Orange River Solar Facility 1

The Orange River Solar Facility 1 (ORSF1) (PTY) Ltd is developing a 50 MW photovoltaic solar plant on Portion 18 of the farm Rooisand 387, near Groblershoop in the Northern Cape. This project involves constructing the solar plant and related infrastructure, including an Eskom substation, inverter stations, a maintenance building, and an internal access road. This development will contribute new renewable energy capacity to the national electricity grid. The proposed solar facility will connect to the national grid via Eskom's Garona substation, located North North West of the Orange River relative to ORSF1.
The proposed 132 kV transmission line is essential for the success of the ORSF1 as it connects the solar plant to Eskom’s Garona substation, enabling energy transmission to the national grid. The Environmental Authorisation for ORSF1 (Reference No. 14/12/16/3/1/2558) has been obtained, underscoring the project's compliance and readiness. With the approval of the Environmental Authorisation it will positively contribute to the development of the 132 kV sub-transmission, and in turn contributing significantly to the operational success of the solar facility. The final step is constructing the proposed powerline to connect Eskom’s Garona substation and ORSF1.
Project description
The proposed 132 kV sub-transmission line development will connect the ORSF 1 to the Eskom Garona substation and will be a total length of 19 km running nearly parallel to an existing high voltage transmission line. The proposed transmission line will be situated within a corridor spanning 100 m in width while the final route is still to be determined within the corridor (Figure 1). The distance between the proposed and existing transmission lines may vary between 50 m to 75 m whereas the distance between the pylons ranges from 200 m up to 375 m depending on the ground profile which will add up to approximately 95 pylons along the 19 km transmission line. The pylon placement will affect 15 m x 15 m of vegetation surrounding the base of the pylon which will add up to approximately 8 ha of vegetation clearance, if only the base of the pylon structure is cleared.
Province(s): Northern Cape