South Africa has 117GW of renewable energy projects at advanced stages of development, which could be ready to connect to the grid within the next five years.
This is according to the 2025 South African Renewable Energy Grid Survey (SAREGS), which reveals that the 117GW already surpasses the 71.7GW total capacity (wind and solarphotovoltaic combined) envisioned in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2025 over a 16-year horizon.
The survey was led by the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), in collaboration with the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) and the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA).
According to SAWEA, the survey reaffirms that South Africa’s renewable energy sector is not only aligned with IRP ambitions, but well ahead of them – demonstrating investor confidence, project maturity, and delivery readiness across the value chain.
In the recently passed IRP 2025, government plans to invest R2.2 trillion, which is about 30% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), in a comprehensive energy transformation strategy.
The IRP aims to address electricity supply issues, promote economic growth and create jobs, targeting a 3% GDP growth by 2030.
It also introduces a shift in the country’s energy mix, with cleaner energy sources like hydro, nuclear, wind and solar set to surpass coal for the first time in the nation’s history.
The key highlights of the IRP include 11 270MW of solar photovoltaics by 2030, 7 340MW of wind energy, 6 000MW of gas-to-power and 5 200MW of new nuclear capacity.
The NTCSA notes that SAREGS continues to serve as a critical coordination tool that aligns the national development pipeline with transmission planning and investment decisions. It emphasises the growing need for collaborative action between industry and government to ensure grid infrastructure keeps pace with market momentum.
“The survey shows exponential growth across all segments of the renewable energy value chain, with wind (and wind hybrid projects) increasing from 53GW in 2024, to as much as 110.3GW this year,” says Niveshen Govender, CEO of SAWEA. “This growth trajectory reflects the sector’s maturity, capability and readiness to deliver.”
SAWEA points out that over the past four years, the renewable energy pipeline has expanded from 63GW in 2022, to 220GW in 2025, a more than threefold increase, highlighting the sector’s sustained growth and the urgency of grid expansion, flexibility and modernisation to support accelerated deployment.
It adds that the sector’s readiness shows that South Africa can exceed current policy targets, potentially accelerating decarbonisation, job creation and energy security.
“Without corresponding grid investment and enabling regulatory reform, much of this capacity risks remaining stranded, delaying the country’s energy transition. Fortunately, through SAREGS, NTCSA now has a robust, data-driven tool to proactively map and guide transmission development across the country,” it concludes.
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