Faced with the dilemma of unallocated onshore wind power, South Africa has flexibly adjusted its policies and shifted idle capacity to solar energy. This new project investment of 16 billion rand will create over 4000 jobs, highlighting the dual value of renewable energy for the economy and carbon reduction.

On the vast land of the Free State Province, sunlight pours over, reflecting the rising solar panel array. Here, it is the latest stage of the seventh round of bidding for South Africa's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Program (REIPPPP) - as the government reallocates 890MW of capacity to the solar energy sector, 18 projects are quietly rewriting the country's energy future.

From idle wind power to solar expansion

The seventh round of bidding initially offered 5GW of renewable energy capacity, but onshore wind power was not allocated. The South African Department of Electricity and Energy has made a decisive decision to shift unused wind power capacity to solar energy: 1.29GW will be allocated to 6 projects in July 2025, and an additional 890MW will be added to 4 projects this time. At this point, the total allocated capacity of solar energy in this round has reached 3.94GW, covering 18 independent power generation projects and becoming the absolute mainstay.

Investment, Employment, and Localization Commitment

The newly added 890MW comes from four key projects: Red Rocket South Africa's 240MW Rondebosch Solar Park, 240MW Springhaas 1 and 170MW Springhaas 6 facilities developed in the Free State Province, and ENGIE Group's 240MW Corona project in the Northwest Province. These projects have a total investment of 16 billion South African rand and are expected to create 4134 job opportunities. The developers have committed to using 41% of the total cost for local procurement to support regional economic development.

Historical achievements and future blueprint

Dr. Cogosenso Ramokopa, the Minister of Electricity and Energy of South Africa, stated that eight fifth round projects (800MW) have been put into operation between 2025 and 2026, with an additional 1.61GW under construction. Since the launch of the procurement plan in 2010, South Africa has cumulatively put into operation 8.16GW of contracted capacity. According to data from the International Renewable Energy Agency, as of the end of 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of solar photovoltaics in South Africa reached 8.46GW. Looking towards the future, the country's 2025 Comprehensive Resource Plan sets ambitious goals of adding over 105GW of power generation capacity between 2025 and 2039, including 25GW of solar energy, 34GW of wind energy, 16GW of distributed generation, and 8.5GW of energy storage.Editor/Yang Meiling