The Proposed Letsa Photovoltaic Solar Energy Facility and Associated Infrastructure near Lephalale, Limpopo Province

The Applicant, Letsa Solar PV (RF) (Pty) Ltd, is proposing the construction of a photovoltaic (PV) solar energy facility (known as the Letsa PV Solar Energy Facility (“Letsa SEF”)) located on the Portion 1 of the Farm Altoostyd No. 506 LQ approximately 9 km south-west of the town of Lephalale 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 240 MW. The development area is situated within the Lephalale Local Municipality within the Waterberg District Municipality. The site is accessible via the existing Palala Drive Road located off the Walter Sisulu Drive west of the R510 and other public and provincial roads that pass the site.

Two (02) additional solar PV facilities (Kgamma SEF and Tholo SEF) are concurrently being considered on the surrounding properties and are assessed through separate Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment (S&EIA) processes.

The proposed Letsa SEF will cover approximately 547 ha and will include the following infrastructure:
• PV modules and mounting structures
• Inverters and transformers
• Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)
• Site and internal access roads (between 6 and 8 m wide)
• Operation and Maintenance buildings including a gate house, ablution facilities, security building, control centre, offices, warehouses and workshops for storage and maintenance.
• Temporary and permanent laydown area
• For health, safety and security reasons, the facility will be required to be fenced off from the surrounding farms.
• Facility grid connection infrastructure, including:
o 33 kV cabling between the project components and the on-site facility substation;
o A 33 kV/132 kV IPP substation;
o A 132 kV Eskom switching station; and
o A 132 kV overhead power line connecting the on-site switching station to the Eskom Altoostyd Substation. A 300 m wide and approximately 0.2 km long grid corridor has been identified for assessment.
Province(s): Limpopo