Last year, Cape Town paid out R25-million to businesses which sold their surplus renewable energy to the city. And, starting this year, private citizens would be able to do the same. These developments were highlighted by Cape Town Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis in an address to the Africa Green Economy Summit 2024, being held in Cape Town. He described this development as “the democratisation of energy” and affirmed that it “excited” him. The city had also, over the past year, completed three rounds of utility-scale renewable energy procurement bids, with a total capacity of 600 MW. The companies concerned could now start construction of their projects. A fourth bid round was still open (it would close in mid-April).