Wind energy investment to be increased for future grid stability

South Africa recorded a landmark 160 days with no loadshedding, the longest period in over four years. However, maintaining future grid stability will require a doubling down on wind investment as well as higher spending on transmission infrastructure, says local renewable-energy developer Red Cap. Two factors contributed to this milestone: greater availability of baseload power, as well as the new supply contributed by private wind developers. As of August 2024, State-owned utility Eskom’s available generation capacity reached over 35 000 MW, which exceeded peak demand by more than 3 000 MW.