Rooftop revolution

POWER PRODUCERS: PRIVATE SOLAR SURPASSES ESKOM'S RENEWABLES

- Moneyweb

The amount of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar installed in South Africa has finally surpassed the total installed capacity of renewable energy independent power producers that have contracted their capacity to Eskom.

As of last month, the estimated rooftop solar PV capacity in the country totalled 7 345MW (or 7.3GW peak), compared to the 7 172MW from renewables across PV (2 285MW), concentrated solar power (600MW), wind (4 087MW), and hybrid producers (150MW).

The installed base of private rooftop PV - which also includes ground-mounted solar - has exploded in recent years, with a 215% increase since Eskom first published its estimates in August 2022.

It is up 23% from August 2024. These figures are now published by the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA).

Gauteng comprises 30% of the 7.3GW total, with the three largest provinces - including KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the Western Cape - totalling 60%.

Since publishing the data, KZN has had a larger installed base than the Western Cape (currently, it is 75% bigger).