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SolarAfrica has outlined to African Energy the latest timeframe for the first phase of its 1GW SunCentral solar PV wheeling project in South Africa's Northern Cape. The project is among the first private projects to be issued with an Eskom budget quote since the utility changed grid allocation rules and gave priority to shovel-ready generation projects under the Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP).

African Energy Live Data started consistently monitoring power project pipelines across the continent eight years ago. An analysis of the figures for South Africa shows a tragic lost opportunity in the shape of many gigawatts of potential renewable generation capacity with no foreseeable chance of being connected to the grid.

Eskom’s most recent Transmission Development Plan (TDP) 2023-32 and Grid Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA) 2025 showed there was no capacity for additional power to be connected to the grid in the entire western half of South Africa, the location of almost all planned wind generation projects and a large amount of solar and other potential capacity.

In a major investigation, African Energy’s editorial and data teams have probed unanswered questions about South Africa’s energy transition, which is being shaped by large corporations and their need for reliable, low-carbon power. The results show a booming private sector electricity market that is also unpredictable and freighted with risk for all participants.

The future of electric power generation in South Africa is no longer in the hands of state-owned utility Eskom. Although it controls more than 80% of installed capacity, including 45GW of coal-fired generation, changes in the electricity supply industry are now being driven by the installation of many gigawatts-worth of captive solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, following the removal of licence restrictions.

Dublin-headquartered investor TechMet has taken an option to invest up to $50m in London Stock Exchange-listed Rainbow Rare Earths’ Phalaborwa project in Limpopo province.

South Africa’s state power utility Eskom has launched the Hex battery energy storage system (Bess) at Worcester in the Western Cape’s Breede Valley, after more than a year of construction work. The facility is the first to be finished under phase one of Eskom’s Bess scheme announced in July 2022.

First discovered in 1974, the offshore Kudu gas field could provide substantial gas-to-power capacity for Namibia’s domestic market and for export to South Africa. Officials say it will proceed independently of recent massive Orange Basin discoveries further south, but industry observers are sceptical of the electricity export plans, citing the lack of transmission infrastructure with South Africa, write Our Namibia Correspondent and Marc Howard.

The latest financial results issued by South Africa’s state-owned utility Eskom show the dire situation of the country’s electricity supply industry (ESI) is not improving.

The World Bank has agreed to extend $1bn to South Africa to help the government’s energy security goals and the transition to a low carbon economy. The development policy loan is expected to help with restructuring of the power sector through the unbundling of state-owned power utility Eskom, as well as encouraging private investment in renewable energy.

Karadeniz’s subsidiary Karpowership South Africa has secured environmental approval to proceed with the 450MW Richards Bay gas-to power plant.

De Beers has provided more details of its plans to develop a solar PV plant at its Venetia diamond mine. Venetia contributes about 40% of South Africa’s annual diamond production and is transitioning to underground mining, which is expected to extend the life of the mine to the mid-2040s.

Abagold is developing a battery energy storage system alongside a solar PV plant installed in 2022 at its aquaculture farms in Western Cape. The abalone producer also hopes to revive a plan for a wave energy project shelved in 2020.

South Africa's state utility Eskom has provided an update on the expected restart date of the Koeberg nuclear power station's unit 1. Its return to service is an integral part of Eskom’s operational recovery plan, which seeks to improve generation performance by raising the energy availability factor to an average of 65% by next March. In another key development that should soon boost power supply, Eskom has launched the Cross Border Standard Offer Programme (CBSOP).

Mpho Makwana will leave Eskom at the end of October, having served for only slightly over a year as chair of the state utility’s board of directors, with further divisions among decision-makers apparent in the protracted search for a new group chief executive officer (GCEO).