Engineering-led delivery models are gaining traction in Africa’s renewable-energy sector as developers seek lower-cost projects despite rising electricity demand, grid constraints and increased pressure to accelerate energy project deployment, highlights India-headquartered renewable-energy consultant SgurrEnergy director Arif Aga. He says independent engineering consultancies are increasingly supporting utility-scale renewables projects across Africa, particularly in markets where reliance on full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracting has contributed to elevated project costs.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the move to establish a fully independent State-owned transmission company as “one of the most important reforms in our country’s history”, while confirming the composition of the dedicated task team he has established to clarify the implementation and timing of its establishment. In his response to the debate on his State of the Nation Address (SoNA), the President also emphasised the complexity of the initiative, which he said required detailed technical work and strong coordination across different entities.
Global production of green hydrogen has started to surge, driven mainly by major policy initiatives in North America, UK-based international data analytics and consultancy group GlobalData has reported. Production of low-carbon hydrogen in general has been largely flat, or grown only slowly, for years, it pointed out. But acceleration started a couple of years ago. Global production of all forms of low-carbon hydrogen had reached 0.84-million tons a year in 2024. Total global low-carbon production capacity in that year had amounted to 1.7-million tons a year. The consultancy forecast, in its ‘Low-Carbon Hydrogen Market Report, Update 2025 – Global Market Outlook, Trends, and Key Country Analysis’, that, by 2030, global low-carbon hydrogen production would hit 42-million tons a year in the low case scenario, or 65.3-million tons a year in the high case scenario.
State-owned power utility Eskom’s Nuclear Operating Unit has started with a strategic stakeholder engagement programme in the Eastern Cape to outline its vision and plans for the implementation of 5.2 GW of new nuclear capacity. The new nuclear capacity aligns with what is allocated in the country’s Integrated Resource Plan 2025.
Countries around the world are accelerating investment in domestic solar panel production capacity to strengthen energy security and industrial resilience, and South Africa is part of that broader shift, with new local manufacturing capacity contributing to a more diversified and reliable solar supply ecosystem, says South African solar panel manufacturer Ener-G-Africa. The Africa Solar Industry Association ‘Africa Solar Outlook 2026’ report found that Africa is the fastest-growing solar market globally. As the market matures, there is a growing need for consistency, quality, accountability and service.
South Africa’s renewable-energy market is entering a decisive new phase in 2026, shaped by electricity reform, tightening grid capacity and changing project economics — with trader-led wheeling models rapidly emerging as the principal commercial structure for large power users. This is the view of Discovery Green CEO Andre Nepgen, who highlights that procurement strategy is now as important as price in securing long-term energy resilience. “Electricity reform is moving from policy design into practical implementation, bringing clearer governance structures and participation rules,” he notes.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called for urgent and structured consultations between organised labour and the National Energy Crisis Committee (Necom) task team that is deliberating on the transfer of Eskom’s transmission assets to an independent Transmission System Operator (TSO). In his State of the Nation Address (SoNA), President Cyril Ramaphosa gave the task team three months to report back to him on the restructuring process, including clear time frames for its phased implementation.
A new report commissioned by the South African Energy Traders Association (SAETA) identifies the unbundling of Eskom Holdings as the most important economic reform since 1994, arguing that a new competitive electricity sector construct is required to attract the capital needed to deliver security of supply and affordability. Titled ‘Policy to power: 10 actions to deliver green, accessible and secure electricity’ the SAETA report has been produced by research and consulting firm Krutham. SAETA itself represents electricity traders and its members include Africa GreenCo, Apollo, Discovery Green, Enpower Trading, Envusa, Etana, EXSA, Investec, Lyra Energy, Mainstream, NOA, POWERX and Sturdee Energy.
Renewable energy company BluEnergy Trading – a subsidiary of JSE-listed Blu Label Unlimited – has been granted a multi-year energy trading licence by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa. BluEnergy will focus on aggressively building out its project pipeline, operationalising trading activities in line with its mandate to support South Africa’s transition to a more resilient, decentralised and sustainable power system.
Electricity trader Lyra Energy reports that it has entered into power purchase agreements with three private offtakers that will buy a large portion of the electricity to be produced from its 255 MW Thakadu solar PV project. The Thakadu project is the first project to be implemented in South Africa by Lyra, which is a partnership between independent power producer Scatec, which owns 50% of the trading platform, as well as Standard Bank and Stanlib.
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