Name and Location
KiPower independent power producer (IPP) plant project, 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, 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. 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.
• clean and dirty water separation 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.

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
A draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed construction of two loop-in loop-out 400 kV power lines to connect the KiPower independent power producer (IPP) power plant to the Eskom grid was released May 13 for public comment by engineering and environmental consulting firm Jones & Wagener.

The proposed 400 kV power lines will be built between the KiPower IPP power plant, south-east of Delmas, and a connection point on the Matla-Glockner 400 kV power line, about 12 km south-east of the N17 national road.

Prior to the undertaking of the environmental-impact assessment (EIA), Jones & Wagener developed 12 power line corridor alternatives, and the scoping and EIR process, the first phase of the EIA process, is currently under way to ensure that all environmental-, social- and cultural-impacts of each corridor option are identified to ensure that stakeholders have the opportunity to raise issues and concerns.

This is necessary to obtain final environmental authorisation from the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA).

Several specialist studies have also been conducted as part of the scoping study and EIR, the findings of which have been integrated into the draft EIR, which will be available for public comment until June 14.

In the EIR, Jones & Wagener note that the proposed project is expected to impact on a range of biophysical and socioeconomic aspects of the environment, which will be evaluated in terms of their significance in the next phase of the EIA.

Some of these issues include the potential environmental impact on the visual environment, the area’s flora and fauna, as well as the land and soil. The draft EIR has also identified issues with the drainage features in the area post construction, the environmental impact of the temporary construction camp and vehicle maintenance, and the impact of heavy-vehicle traffic during the construction phase on the area’s socioeconomic environment.

Suggestions on how these issues can be minimised or mitigated will be formulated in the next phase of the EIA process, the socioeconomic impact-assessment phase.

Further, a comprehensive environmental management programme (EMP) will be developed and implemented to regulate and minimise the potential impacts during the construction and operational phases.

The draft EMP has also been made available for public review and comment, as an appendix to the draft EIR, the draft EMP.

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.