- Solar PV remains the dominant technology as developers continued to invest in South Africa’s renewable energy market.
South Africa’s National Energy Regulator, NERSA, registered 112 generation facilities during the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.
The projects registered between January and March 2026 account for a combined installed capacity of 1 327MW and an estimated investment value of R28.22 billion.
NERSA has been credited for improving its application processing performance, completing registrations within an average of eight working days compared with 12 working days in the previous year’s fourth quarter.
Solar photovoltaic technology continued to dominate new registrations during the quarter, supported by South Africa’s strong solar resource and continued demand for both utility scale and embedded generation projects.
The 112 registered facilities and their locations. Image credit: NERSA
The Western Cape, Gauteng and Limpopo recorded the highest number of newly registered facilities. However, the Northern Cape, Free State and North West accounted for the largest share of installed generation capacity and investment value.
The Northern Cape hosted the single largest project registered during the quarter, with an installed capacity of 490MW and an estimated investment value of approximately R13.45 billion.
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Of the 112 registered facilities, 43 projects were connected to municipal distribution networks, representing 20MW of capacity and investment of approximately R396 million. The remaining 69 projects were connected to the Eskom grid, accounting for 1 307MW and approximately R27.82 billion in investment value.
NERSA said the average investment cost for projects registered during the quarter was approximately R21 266/kW.
Registered projects per province. Image credit: NERSA
Since the introduction of the registration framework in 2018, NERSA has registered 2 495 generation facilities with a combined capacity of 19 327MW and total investment commitments of approximately R389 billion.
Number of registered generation facilities per year. Image credit: NERSA
NERSA’s decision to approve 112 new generation facilities is expected to enhance South Africa’s electricity generation capacity, thereby ensuring continued uninterrupted supply of electricity.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
