South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has announced new guidelines for solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems (BESS) developed in areas of “low” or “medium” environmental sensitivity.
The guidelines signal a shift in South Africa’s renewable energy strategy, which aims to accelerate renewable investments and fast-track projects, while safeguarding environmentally sensitive areas.
In eligible zones, developers can bypass the environmental authorization (EA) process, thereby easing bureaucratic processes. Under the new system, the DFFE must issue a registration certificate within 10 days if the project meets criteria, pending prompt confirmation by developers.
While a 30-day consultation process is standard for EA applications, the timing is now flexible under the registration process. Standards for BESS projects exempt several activities, while solar PV standards specify exclusions and additional allowable activities.
Project approval is contingent on the project being located in “low” or “medium” sensitivity areas per the national screening tool. The DFFE’s landscape assessment, categorized into sensitivity tiers, forms the tool’s foundation.
Verification by an independent Environmental Assessment Practitioner is mandatory. The verification process assesses various environmental factors, including biodiversity and agriculture.