LARGE-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT

The report assesses the South African large-scale renewable energy market, focusing on the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019. It identifies significant growth potential in solar PV, onshore wind, and battery storage, while highlighting critical barriers such as grid saturation in the Northern and Western Cape and the financial instability of the state utility, Eskom. The document also explores emerging opportunities in green hydrogen production and local manufacturing of components, supported by the Atlantis Special Economic Zone in the Western Cape.

• South Africa's electricity supply is heavily dependent on coal, which contributed 83.5% to system demand in the first half of 2021, with total wholesale nominal capacity at 52.6 GW.
• Through the REIPPPP, South Africa has procured 6.422 GW of renewable energy from 112 Independent Power Producers, with 5.25 GW already operational as of June 2021.
• The IRP 2019 sets a target for additional renewable energy generation of 20,400 MW by 2030, excluding at least 4 GW of distributed generation.
• The Western Cape has a significant role in the REIPPPP, with 14 contracted projects and seven preferred bidders in Bid Window 5, representing 15% of total procured capacity.
• Renewable energy costs have declined sharply, with solar PV tariffs dropping over 88% and onshore wind over 68% since 2012, reaching weighted average bid prices of R0.47/kWh in Bid Window 5.
• Severe grid constraints exist in high-yield areas; Eskom has confirmed that the Northern Cape has no remaining grid capacity and the Western Cape network is at a saturation point.
• A regulatory change in October 2021 increased the threshold for generation without a license from 1 MW to 100 MW, facilitating private procurement for energy-intensive users.
• South Africa is pursuing a green hydrogen economy, with potential for 3.8 million tonnes per annum production by 2050, leveraging its platinum group metals and renewable energy endowment.
• The government is unbundling Eskom into three separate legal entities for Generation, Transmission, and Distribution to improve transparency and accountability.
• The Just Energy Transition Partnership, announced at COP26, aims to provide approximately R131 billion in concessional climate financing to help South Africa transition from coal to cleaner energy.

APA

Mkhize, M., & Radmore, J. (2022). LARGE-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/RE_MIR_29_3_22_FINAL-3.pdf

Chicago

Mkhize, Mandisa, and Jack Radmore. LARGE-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT. GreenCape, 2022. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/RE_MIR_29_3_22_FINAL-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mkhize |first1=Mandisa |last2=Radmore |first2=Jack |title=LARGE-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT |publisher=GreenCape |date=2022 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/RE_MIR_29_3_22_FINAL-3.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mkhize2022largescale, author = {Mkhize, Mandisa and Radmore, Jack}, title = {{LARGE-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2022}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/RE_MIR_29_3_22_FINAL-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }