South Africa’s 2025 PV Industry Growth: 928MW Q1 Additions & Key Market Trends

According to estimates from the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), South Africa will add approximately 928 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity in the first quarter of 2025. This includes 280MW of projects connected to the grid via the country's flagship Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Program (REIPPPP) since December 2024, as well as 647MW of non-REIPPPP PV projects. Notably, this year's new installed capacity is expected to surpass the 1.1GW recorded in 2024.​

SAPVIA reported that, as of mid-2025, South Africa's cumulative PV installed capacity is estimated to reach 9,457MW. The association further noted: "As of July 2025, the total scale of PV projects stood at 10,078MW, accounting for the vast majority of the overall 14.9GW in reserve projects. Additionally, 11 REIPPPP projects remain under construction."​

REIPPPP continues to be a key driver of South Africa's utility-scale PV market. In July 2025, the South African government approved six new PV projects under the seventh round of REIPPPP procurement, with a combined installed capacity of 1,290MW-marking the largest public utility PV project commitment in the country this year.​

This 1,290MW capacity was sourced from the reallocation of unused onshore wind power project quotas. SAPVIA emphasized: "This strategic move ensures that unused wind power capacity can be rapidly transitioned to PV projects, which are quicker to deploy and connect to the grid. In turn, this strengthens South Africa's commitment to accelerating its shift toward clean energy."​

Beyond REIPPPP, South Africa's energy market is increasingly adopting solutions that combine renewable energy with energy storage, a key step to enhancing grid stability.​

SAPVIA also highlighted promising prospects for South Africa's commercial and industrial (C&I) PV market. Since June 2024, 100MW of C&I PV projects (with individual scales ranging from 100 kilowatts to 1MW) have been registered, while an additional 250MW of projects (ranging from 1MW to 50MW) have been filed.​

In contrast, South Africa's residential PV market is showing signs of a slowdown, coinciding with the end of load shedding. The association explained: "This trend is quite evident from the number of new PV installation companies applying for PV GreenCard membership, though it cannot yet be quantified."​

Earlier in 2025, the South African government officially approved the National Renewable Energy Master Plan, which sets a target of deploying at least 3GW of new renewable energy annually-with plans to increase this to 5GW by 2030.​

In August 2025, Eskom, South Africa's state-owned power utility, launched a renewable energy procurement initiative targeting large electricity consumers interested in signing power purchase agreements (PPAs). The first batch of tenders under this initiative covers 291MW of PV capacity.