- South Africa’s Electricity and Energy Deputy Minister, Samantha Graham-Maré, and the Executive Oversight Committee of the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) recently signed a pledge to expedite the masterplan’s goals.
The commitment aims to “industrialize the renewable energy and battery storage value chain” to boost economic growth, create jobs, and ensure inclusive participation in the energy transition. The pledge follows the government’s approval of SAREM in March 2025, a strategic framework designed to increase renewable energy capacity and secure South Africa’s energy future.
SAREM has an overall vision, which is the “industrialisation of the renewable energy and battery storage value chain to enable inclusive participation in the energy transition, serving the needs of society, and contributing to economic revival.”
Among others, and with specific targets, SAREM seeks to:
- Support the local demand for renewable energy and storage by unlocking market demand and system readiness.
- Drive industrial development by building renewable energy and storage value chains, through localisation drives on both the public and private sector markets and supportive trade and industrial policy.
- Foster the inclusive development of renewable energy and battery storage value chains by driving the transformation of the industry, supporting the development of emerging suppliers, and contributing to a just transition.
- Build local capabilities in terms of skills and technological innovation to enable the rollout of renewable energy and storage technologies and associated industrial development.
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Author: Bryan Groenendaal
