The structure of a solar power plant in Atlantis is one of many plans by the City of Cape Town (COCT) to rely less on our coal-fired power provider, Eskom. Once described as a forgotten commercial mecca, the daily struggle by other means people have to worry about much more than the country’s goals of reducing climate-disrupting carbon pollution. The unemployment rate according to the 2011 census indicated an unemployment rate of 26. 6% and only 32% of citizens over the age of 20 had completed their secondary education (matric) or some form of higher schooling. That’s why it’s no surprise that few locals are thrilled with the sun plant, as they feel there are more pressing issues that take precedence over net zero.
Cape Town, June 2023
Pastor Lynn/Ling
This story was produced as part of Story Grants to Report on South Africa Pathways to Net Zero, a journalism fellowship organized through Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.
READ PART ONE: Outdoor solar power plant in Cape Town is a step toward carbon reduction goals, city says
One resident, Llewellyn L, 37, walked around the site when approached to find out what he meant by net zero. He quickly moved on to one of the many tasks he said he did at Atlantis to make some money. -Employed when paintings are available, but most of the time not officially employed. A former player in a COCT skills program in 2011 expressed contempt for the city’s programs. He never earned his final touch certificate with many others and thinks “It’s about who doesn’t know what they know” to locate a task in Atlantis.
As a resident of a local casual arrangement in Atlantis, he said communication with the local government is rare. He said he had only noticed the site as a bushy domain and used it as a thoroughfare to get into the city.
He expressed in his mother tongue:
“Ek wiet wat solar panels est, maar ek wietie van ‘n gebou nie. Ek het nog nooit gehoor van dit nie tot vandag. (I know what solar panels are, but I don’t know about the solar plant. I have never heard of this plant until today).
He explained that we want to conserve more water and be careful with waste, however, 0 is something I had never heard of. Perhaps he would have expressed more interest in this task if the COCT had consulted with locals about their plans.
COCT promised that the solar plant would have significant economic benefits for the Atlantis community. According to the 2019 Ikamva case study, Atlantis has succumbed to higher unemployment rates over the years. The unemployment rate according to the 2011 census indicated an unemployment rate of 26. 6%. and only 32% of citizens over the age of 20 had completed secondary (matrix) education or some form of higher education. That’s why it’s no surprise that few locals are thrilled with the sun plant, as they feel there are more pressing issues that take precedence over net zero.
Not far from the site, we spoke to another Atlantis resident, Thabo Ndom, who lives in a new colony called Covid. Ndom crossing the street with a bucket of water on his way home when he met him. The domain around the Covid deal had many illegal electrical connections hanging from street light fixtures on Chris Hani Road in Atlantis. The bucket of water is one of many he carries every day to make sure he and his circle of relatives have enough access he gets from a communal municipal tap on the road. Witsand Primary School is nearby and is the school of many young people in the colony.
“It’s hard for our kids. They can only use the school toilets, or they go to the bushes. It’s not for everyone. Electricity is a problem, but we want toilets and running water. I can’t worry about the sun stuff. I did I don’t know about this solar plant. Ward counselors usually tell us about new projects, but we don’t know anything.
He said he too had a limited understanding of what net zero means and that his top vital concern was access to clean water and sanitation in the region. Eased the challenge of unemployment by employing locals to help with water and sanitation allowances – eliminate 3 challenges with an allowance or as the saying goes.
Local network councillor Anastatia Davids said the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) invited the network to attend presentations on the structure of the solar plant. However, the land is already available in the city. Essentially, there is no public participation in progression. Once the assembly took a stand and some other people saw the newspaper clipping and were very disappointed that they didn’t know anything,” Davids said.
The solar plant site is also a very rich Cape Fynbos domain (endangered local vegetation) that allowed it to be cleared for the plant structure.
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning granted environmental approval for the structure of the Atlantis photovoltaic plant in April 2022. The structure of the plant will result in the cleaning of more than one hectare of local plants. This includes the clean-up of over three hundred m² of critically endangered Atlantis Sand Fynbos and endangered Cape Flats Dune Strandveld. The Notice of Authorization states that the loss of local plants will be mitigated by offsetting off-site biodiversity.
This compensates for the plants that will be removed as a result of the proposed development. The city has bought homes on the outskirts of the city and east of Atlantis. It’s because of the loss of land plants that will happen, Van Reenen said.
Zoleka Maphanga, a horticulturist at the University of the Western Cape’s School of Natural Sciences, said offsets are a common strategy used in development projects to offset the ecological effect and biodiversity loss. The city’s goal is to maintain natural habitats. There is also the option of negative consequences for local ecosystems and biodiversity.
“Native plants are, in fact, integral to removing destructive gases, such as carbon dioxide, from the environment through a procedure called carbon sequestration. Plants absorb the photosynthesis of carbon dioxide and store it in their tissues, thereby reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the environment. Preserving or restoring local plants can play an important role in mitigating climate change and maintaining healthy ecosystems. By ensuring the preservation of outdoor plants in Atlantis, the city likely aims to maintain or enhance the ability of the local environment to remove destructive gases. , publicize biodiversity and provide ecosystem services,” said Mphanga.
The concept of biodiversity offsetting is widely used as a mitigation measure in progression projects, to minimize environmental impacts. Further investigation of cleanup activities is needed, as well as broader consultation. This includes in-depth discussion with local citizens and further studies on compensation. Projects
Mphanga concluded that while balancing effects on progression and the environment, points such as transparency and effective mitigation strategies are needed for adverse effects on local plants and wider ecosystems.
This story was produced as part of Story Grants to Report on South Africa Pathways to Net Zero, a journalism fellowship organized through Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.