Energy Services: Market Intelligence Report 2020

The South African energy services market, comprising small-scale embedded generation (SSEG), energy storage, and energy efficiency, is projected to reach a total available market value of approximately R125 billion by 2035. Growth is driven by rising Eskom electricity tariffs, falling costs of renewable technologies, and supportive regulatory shifts, such as the unbundling of Eskom and the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). Key emerging opportunities include the bundling of rooftop solar PV projects to attract larger investors, solar PV for energy resellers in property developments, and the retrofitting of existing buildings for energy efficiency. While the C&I sector currently dominates solar installations, the energy storage market is expected to grow significantly through grid management and resource adequacy applications, potentially valued between R15 billion and R30 billion by 2030.

• The total available South African energy services market, encompassing small-scale embedded generation, energy storage, and energy efficiency, is estimated to be valued at approximately R125 billion by 2035.
• The rooftop solar PV market is expected to reach a saturation point of approximately 500 MWp installed annually, potentially totaling 7.5 GW of installed capacity and a market value of R75 billion by 2035.
• The energy storage market is projected to be valued at R5 billion by 2035 for backup power and demand-side management, while grid management and resource adequacy applications could reach R15 to R30 billion by 2030.
• The energy efficiency market is estimated to reach a total available market size of R25 billion by 2035, with a significant opportunity in the retrofitting of existing buildings.
• Rising electricity costs are a primary driver; Eskom tariffs have increased by nearly 300% since 2007, significantly outpacing inflation.
• The South African government is unbundling Eskom into three separate entities—Generation, Transmission, and Distribution—by 2021 to improve transparency and allow for a more competitive, open market model.
• The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019 allocates 500 MW per annum for distributed generation for own use (between 1 MW and 10 MW) starting in 2020.
• The commercial and industrial (C&I) sector represents the largest near-term opportunity for solar PV, accounting for approximately 75% of total verified installations.
• Innovative financing mechanisms are being explored, including Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), which allows for long-term funding (up to 20 years) repaid through municipal rates accounts.
• The Carbon Tax Act No 15 of 2019, effective from June 1, 2019, imposes a rate of R120 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emitted during its first phase (2019-2022).

APA

Muringathuparambil, R., Radmore, J., Raw, B., Mkhize, M., Salie, Y., & Chilwan, S. (2020). Energy Services: Market Intelligence Report 2020. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ENERGY_SERVICES_MARKET_INTELLIGENCE_REPORT_20_3_20_WEB-3.pdf

Chicago

Muringathuparambil, Reshmi, Jack Radmore, Bruce Raw, Mandisa Mkhize, Yaseen Salie, and Seraj Chilwan. Energy Services: Market Intelligence Report 2020. GreenCape, 2020. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ENERGY_SERVICES_MARKET_INTELLIGENCE_REPORT_20_3_20_WEB-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{muringathuparambil2020energy, author = {Muringathuparambil, Reshmi and Radmore, Jack and Raw, Bruce and Mkhize, Mandisa and Salie, Yaseen and Chilwan, Seraj}, title = {{Energy Services: Market Intelligence Report 2020}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2020}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ENERGY_SERVICES_MARKET_INTELLIGENCE_REPORT_20_3_20_WEB-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }