Stellar Mockford 2 Solar PV and Associated Infrastructure, near Polokwane, Limpopo Province

The Applicant, Stellar Energy Solutions (Pty) Ltd, is proposing the construction of a photovoltaic (PV) solar energy facility (known as the Stellar Mockford 2 Solar PV, located on Portion 15 of the Farm Turffontein No. 14, Portion 3 of the Farm Hollandsdrift No.15, the Remaining Extent of Portion 7 of the Farm Hollandsdrift No. 15, the Remaining Extent of Portion 18 of the Farm Hollandsdrift No. 15. Two powerline corridor options are being proposed which are located on various affected properties, namely the Remaining Extent, Remaining Extent of Portion 9, Portion 2, 3 and 47 of the Farm Wildebeestfontein No. 20, the Remaining Extent of Portion 7, Remaining Extent of Portion 18, Remaining Extent of Portion 28 and Portion 3 of the Farm Hollandsdrift No. 15, the Remaining Extent of Portion 5, Remaining Extent of Portion 18, Remaining Extent of Portion 22, Remaining Extent of Portion 24, Portion 15, 17 and 40 of the farm Turffontein No. 14, Portion 5 and 35 of the farm Snymansdrift 738, Portion 2 of the farm Zandrivier 742 and , Portion 1 of the farm Nantes No. 25. approximately 20 km southwest of the town of Polokwane, in the Limpopo Province. The solar PV facility will comprise several arrays of PV panels and associated infrastructure and will have a contracted capacity of up to 100 MW. The development area is situated within the Polokwane Local Municipality and Capricorn District Municipality. The site is accessible via existing gravel roads off the R101.

The proposed Stellar Mockford 2 Solar PV Energy Facility will cover approximately 220 ha and will include the following infrastructure:
• PV modules and mounting structures
• Inverters and transformers
• Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)
• Main and internal access roads (between 6 - 10 m wide)
• Operation and Maintenance buildings including a gate house and security building, control centre, offices, warehouses and workshops for storage and maintenance
• Temporary and permanent laydown area
• Facility grid connection infrastructure, including:
o An 800 V mini-substation to evacuate the energy to a 33 kV / 132 kV on-site facility substation via underground cabling
o Internal cabling between the project components and the substation components
o A 33 kV / 132 kV on-site facility substation
o Two 132 kV Overhead Power line options to connect the Stellar Mockford Solar PV substation to the existing Witkop Transmission Substation into a 132 KV Feeder Bay.

The two overhead power line corridors to be assessed are ~150 m wide and approximately 12 km in length.


Province(s): Limpopo