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A consortium led by TotalEnergies has signed agreements for the 75MW Mulilo solar PV and battery storage project in Northern Cape, under the much-delayed Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme, while another RMIPPP project has reached commercial close and other schemes are expected to make decisions soon.

Nearly all of South Africa’s climate finance is being provided from local sources, while inflows from international funders remain very low, a new Presidential Climate Commission report shows. While more funds have flowed into Africa’s largest greenhouse gas emitter in recent years, these resources remain insufficient compared to the extent of the actions required to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Cash-strapped South African state utility Eskom says it has used debt and its own cash to finance power transmission infrastructure projects that could unlock more grid capacity in the next few years as market operator NTCSA prepares for operation.

Ireland’s Mainstream Renewable Power (Mainstream) has announced that it has achieved financial close on its 97.5MW Free State solar PV project in South Africa. Power generated from the plant will supply Sasol and Air Liquide’s operations in Secunda, in Mpumalanga province.

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).

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.

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.

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.