Boston Hydro Power Plant amended EMPr and Part 1 Amendment

Boston Hydro is a 5MW run-of-river hydro power project located on the Ash River, near Clarens in the Free State province of South Africa.

The scheme will comprise a concrete diversion weir and an embankment and intake structure on the left bank. The intake to the hydropower works comprise a concrete intake structure with a coarse screen/trash rack and a radial gate.  A concrete transition leads to a trapezoidal headrace canal followed by a reinforced concrete forebay and reject structure.  The reject structure is equipped with an active spillway gate and a set of steel fine trash racks before the inlet to the 4.2 x 4.2 m square reinforced concrete penstock (approx. length of 100 m). The penstock leads to a surface power station housing one horizontal Kaplan type turbine and generator; which discharges to the river through a tailrace channel. 

The update to the EMPR is required in terms of conditions 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 & 17 of the EA with reference no: EA: 12/12/20/1954, as issued by the then Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) (now Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, DFFE) on 21 June 2013. A Part 1 Amendment application for the EA is included to increase the plant capacity from 4.4 to 5 MW and to remove condition 33 the EA.

Published:

3 March 2023

Contact Person:

EAP: Dr Alan Carter
Email: a.carter@cesnet.co.za

PPP Contact Person: Bruce d'Hotman
Email: bruce.DHotman@cesnet.co.za