Powering Up: Renewable energy – every little bit helps

Self-generation

Between 2018 and 2023, more than 1,300 energy projects were registered with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).

The majority of these projects (85%) were under 1MW. These “smaller” installs are primarily done by businesses, farms and shopping centres looking to bolster their energy supply against the threat of load shedding. 

A 1MW installation is roughly enough to power 650 average homes.

Nersa’s registrations also include the much larger REIPP projects like the solar and wind farms that are focused on putting power into the national grid. For example, the Mooi Plaats Solar Power farm on the border between the Northern and Eastern Cape has an installed capacity of 283MW.

Of the 1,310 projects licensed, 1,109 have been installs of under 1MW. There are also 130 projects of between 1MW and 10MW, and 71 projects larger than 10MW.

(Image: theoutlier.co.za)

Smaller than 1MW

The majority of the Nersa registrations under 1MW are by businesses taking charge of their electricity security after 495 days of blackouts in the past three years.

Agriculture and real estate businesses registered over half of these <1MW energy installations. Unsurprisingly, solar made up the vast majority. The few exceptions were:

• Three businesses registered wind energy, and


• Cathedral Peak Hotel in KwaZulu-Natal registered a hydropower plant in 2019.

(Image: theoutlier.co.za)

Gauteng

Almost a quarter of the 1MW and smaller installations are in the economic hub of Gauteng.

All the smaller registered energy projects in the province are solar PV, presumably rooftop and parking lot cover installations, while 40% of the installations were for the real estate industry, which includes malls, office buildings and residential properties.

Financial services, including big banks and insurance companies, were the next largest installer.

(Image: theoutlier.co.za)

(Image: theoutlier.co.za)

Western Cape

The Western Cape accounted for 17% of the registered energy projects, again all solar PV. A third of them were for the agricultural industry, with solar panels installed on fruit and dairy farms. Agriculture is followed by consumables (grocery chains, food manufacturers and the tobacco industry) and the real estate industry as the top installers of alternative solar power.

Rest of the country

The provinces with the most registered capacity are North West, Northern Cape and Free State.

(Image: theoutlier.co.za)

However, the big energy projects connected to REIPPP are in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape. These projects, such as Red Cap Impofu East and West and Mulilo De Aar, were built to connect renewable energy to the national grid. DM

First published by The Outlier. For more like this subscribe to the newsletter.

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