Govt seeks comment on power corridor enviro framework

10th September 2015

By: Terence Creamer

Creamer Media Editor

  

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The Department of Environmental Affairs has called for public comment, as part of a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) process, on the proposed routing of five power corridors that have been identified as critical to meeting South Africa’s electricity transmission needs to 2040.

The Electricity Grid Infrastructure (EGI) SEA was initiated in January 2014 by the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission, which earmarked the expansion of South Africa’s transmission infrastructure as a key component of Strategic Integrated Project 10, or SIP 10, dealing with the expansion of the country’s transmission and distribution networks.

EGI SEA project manager Marshall Mabin, of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, tells Engineering News Online that the written public comments on the refined corridor plan will be received until the end of October and will be used to inform the final report, which is expected to be published in the Government Gazette during March 2016.

The five corridors, each 100 km in width, traverse the entire country and take account of expected changes to South Africa’s electricity generation mix, which is currently dominated by coal-fired power stations located in the north-eastern regions of the country.

The refined corridor map seeks to take account of the potential geographic shifts associated with the inclusion of new sources of generation, such as renewable-energy, nuclear and gas, which are likely to result in directional changes to the flow of electricity. It also takes account of expected changes to load as outlined in Eskom’s Strategic Grid Plan.

Mabin stresses that the plan is long-term in nature and will not address immediate constraints to the connection of renewable-energy projects. “This is not a quick fix. These corridors are to facilitate a number of different future energy scenarios over the coming 20 to 30 years.”


A key objective is to unlock funding for proactive grid development by Eskom, which currently begins negotiations on the acquisition of servitudes only once it has the necessary environmental approvals.

“What we are essentially doing is identifying where the corridors are likely to be located and undertaking a scoping-level environmental pre-assessment to provide Eskom with the confidence to start negotiations with landowners at an earlier stage,” Mabin explains.

The State-owned utility has indicted previously that such negotiations with landowners are typically fraught and time consuming, with uncompromising landowners often able to hold up projects for significant periods of time.

By identifying areas of lower environmental sensitivities upfront, Eskom could begin making strategic investments with a high level of confidence that the necessary environmental approvals will be forthcoming once applications are made.

Broadening the corridor route to 100 km should also make it easier for Eskom to move ahead with a re-routing plan should it encounter either an obstructive landowner, or a particular environmental sensitivity.

“What we would ideally like is for Eskom to be submitting a pre-negotiated route for environmental authorisation, rather than waiting for environmental authorisation prior to proceeding with the negotiation process.”

Should such a model be adopted, it is expected to improve planning and delivery of grid infrastructure in the absence of critical environmental “pinch points”.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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