The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NESRA) said it registered 111 generation facilities with a combined capacity of 1,916 megawatts between April and June, the first quarter of the country’s 2025/26 financial year.
The regulator said the new facilities represent an estimated investment of ZAR 51.91 billion ($2.95 billion) and were processed within an average of 11 working days. In the same quarter last year, 104 projects were registered with an average turnaround of 15 days.
Solar projects made up the bulk of registrations. NESRA said this “underscores South Africa’s abundant sunlight resources, which are ideal for both small-scale and large-scale energy generation.”
By location, Gauteng accounted for the highest number of registered facilities with 31, followed by Western Cape with 21 and KwaZulu-Natal with 14. Western Cape added the largest share of capacity at 740.63 MW, trailed by Northern Cape at 506.55 MW and Free State at 301.53 MW.
Since NESRA’s registration system began in 2018, the regulator has approved 2,056 generation facilities with a total capacity of 12,757 MW, representing ZAR 293 billion in investment.
Separately, the government in July approved six additional solar projects totaling 1,290 MW under the seventh renewables procurement round. South Africa deployed 1.1 GW of solar in 2024 after a record year in 2023, and targets at least 3 GW of new renewable capacity annually, rising to 5 GW by 2030.
