There are gaps in South Africa’s ability to effectively localise manufacturing and fully capture the economic benefits of the energy transition that is being driven by rapid solar PV expansion, rising electricity tariffs and private sector investment, says industry organisation the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA). This rapid growth in demand presents opportunities for local manufacturing of certain components, but local manufacturing participation in the solar value chain remains limited. Most high-value components, such as PV modules, inverters and trackers and lithium-ion batteries, are still imported.
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Industrial gases and welding products company Afrox has signed a ten-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with renewable energy trading company Discovery Green to supply renewable energy to Afrox’s Kuilsriver air separation unit (ASU), in Cape Town. Discovery Green will provide the ASU with about 28 GWh/y of renewable electricity under the agreement, starting in April 2028, from a diversified portfolio of wind and solar assets across the Western Cape, Mpumalanga and the Free State.
South Africa’s utility-scale renewables and battery storage market is poised for a record year of installations, a new research note produced by the Power Futures Lab at the UCT Graduate School of Business shows. Authors Dr Olakunle Alao and Dr Wikus Kruger state that six projects with a combined capacity of 1 787 MW had already advanced to financial close by April 30, while a further 27 projects, representing 3 575 MW, are poised to achieve that milestone by year-end.
Ener-G-Africa (EGA) has commissioned its Western Cape solar panel manufacturing facility in Paarl. The plant has a nameplate assembly capacity of up to 150 MW a year on a three-shift operation.
The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at unlocking industrial financing to NTCSA-verified suppliers and contractors involved in the expansion of South Africa’s electricity transmission network. In a joint statement, the two State-owned entities indicated that they would seek to use the funding to stimulate supplier development, localisation and industrialisation, with a particular focus on commodities such as transformers, insulators, hardware, transmission steel, conductors, and broader grid infrastructure construction.
A team of agricultural experts, part of industrial solutions provider BMG, will offer local farmers sustainability solutions focused on effective food production through its ‘Boer Slim’, or Smart Farming, initiative. BMG agricultural manager Carlo Beukes says the initiative assists farmers with cost-efficient solutions to improve crop output, enhance operational efficiency through reduced power consumption and minimise downtime through practical maintenance programmes.
Cape Town Stock Exchange-listed renewable energy investment fund Gaia Renewables 1 has concluded agreements to refinance empowerment stakes in the 100.5 MW De Aar 1 and 144 MW De Aar 2 wind farms, in the Northern Cape. The R100-million transaction replaces existing high-cost debt used to fund empowerment ownership.
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy has released the list of 26 candidates that it has shortlisted for interviews, to fill vacancies on the board of the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR). Four of these were candidates for the community representative and 22 were candidates for the labour representative. “The [NNR] is a regulatory authority established as a juristic person under Section 3 of the Nuclear Regulator Act, 1999,” explained the committee. “The NNR’s mandate is to regulate, monitor, and enforce safety standards to achieve safe operating conditions, prevent nuclear accidents, and mitigate the consequences of such accidents. This ensures the protection of workers, the public, property, and the environment against the potential harmful effects of ionizing radiation and radioactive materials.”
Solar panels are replacing diesel generators on some major film sets in South Africa, as streaming giants come under growing pressure to clean up one of the film industry’s dirtiest habits – its addiction to diesel generators. Netflix shot the second season of its hit show “One Piece” in Cape Town, its biggest production in Africa to date and the first to be filmed using a solar-powered base camp for off-grid electricity during a shoot.
Egypt was opting big time for solar photovoltaic (PV) energy, to both expand and diversify its energy matrix, UK-based data analysis and intelligence company GlobalData has highlighted, in its most recent report, “Egypt Power Market Trends and Analysis by Capacity, Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Regulations, Key Players and Forecast to 2035”. The country was accelerating its deployment of solar PV power, from a total capacity of some 2.9 GW last year to a target of 34.3 GW by 2035. …
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