Government Gazette

The 'Environmental Impact Assessment Guideline for Renewable Energy Projects' outlines the regulatory framework and procedural requirements for deploying renewable energy technologies in South Africa. It details the environmental impacts of various technologies—including wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower—and maps these to the specific national legislation and authorisations required under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and other sectoral laws. The guide provides a structured approach to the Basic Assessment (BA) and Scoping and Environmental Impact Reporting (S&EIR) processes, including timeframes, stakeholder roles, and mitigation strategies to ensure sustainable development.

• The guideline covers the construction and development of four primary renewable energy project types: Concentrating Solar Power Plants, Wind Farms, Hydropower Stations, and Photovoltaic Power Plants.
• Wind energy projects can cause negative environmental impacts including noise, visual disturbance, habitat fragmentation, and species mortality, particularly for birds and bats.
• South Africa has significant solar potential, with an estimated 8GW of PV potentially installable by 2020 and a CSP potential of approximately 65GW, capable of providing 36,000 GWh/year.
• Biomass energy systems, specifically wood-derived heating and Combined Heat & Power, are considered largely carbon neutral, potentially attaining over 90% carbon neutrality.
• The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) requires an environmental authorisation from a competent authority before any listed activity can commence, using either a Basic Assessment (BA) or a Scoping and Environmental Impact Reporting (S&EIR) process.
• Renewable energy projects may trigger multiple legislative requirements beyond NEMA, including the National Water Act for water use licenses, the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act for atmospheric emission licenses, and the National Heritage Resources Act for heritage impact assessments.
• The guideline identifies specific risks for wind energy in the Northern Cape, where turbines may cause electromagnetic interference with radio astronomy observations at the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and MeerKAT telescope.
• South Africa's energy supply is highly carbon-intensive due to a heavy dependence on coal-fired power plants, ranking it as the 13th largest emitting country globally based on 2008 fossil-fuel CO2 emissions.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2015). Government Gazette. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/EIA-Guideline-for-Renewables.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Government Gazette. 2015. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/EIA-Guideline-for-Renewables.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Government Gazette |date=16 October 2015 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/EIA-Guideline-for-Renewables.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2015government, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Government Gazette}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2015}, month = oct, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/EIA-Guideline-for-Renewables.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }