By: ESI Africa

These generation facilities have a total capacity of 1,916MW, with an estimated investment value of R51.91 billion.

NERSA said the first quarter saw solar photovoltaic (PV) emerging as the predominant technology chosen, underscoring South Africa’s abundant sunlight resources, which are ideal for both small-scale and large-scale energy generation.

The top three provinces leading in the number of newly registered generation facilities in the first quarter are Gauteng (31), Western Cape (24) and KwaZulu-Natal (14) registered facilities. 

NERSA states that in terms of the total installed capacity and investment costs, the Western Cape emerges as the clear leader. 

“The province boasts an impressive capacity of 740,63MW and an associated investment cost of R21 410,91 billion. This is followed by the Northern Cape, with a capacity of 506,55MW and an associated investment of R14,817 billion and the Free State, with a capacity of 301,53MW and an investment of R6 410,68 billion,” Nersa said.

R293bn invested in 2,056 power facilities registered by Nersa since 2018
Since the inception of the registration regime in 2018, Nersa has registered a total of 2,056 generation facilities, with a total capacity of 12,757MW and a total investment cost of R293 billion.

In March this year, the regulator stated that South Africa’s renewable energy sector received a significant boost in the third quarter of the 2024/25 financial year, with the registering 143 new generation facilities.

Of the registered facilities, 82 projects, with a total capacity of 1,058.1MW and investment costs of R22.47bn (around $1.2bn), are connected to Eskom’s distribution network. 

Meanwhile, 61 facilities, contributing 48.9MW and costing R711 million (around $38.8m), are linked to municipal distribution networks.

NERSA’s Monitoring Performance Of Renewable Energy Power Plants report indicated that over the past 12 years, Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) projects have been connected to the grid in a phased-in approach, based on their scheduled commercial operation dates.