Name of the Project
KiPower independent power producer (IPP) plant project, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Location
Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Client
KiPower is a subsidiary of Kuyasa Mining, which also owns Delmas Coal and iKhwezi Colliery.

Project Description
The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has granted an integrated environmental authorisation (IEA) for the construction of the 600 MW KiPower coal-fired IPP plant near Delmas, Mpumalanga.

According to the IEA on the project the facility will include:
• a 600 MW power plant, comprising four 150 MW circulating fluidised-bed units, and either air-cooled condensers or dry-cooling towers. The plant will have an estimated 339 899 m² footprint with the air-cooled option or 350 533 m² with the dry-cooled option.
• a 400 kV three-phase generator step-up transformer for each unit and a 400 kV double-bus single breaker Eskom switchyard within the power plant footprint. Power from the switchyard is then expected to be connected to the national grid.
• an ash disposal facility (ADF) of about 1.77-million square metres, with a single composite liner installed in stages. The facility will include clean and dirty stormwater separation, a temporary 47 000 m³ ADF pollution control (PC) dam, a permanent and a 39 000 m³ double-composite-lined ADF PC dam. A stormwater collection sump, built at the south-western corner of the ADF site to contain runoff from the haul road, and a concrete-lined, bunded platform for temporary unloading of ash before disposal within the ADF footprint will also be included. The ADF development includes the rehabilitation of Ikhwezi Coal’s old opencast coal Pit H for use as part of the ADF.
• an 812-km-long sorbent conveyor to transport sorbent from the rail yard onto the overland conveyors, and a 1 722-m-long conveyor route from Delmas Coal to the power plant for the transfer of coal and sorbent.
• an enclosed conveyor route, about 960 m long, with a concrete kerb edge from the power plant to the ADF to transfer ash. A new service road will also be built alongside the ash conveyor, which will serve as an emergency ash transport route to deliver ash to the ADF in the case of conveyor failure and/or maintenance.
• stockpile areas at the power plant for coal and sorbent material.
• upgrading the existing Delmas Coal railway siding to provide an additional railway siding for limestone delivery and unloading. The upgrade will entail the extension of the three eastern tracks to the northern side by about 400 m to accommodate the long rail car, and trackwork on the southern side of the siding to redirect the train from the western tracks on the existing railway vehicle scale and a sorbent-loading facility will be provided.
• upgrading the existing tarred district access road D1059 from the R50 provincial road to the power plant and ADF.
• construction of a new intersection on the D1059 for access to the power plant and ADF, as well as a new intersection for a construction access gravel road to the south of the permanent D1059 intersection for construction access to the power plant area.
• two bridges over the Wilge river, as the power plant is located west of the Wilge river and the ADF, to the east.
• pipelines between the new power plant and the ADF.
• construction of a laydown area and facilities.
• office areas and hard park areas.
• two 500 m³ diesel fuel oil storage tanks.
• a 1 440 m³/d water pretreatment plant based on filtration.
• a 20 m³/d potable water treatment plant, based on chlorination and filtration to supply water to the project for domestic use.
• a demineraliser to produce make-up boiler feed water and a condensate polisher to filter iron from the boiler cycle water to prevent deposition in the boiler tubes, and tube failure.
• separation of clean and dirty water around the plant, and two 30 000 m³ double-composite-lined PC dams for collection of dirty stormwater and effluents.
• a wastewater treatment plant with a 2 667 m³/d capacity, and a recycling pond to treat and reuse the plant’s effluent streams and excess dirty runoff.
• raw water and service and fire water tanks.
• a sewage treatment plant, comprising an activated sludge system with an average flow rate of 21 m³/d. and
• six wetland rehabilitation projects for implementation within the Wilge river catchment on land owned by Kuyasa Mining.

The power plant could potentially be expanded to produce up to 2 000 MW in the long term.

Jobs to be Created
Not stated.

Value
$1.7-billion.

Duration
KiPower expects construction on the power plant to begin this year, with the first of the plant’s three units to be operational by 2018.

Latest Developments
The final environmental-impact report (FEIR) and the environmental management programme  (EMPr) for the Matla-Glockner loop-in and loop-out transmission line project, which will connect the approved KiPower PP plant to State-owned power utility Eskom's national grid, has been submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) for review.

The proposed project entails the construction of two 400 kV power lines to connect KiPower’s approved IPP plant to the existing Matla-Glockner 400 kV transmission line.

The FEIR and EMPr has also been made available for public comment.

The environmental authorisation for the project will be granted or denied based on the DEA’s findings; stakeholders will be notified within 12 days of the  decision.

Based on the DEA’s decision, further applications, such as for an integrated water-use licence, may be applied for.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
KiPower, tel +27 13 656 36 59, fax +27 13 690 35 45 or email jael@kuyasamining.co.za.