeuwkloof, Snydersfontein, Bultfontein, Slangfontein and Rocklands (Gert Adriaans Kraal). The proposal includes a ±120km gridline running roughly along the DR02317 and the De Jager’s Pass road (DR02311) (excluding De Jager’s Pass itself) to the Eskom Droërivier Substation located south-west of Beaufort West.
A Scoping and Environmental Impact Reporting (S&EIR) process for each wind farm and a Basic Assessment (BA) process for the gridline was required in terms of the National Environment Management Act (NEMA, Act No. 107 of 1998, as amended) and the 2014 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations (as amended) and Government Notice 145 of 26 February 2021 (GN145/2021) to obtain authorisations for the proposed developments. Formal applications were submitted to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
The final Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) for the Nuweveld North, East and West wind farms and the Basic Assessment Report (BAR) for the Gridline were previously finalised and submitted to the DFFE for decision making. The Nuweveld Gridline (14-12-16-3-3-1-2336) has already been authorised and no appeals were received.
The DFFE authorised the Nuweveld North, East and West wind farm applications and issued Environmental Authorisations (EA) dated 8 December 2021. The reasons for the decision are provided in Annexure 1 of the EAs, which can be accessed via the following links:
I&APs are also advised of their right to appeal the DFFE’s decision in terms of the National Appeal Regulations, 2014 (as amended) via the appeals procedure. A written appeal, using the prescribed forms obtained from the DFFE website (link below), must reach the appeals administrator by 26 January 2022, and a copy of the appeal must be provided to any registered I&APs and organs of state with an interest in the matter, as well as the Applicant.
Written appeals and enquiries must be addressed to –
-Mr Ziyaad Hassam
Director: Appeals and Legal Review
-Department of Environmental Affairs
Private Bag X447
Pretoria
0001,
South Africa
email: Appealsdirectorate@environment.gov.za
–Further detail on the appeal process, guidelines and prescribed forms can be obtained from the DFFE’s website via the following link: www.environment.gov.za/projectsprogrammes/appeals_legalreview or calling the DFFE on 012 399 9356.
The complete final reports for the Nuweveld Wind Farms together with their annexures and the final comments and responses reports as submitted are still available for information until the end of the appeal period. The online folders can be accessed through the following links:
This information will be available until all decisions have been issued by the DFFE and the stipulated appeal periods have closed. Except for formal appeals (as described above), these applications are closed to further comments. Please direct any queries to the following:
Patrick Killick
Email: Patrick.Killick@zutari.com
Mobile: +27 72 446 8005