In 2024 it looked like the rush to register new private electricity generation projects with the National Energy Regulator (Nersa) had slowed down. The worst of loadshedding was over; South Africans were less panic-stricken about energy security. You can see in the chart below that after shooting up in 2023, the generation capacity registered in 2024 dropped slightly.
But there was a resurgence in 2025. Just over 600 projects described as solar PV, wind or battery energy storage systems, or combinations thereof, were registered, with a combined capacity of 7.5GW, according to the spreadsheet Nersa makes available to the public on its website.
Many projects were big: 35 were 100MW. These projects are concentrated in Gauteng (9), Limpopo (8) and the Western Cape (7). Although the Nersa spreadsheet doesn’t share much information about the projects registered, it’s highly likely that quite a few of them will be built for wheeling electricity to private offtakers.
The Western Cape and Northern Cape have the highest number of 100MW or more generation facilities registered with Nersa. The Northern Cape was once a favourite for big renewable electricity generation projects but big projects are now being planned in different provinces (see table below).
Still, the biggest facility registered in 2025, the 505MW Great Karoo Phase 1 solar and wind farm, is in the Northern Cape.
| Province | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| FS | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| GP | 2 | 9 | 11 | ||
| KZN | 2 | 2 | |||
| LP | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | |
| MP | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
| NW | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| NC | 1 | 10 | 2 | 13 | |
| WC | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
Thanks to big projects, Limpopo, Gauteng and the Western Cape had the highest total capacity registered in 2025 – all over 1,500MW – and significantly more than the capacity registered in 2024.
Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal barely featured in 2025. More capacity was registered in the North West and the Northern Cape than in 2024.
At the end of 2025, Limpopo had the highest cumulative total of private generation capacity registered with Nersa with more than 3,000MW of wind, solar and battery storage capacity – the cumulative total is of registrations from 2018 to 2025. The Western Cape has the second highest (2,970MW), the Free State is third (2,713MW) and the Northern Cape is fourth (2,627MW).
The private energy projects registered with Nersa have a total investment cost of more than R361-billion, according to Nersa. In 2025, the investment cost was R158-billion.
NEWS WRAP
SOLA Group has reached financial close on its Naos-1 facility, a 300MW solar PV plant with 660MWh of battery energy storage near Viljoenskroon in the Free State. The project, which was purpose-built for wheeling electricity to private offtakers, has long-term power purchase agreements with Sasol and Air Liquide.
SolarAfrica has reached financial close on its 144MW SunCentral 2 solar PV plant between Hanover and De Aar in the Northern Cape. The project is part of a bigger development. The 114MW SunCentral 1 solar plant reached financial close in 2024 and, with the planned SunCentral 3, the development will total 342MW. SunCentral is designed specifically for energy wheeling.
The City of Cape Town has issued a waste-to-energy power tender. It is part of an independent power producer programme for embedded or wheeled generation.
Norfund, the Norwegian development fund, has been given the green light by the Competition Commission to acquire a stake in Anthem Holdings, the company formed in September 2025 through a merger of African Clean Energy Developments and Energy Infrastructure Management Services Africa. Anthem has a portfolio of 17 renewable energy projects.
Mining company Pan African Resources has concluded a second renewable energy supply agreement with energy aggregator and trader NOA Group Trading.
EVENTS
🔋 Solar & Storage Live Africa returns to the Gallagher Convention Centre from 25 to 27 March. The exhibition will feature more than 650 solution providers showcasing technologies across solar generation, energy storage, power electronics and smart energy systems. Alongside the exhibition will be a three-day conference. Outlier Renew is a media partner for the event. To register to attend the exhibition and conference for free you can register here.
️⚡️ The Africa Energy Indaba will be happening at the Cape Town Convention Centre on 3 – 5 March.