Investigating the direct environmental impacts of emerging solar power and shale gas developments in two arid biomes of South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:South Africa's energy system diversification involves the inclusion of a variety of energy resources as alternatives to coal. Amongst these energy technologies supported by various policy documents, alternatives include concentrating solar power (CSP), photovoltaic power (PV) and shale gas.Solar power developments are predominantly located across the north-western interior of the country, coinciding with the distribution of the Nama-Karoo and Savanna biomes. The environmental impacts of individual solar power projects are currently being assessed by Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). The area for which shale gas exploration rights applications have been received slightly overlaps with the area for which solar power projects are being deployed. No shale gas exploration activities have as yet commenced, and the size of its resource in the Karoo Basin is still undetermined. Should the resource size be economically viable, shale gas development activities are expected to start and will require EIAs.Due to the relative novelty of these energy developments (i.e., solar power and shale gas) in South Africa, local peer reviewed literature based on experience-based impact data is largely absent. The objective of this thesis is to determine and investigate the direct environmental impacts resulting from these alternative energy developments across the landscapes of the Nama-Karoo and Savanna biomes. A mixed-method approach was followed.Structured interviews were conducted with selected expert groups and included questions on direct environmental impact from developments, the EIA process and management of impacts. The results from the interview process were coded, grouped into themes and then thematically analysed. With slight differences for the two solar technologies, interview findings indicated that habitat transformation, the impact on avifauna and cumulative impacts are major concerns related to solar power development. These findings were supported by site visits, which provided an on-the-ground perspective of the impact experience from solar power plants. Shale gas interview findings indicated that all aspects of water related impacts are of very high concern. The widespread nature of shale gas developments are expected to cause distributed and repeated impacts to the landscape, especially during the production stage of development. The cumulative nature of these impacts and the uncertainty regarding baseline conditions in the Nama-Karoo were highlighted as key concerns. Simple spatial analysis was used to assess the footprints of solar power and shale gas development relative to other land uses in the study area. It was found that the current and expected footprint of future solar power development is relatively low. The exact locations for potential shale gas activities are still unknown, but given the distributed nature thereof, a notable proportion of the Nama-Karoo surface area is expected to be transformed if or when activities commence.The management of- and strategic planning for environmental impacts of energy developments in the arid biomes of South Africa have been highlighted as critical and in need of effective coordination. This thesis provides an initial identification of the direct environmental impacts of energy developments in two arid biomes of South Africa, and a number of recommendations are made for future work.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University