The Proposed Kingston Solar Photovoltaic Solar Energy Facility near Bothaville, Free State Province

Kingston Solar (Pty) Ltd intends to develop an up to 140 MW photovoltaic (PV) solar energy facility (known as Kingston Solar) and associated infrastructure, including grid connection infrastructure, on Portion 0 of Farm Kingston No. 607, Portion 0 of Farm Paynevale No. 608, and Portion 0 of Farm Klippan No. 377. Proposed infrastructure includes PV panels, on-site substation, Battery Energy Storage Solution (BESS), internal and perimeter access roads, operational and management buildings, temporary and permanent laydown areas, etc. The Kingston Solar PV facility is to be situated within the Moqhaka Local Municipality within the Fezile Dabi District Municipality area of jurisdiction, Free State Province. The town of Bothaville is located approximately 17 km southwest of the proposed development.

A development area / site of up to 260 hectares (including supporting infrastructure) has been identified for assessment as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, which is fully assessed as part of this draft Scoping Report. The Kingston Solar PV facility is divided into a northern and southern section separated by the existing R59 Regional Road. A 33 kV cabling is proposed to connect the southern section from the proposed switching station to the substation proposed on the northern section. A Loop-In-Loop-Out (LILO) connection into one, or both, of the existing Eskom 132 kV power lines adjacent to the proposed solar PV facility is proposed for connection from the on-site substation. A LILO corridor of up to 200 m wide and up to 150 m long has been identified for assessment. The disturbance footprint within the power line corridor will be limited to pylon footprints only.
Province(s): Free State