- The South African Cabinet has approved the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) for implementation.
- The SAREM seeks to leverage the rising demand for renewable energy and storage technologies to promote industrialisation and localisation.
SAREM aims to leverage the rising demand for renewable energy and storage technologies, with a focus on solar energy, wind energy, lithium-ion battery and vanadium-based battery technologies, to unlock the industrial and inclusive development of associated value chains in the country. This initial technological focus is aligned with global and domestic demand dynamics as well as South Africa’s supply-side capabilities. In time, other technologies (such as offshore wind or rechargeable alkaline batteries) will receive increased focus, as they mature and industrial capabilities are developed. The Masterplan builds on the Draft SAREM document released in March 2022.
It is anchored on four key areas:
- Supporting the local demand for renewable energy and storage by unlocking market demand and system readiness, as a large-scale rollout of renewable energy systems is a critical pre-condition to achieve the core objectives of SAREM;
- Driving 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;11
- Fostering inclusive development of renewable energy and battery storage, by driving the transformation of the industry, supporting the development of emerging suppliers, and contributing to a just transition; and
- Building local capabilities in terms of skills and technological innovation, to enable the rollout of renewable energy and storage technologies and associated industrial development.
Cabinet directed that additional work be done on the Masterplan to:
- Incentivise investors to fund renewable energy supplier development
- Include the development of green hydrogen fuel in order to meet the international obligation of 5% blended fuel in aviation and maritime sectors by 2030.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
