Oya - Patterned Blade Painting for the approved Oya Wind Energy Facility (DFFE Ref:14/12/16/3/3/1/1976/2/AM5)

Notice is hereby given of Oya Energy (RF) (Pty) Ltd (Oya) intention to submit an application for amendment of their approved Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) in terms of Regulation 37 of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, 2014 (GN R 982 of 2014) (as amended) promulgated in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA). SLR Consulting (South Africa) Pty Ltd (SLR), an independent firm of Environmental Assessment Practitioners (EAPs), has been appointed by Oya as the independent (EAP), to facilitate this application process.

The existing approved EMPr (DFFE REF: 14/12/16/3/3/1/1976/2/AM5) was prepared by Sivest SA (Pty) Ltd (refer to Appendix A) and the EMPr contains management outcomes (objectives) and management actions relevant to the Oya WEF. Since the approved EMPr was prepared by another EAP, SLR shall not edit the original document but instead propose an EMPr Amendment Report as an addendum to the approved EMPr (i.e., this report). If approved, this addendum report will still be binding to Oya as the applicant

Project location: Oya Wind Energy Facility is located between Matjiesfontein and Sutherland, within the Northern and Western Cape Provinces. The project is also situated within the Komsberg Renewable Energy Development Zone (REDZ) promulgated in GNR 114 of 2018.
Overview of project: Oya Wind Energy Facility received Environmental authorisation in May 2021 (DFFE REF: 14/12/16/3/3/1/1976/2/AM5). Oya now wish to undertake an EMPr amendment to allow for coloured (‘signal red’ as allowed by the South African Civil Aviation Authority) patterned blade painting on one blade per turbine at the WEF, as recommended by the avifaunal specialist to assist with reducing potential avifaunal impacts at the facility.
EMPr Amendments: The EMPr is proposed to be amended to include the revised patterning, as suggested by the Avifaunal specialist, for its use as a mitigation measure to reduce bird collisions. TheEMPr Amendment Report must also be amended to include the measures as recommended by the visual specialist regarding both painted and unpainted blades.

Status

Notice is hereby given, in terms of the EIA Regulations, 2014 promulgated under NEMA, that the Draft EMPr Amendment Report prepared for the above-mentioned project has been made available for a 30-day public review and comment period from 14 May – 13 June 2024.

Should you and/or your organisation wish to comment on any aspect of the Draft EMPr Amendment Report, comments should be forwarded to SLR at the email address and telephone number shown above. For comments to be included in the BAR prepared for the decision-making purposes, they should reach SLR by no later than 13 June 2024.

By providing your personal information to submit a comment, you will be included in the SLR an Interested and Affected Party (I&AP) database, and you consent to SLR managing your information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. It is assumed that as an I&AP for this Project you authorise SLR to retain and use your Personal Information as part of a contact database for this and/or other Social and Environmental Impact Assessments (ESIA) and that you confirm your acceptance for SLR to contact you regarding this and/or other ESIA processes. SLR will not process your Personal Information, other than as permitted or required by ESIA processes, or as required by law or public policy. SLR will use reasonable, appropriate security safeguards to protect Personal Information, and to reasonably prevent any damage to, loss of, or unauthorised access or disclosure of Personal Information, other than as required for ESIA processes or as required by any Law or public policy. You may request for your Personal Information to be deleted from the I&AP database at any time by contacting SLR.