Sasol Synfuels Operations is situated near Secunda, in Mpumalanga. As part of the greater Sasol Mulalo project, aimed at making its operations more self-sufficient and aligned with its decarbonisation strategy, Sasol has proposed the development of a powerline to supplement the electricity needs of its Secunda operations. A 132 kV powerline of approximately 5.6 km will be developed, connecting the Eskom Sol Substation to the Sasol Amafutha Substation, transferring, 550 MW from Eskom’s transmission network to Sasol’s Secunda Operations. The project includes the construction of a new 132 kV feeder bay at the Sol substation and a new switch yard at the Amafutha Substation. The construction will occur on already disturbed land with pre-existing infrastructure. It is assumed that the development shall be performed under the Eskom Transmission Self-Build Works process and the environmental authorisation shall be handed over to Eskom upon completion.
The proposed powerline will run within an existing Eskom powerline servitude along a wetland, crossing the Bossiesspruit and Kleinspruit rivers at multiple locations along its route. Although the powerline route is through a wetland, the land has been heavily modified from previous activities and developments. The powerline will be completely contained within Sasol Synfuels Secunda Operations secondary area, properties of which are wholly owned by Sasol. The proposed construction of the powerline will be conducted in such a manner as to cause as little destruction/disruption to the wetland and surrounding environment as possible.
Sasol has appointed Iyanda Power Technologies (Pty) Ltd (Iyanda) to design and construct the proposed powerline and SRK Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd (SRK) will undertake the environmental authorisation and water use authorisation process. The proposed powerline project will require a Basic Assessment procedure to be followed in terms of the environmental impact authorisation, as well as a General Authorisation process in terms of water use authorisation.
