UTILITY-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT 2021

The report outlines the South African utility-scale renewable energy landscape, focusing on the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019. It highlights a significant transition from coal-dominated generation toward wind and solar PV, with an estimated potential market value of R418 billion for these technologies and distributed generation. Key opportunities include the continuation of REIPPPP bid windows, increased local manufacturing of components, and the growth of utility-scale battery storage. However, the sector faces barriers such as Eskom's financial instability, regulatory uncertainty, and the complexities of unbundling the national utility.

• South Africa's electricity supply is heavily dependent on coal, with installed capacity between 36.5 GW and 40 GW, representing over 80% of the total 48 GW installed capacity.
• The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has procured 6,422 MW of renewable energy, with 4,276 MW already connected to the national grid as of June 2020.
• The REIPPPP has attracted R209.7 billion in total investment (equity and debt), of which 20% (R41.8 billion) is foreign investment from countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the USA.
• The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019 targets the procurement of 14,400 MW of wind and 6,000 MW of solar PV by 2030, with an estimated combined market value of R370 billion for these two technologies.
• The cost of renewable energy in South Africa has declined significantly, with the levelised cost of electricity for wind and solar in the expedited round falling to less than R0.62/kWh.
• The Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) announced eight preferred bidders in March 2021, totalling 1,845 MW, which is expected to inject R45 billion of private sector investment into the economy.
• Local content requirements in the REIPPPP have been largely successful, with solar PV in Bid Window 4 reaching 62.3% local content against a target of 65%.
• The South African government is unbundling Eskom into three separate entities—Generation, Transmission, and Distribution—to improve transparency and accountability, a process scheduled for 2019–2022.
• Utility-scale battery storage is an emerging market forecast to grow to R33.4 billion by 2030, with the IRP 2019 allocating 2,088 MW by that date.
• Regulatory changes in March 2021 increased the licensing exemption threshold for self-generating power plants from 1 MW to 10 MW, potentially unlocking significant capacity from distributed generators.

APA

Mkhize, M., & Radmore, J. (2021). UTILITY-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT 2021. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Renewable_Energy_MIR_2021_31_3_21.pdf

Chicago

Mkhize, Mandisa, and Jack Radmore. UTILITY-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT 2021. GreenCape, 2021. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Renewable_Energy_MIR_2021_31_3_21.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mkhize |first1=Mandisa |last2=Radmore |first2=Jack |title=UTILITY-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT 2021 |publisher=GreenCape |date=2021 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Renewable_Energy_MIR_2021_31_3_21.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mkhize2021utilityscale, author = {Mkhize, Mandisa and Radmore, Jack}, title = {{UTILITY-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT 2021}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2021}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Renewable_Energy_MIR_2021_31_3_21.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }