Albany Grid Infrastructure Makhanda

The proposed Albany Grid Infrastructure is required in order to connect the proposed Albany Wind Energy Facility (WEF) to the existing Eskom grid infrastructure. Should the WEF be constructed then Eskom would become the holder of the EA of the Albany Grid Connection infrastructure. It has therefore been assessed under a separate DFFE reference number.

The proposed Albany Grid infrastructure includes the following:

• Option 1 (preferred) – An up to 23 000 m² Independent Power Producer (IPP) Substation (MV/132 kV) which will include, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and site office area, situated in the middle of the site. The grid connection will be Line-In-Line-Out (LILO) on the Pembroke-Albany 132 kV line. 
• Option 2 – Direct connection, via the same corridor, to the potential 132 kV substation, adjacent to the Eskom Albany 132 kV substation, up to 23 000 m², which will include a BESS and a site office area situated in the middle of the site. 

Associated Grid Infrastructure for both options:

• BESS of approximately 1.2 ha with a temporary footprint of an additional 0.3 ha for construction, consisting of:
  • Storage capacity of 180 MWh (4 hours),
  • Lithium-ion batteries,
  • Up to 130 containers (each up to 40 m^₂) on a concrete platform. These will house the batteries, management system and auxiliaries,
  • Up to 60 transformer stations (up to 35 m² each),
  • Up to an additional 10 m² per container for cooling units,
  • Internal medium voltage cabling, between containers and the switching station of up to 33 kV, and
  • A 33 kV underground cable to connect the BESS to the electrical grid (less than 1 km in length).
    • Two (2) collector substations, each 10 000 m², (Collector Substation West and Collector Substation East) will be constructed. 
    • Each collector will connect to the IPP substation via up to MV/132 kV overhead lines within the grid corridor. 
    • Grid corridor width is 500 m wide to allow for manoeuvrability for the final line positions within the corridor. 
    • The corridor from Collector Substation West to the main corridor is 170 m in width with a flanking area to accommodate for the line turn in.

Published: 15 February 2022
Review Period: The Draft Basic Assessment Report, and associated documentation, will be available for public review from:
October 2022 until 14^th of November 2022.

Contact Person: Caroline Evans
Email: c.evans@cesnet.co.za
Tel: 046 622 2364