Question $3-$ Assignment $2$

De Aar Project

The De Aar project in the Northern Cape province is the largest solar farm in South Africa and sub$-$Saharan Africa.

The Northern Cape is one of the hottest parts of South Africa and has some of the highest irradiation levels in the world. It is regarded as a solar $$hot bed$.$

The original game farm is located just outside the Northern Cape town of Kimberley and is $2674$ hectares in size. The solar project, known as De Aar $3,$ spans over $473$ hectares on the farm.

The solar project site has $167580$ silicon solar panels that stand in long rows, converting sunlight into energy. The solar panels are capable of producing energy when any light falls on them. Even with clouds, which cause indirect sunlight, there is sufficient light for the panels to generate power. The panels in the De Aar project are capable of producing $175$ megawatts $($MW$)$ of power. This is sufficient electricity to power $75000$ houses annually.

The project was achieved in two phases. The first phase was completed in August $2014,$ and the entire project was completed in $28$ months at a total cost of R$4\mathrm{.}8$ billion $(\backslash$pm USD $96$ billion$).$

The farm owner, Mr Paschal Phelan, began the solar project with foreign investment as part of South Africa$$s Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme $($REIPPP$).$ The REIPPP is aimed at driving the country$$s investment in renewable energy through private sector investment.

The De Aar project created over $2000$ jobs during the construction phase. Currently $100$ local employees are permanently employed to oversee and maintain the plant. Approximately R$34$ million $(\backslash$pm USD $6\mathrm{.}80$ million$)$ will be used for economic development of the community which will include free Wi$-$Fi for the De Aar town and a large community training centre.

Question $3$

The network diagram below represents the stages and time frames $($in days$)$ that Mr Phelan needs to follow in order to achieve government approval in the REIPPP process for this next solar project.

$3\mathrm{.}1$: Redraw this network diagram and then perform the forward and backward passes for this phase. $(16$ marks$)3\mathrm{.}2$: Calculate and give the length of this approval process. $(1$ mark$)3\mathrm{.}3$: Give the critical path for this process. $(6$ marks$)3\mathrm{.}4$: Which activities have slack time? $(2$ marks$)$