Edited executive summary: installation of 9 wind monitoring masts at Jeffreys Bay

Mainstream Renewable Power Jeffrey’s Bay, a special purpose vehicle of South Africa Mainstream Renewable Power Developments, has appointed the CSIR as independent Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) to undertake the Basic Assessment for the proposed installation of nine wind monitoring masts near Jeffrey’s Bay within the Kouga Municipal Area. Public Process Consultants will manage the Public Participation component of the Basic Assessment Process. The activity comprises the installation of nine lattice or tubular wind monitoring masts, each with a maximum height of 100 m. Seventeen sites are being investigated, but from these, 9 sites in the Jeffreys Bay area had been selected as preferred options.

Anemometers (a device for measuring wind speed) will be installed on the mast at various heights from approximately 30m above ground level to the top of the mast. Aviation warning lights will also be installed in accordance with requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and will be powered by a battery charged by solar power. The mast will sit on a concrete base of a maximum footprint of 1m x 1m and be supported by stays not more than 100 m from the base.

The construction will be done in two phases:
• Phase1: Construction of the base and allowing concrete to cure.
• Phase 2: Installation of the mast.
It should be noted that micro-siting during the design phase may lead to minor refinement of the exact sites for the masts. The masts will be operational in the different locations for periods ranging from 4 to 12 months. There might be a need to keep two masts for the lifetime of the wind project to obtain wind measurements in order to verify the performance of the wind turbines. After the operations period, the monitoring masts will be dismantled and might be used elsewhere. (The proposed wind farm is the subject of a separate EIA process being conducted by CSIR in parallel with the BA for the wind monitoring masts.)

The masts are being installed in the nine locations either in phases or simultaneously. If measurements are to be conducted in phases, the proponent envisages that three to four masts will be installed in the first phase of measurements. After data have been collected at these masts, the next set of masts will be installed, followed by the third phase of measurements several months after this. If sufficient data have been received during the operation of the first six masts, the developer might decide not to install the remaining three masts. As noted above, instead of conducting measurements in phases, the developer may choose to install masts in all nine locations simultaneously.

A public participation process was advertised in various local newspapers. Interested and Affected Parties were identified and notified of the proposed project.

The data collected from the monitoring masts would inform further planning for the proposed Jeffrey’s Bay Wind Project and investment decisions.

Considering the footprint of each mast and that no new access roads will be built in order to install and operate the masts, the masts are assessed to have a low impact on the sense of place (i.e. visual impact and associated impact on the tourism potential), very limited habitat loss, very low impact on vegetation and low impact on birds, resulting in a overall impact of low significance. Furthermore, as only two masts will be installed for the duration of the wind farm project, the majority of impact is of relatively short term, being only for a monitoring period of a maximum of 12 months.

In summary, provided that the recommended management actions are implemented effectively, the proposed wind monitoring masts are assessed to provide a net positive contribution to sustainability, through providing data that can be used to support financing and planning of wind energy projects, which have the potential to reduce South Africa’s carbon footprint from additional power generation.