MechChem Africa November-December 2024

⎪ PowerGen,PetroChem and Sustainable energy management ⎪

The existing Bio2Watt organic biogas plant in Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng.

for pipeline infrastructure, in turn trig gering certain additional environmental licencing requirements. The combination of significant developmental benefits offered by the project has clearly gen erated the interest of all stakeholders. “It was heartening to see the interest and active response for this project from the various stakeholders,” adds Moodley. “We received plenty of feedback and comments during the permitting phases – from the competent authorities, regu lators and community members, as well as the Council for Geoscience – which greatly strengthened the EIA process.” “In the public engagement process, for instance, local residents were en thusiastic to find out more about the project and its technology, and were generally very supportive of the project. Such engagements are a critical aspect of planning these developments, and of the project’s ongoing relationship with local stakeholders,” Hale points out. “In addition to complying with South Africa’s robust regulations, the EIA was aligned with the International Financial Corporation (IFC) performance stan dard requirements,” she continues. As part of BEH’s community upliftment programme, a stakeholder engagement plan and gender-based analysis were un dertaken for the lifespan of the project. Moodley highlighted that these inter national standards also strengthen the environmental management plan (EMP), which stipulates the additional mitiga tion measures for the identified impacts. SRK’s multidisciplinary team was well utilised on the project, providing

A primary bio-waste digester for a waste-to-energy plant.

in-house expertise in various techni cal studies in the EIA – including social impact, surface water, climate change, air emissions and noise pollution. Kilian notes that the company also has an extensive network of professional as sociates whose fields were relevant to this project, such as heritage, major hazardous installations (MHI), human rights and gender impacts. The Sunderland Ridge project is the third such initiative from BEH, whose first plant has been operating in Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng for almost a decade. It has already contributed around 100 GWh to the national grid. Construction on a second plant – this

one in Malmesbury in the Western Cape – is planned to start before the ned of this year, and is approved to produce 9.8 MW. “Biogas projects such as these, with their energy and other benefits, hold great promise for a greener future in South Africa,” says Killian. “Technology to transform organic waste to biogas has been developing over the past couple of decades, allowing our economy to leap frog to the latest technology. “Our EIA has also shown that the im pacts of these projects can be effectively managed, through quality studies, con sidered impact assessment and effective stakeholder participation,” he concludes. www.srk.co.za

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