Requirements for environmental authorisation for renewable energy facility published

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy has published a notice on the amendment of certain requirements for an application for environmental authorisation for a renewable energy facility.

Image source: Kervin Edward Lara from Pexels

“The amendment is necessary to ensure that the full potential of the investment into electricity infrastructure can be realised,” the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said on Tuesday.

They were published under sections 24(5)(a), 24(5)(b)(i) and 44 of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998), read with regulation 10(b) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2014, as amended.

“The amendment requires that a proponent requests and obtains a consent letter from Eskom, or its successor, which confirms that the proposed layout of the facility will not unnecessarily obstruct access to the transmission or distribution infrastructure,” the department said.

The amendment was published in Government Gazette No. 49815, Notice No. 4143 on 4 December 2023.

A copy of the Government Gazette can be obtained here.

Any enquiries in connection with the notice can be directed to Dr D Fischer at the following email address: az.vog.effd@rehcsifd.