South African businesses are increasingly relying on the giant ball in the sky for their energy solutions. To offset Eskom’s soaring tariffs and harness the African sun, they are choosing solar energy to generate electricity.
Zaheer Khan, regional director for South Africa at Trinasolar MEA. Image supplied.
Ahead of the renewable energy exhibition and conference, Solar & Storage Live Africa, Zaheer Khan, regional director for South Africa at Trinasolar MEA, spoke to Bizcommunity about the advantages of solar energy, the South African electricity market, and future projects at Trinasolar.
What are the newest technological advancements in solar energy in South Africa?
South Africa is experiencing a significant generational shift in solar module technology, with n-type i-TOPCon rapidly establishing itself as the new industry standard for utility-scale deployment.
The move from older PERC-based modules to advanced n-type platforms represents a fundamental improvement in efficiency, durability, and long-term energy yield.
The shift to n-type i-TOPCon technology is not incremental — it is transformational.
These modules offer higher bifaciality, superior low-irradiance performance, and significantly lower degradation rates over their operational lifetime, all of which directly improve the economics of large-scale solar projects.
Beyond modules, the rapid advancement of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is equally significant.
According to SAPVIA (South African Photovoltaic Industry Association), roughly half of South Africa's 220GW renewable energy project pipeline now integrates BESS, which addresses the intermittency of solar power and provides the flexibility required for a stable grid.
Hybrid solar-plus-storage configurations are expected to provide dispatchable power and ancillary services that actively support grid stability, moving beyond simple variable generation.
Smart tracking and automation are advancing rapidly.
These technologies together — modules, storage, tracking, and automation — represent a genuinely integrated step change in how solar energy is deployed and operated.
Why do South African companies view solar power as more advantageous than other renewables?
There are three structural factors that consistently drive South African businesses toward solar over other renewable options: speed of deployment, scalability across segments, and the country's exceptional solar resource.
South Africa receives more than 2,500 hours of sunshine annually across most regions, with daily solar radiation averaging 4.5-6.5 kWh/m² — one of the strongest solar resources globally.
That is a natural competitive advantage that wind and other renewables simply cannot replicate across the same geographic footprint.
Electricity tariffs in South Africa have surged by over 450% since the onset of the power crisis, with above-inflation increases confirmed for 2026 and 2027 — reinforcing solar as a financially-driven strategic choice, not just a sustainability one.
Solar's modularity gives it a distinct deployment advantage.
Solar can be scaled from a rooftop C&I installation to a 500MW utility-scale project using the same core technology.
Wind requires specific resource geographies and more complex logistics. Solar works wherever your business operates. That flexibility is enormously valuable.
Finally, the maturity of South Africa's solar ecosystem.
Since the launch of REIPPPP (Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme) in 2011, South Africa has attracted more than R292bn in renewable energy investment, securing over 9.6GW of generation capacity and generating nearly 93,000 job-years — creating a deep pipeline of experienced developers, EPCs, and financiers that makes solar projects more bankable and faster to execute than newer technologies.
In what specific ways can solar energy reduce Eskom's influence on the country's energy sector?
South Africa's electricity sector is going through the most significant structural change in its history.
That is not a commentary on any single player — it is simply the direction that energy markets globally are moving, and South Africa is following that trajectory.
Eskom itself has recognised this direction — launching its first Renewable Energy Offtake Programme and establishing Eskom Green, a dedicated renewable energy subsidiary targeting at least 2GW of construction-ready projects by 2026 and a pipeline scaling to 32GW by 2040.
On the structural shift more broadly, three concrete changes are already underway.
First, the growth of private generation.
South Africa's private solar sector has scaled rapidly — South Africa deployed 1.6GW of new solar in 2025, with cumulative installed capacity now exceeding 10GW, much of it privately developed and connecting to the national grid.
This broadens the supply base beyond a single provider and gives businesses and municipalities access to alternative energy sources through private PPAs and wheeling arrangements.
Second, the introduction of a competitive market.
SAWEM (South African Wholesale Electricity Market), planned for launch in April 2026, will replace the single-buyer model with a multi-buyer, multi-seller framework — where generators compete on merit and solar and wind, with near-zero marginal costs, are dispatched ahead of more expensive sources.
A competitive market creates transparency, price discovery, and accountability across the entire system. That is healthy for the sector as a whole.
Third, the role of solar in grid stability.
The rapid expansion of renewable energy has been a significant contributor to South Africa reaching 300 consecutive days without loadshedding as of March 2026 — easing demand on the generation fleet and providing additional capacity to the system.
In South Africa, the combined effect of private generation growth, a competitive wholesale market, and solar-driven grid stability creates a more resilient and diversified electricity system — one better equipped to meet the country's growing energy demand and long-term decarbonisation goals.
What major shifts do you expect in the South African electricity grid over the next five years?
I’ve identified four interconnected shifts that will define South Africa's electricity grid over the next 10 years:
- From monopoly to market. The launch of SAWEM in April 2026 marks the transition from policy to market — introducing transparent price formation, competitive dispatch, and private sector participation at scale for the first time in over a century. This is the most structurally significant change in South Africa's energy sector in living memory. By 2031, when SAWEM reaches full operation, the electricity sector will look fundamentally different.
- From single-buyer to aggregated wheeling. Trader-led wheeling models are expected to become the dominant commercial model in 2026, moving beyond one-to-one bilateral agreements toward more aggregated, portfolio-based solutions — enabling renewable energy to function as a scalable market rather than a collection of bespoke transactions.
- From intermittent to dispatchable solar. Roughly half of South Africa's 220GW renewable energy project pipeline now integrates battery energy storage systems — BESS is no longer optional; it is embedded in project design from day one.
- From constrained to expanded transmission. At least 1,164 kilometres of new transmission lines have been identified for private sector procurement, with a request for proposals expected in Q3 2026 — a decisive step toward breaking the state's monopoly on transmission infrastructure.
Grid expansion is the non-negotiable prerequisite for everything else.
The generation capacity is ready. The technology is ready. The capital is available.
Transmission is the bottleneck, and addressing it is the defining challenge of the next five years.
Rushil Rattan 24 Feb 2026 Can you highlight key upcoming projects planned at Trinasolar in South Africa?
There are two flagship milestones that define Trinasolar's near-term trajectory in South Africa.
Trinasolar has successfully completed module delivery for the 510MW Khauta Solar Project — one of the largest solar installations in South Africa.
Comprising two contracts concluded simultaneously — Khauta South (352.5MW) and Khauta West (157.8MW) — the project was delivered in partnership with WBHO, one of South Africa's largest EPC companies, in Welkom, Free State Province.
Khauta represents what is possible when the right technology, the right partnerships, and the right execution capability come together.
Two contracts at 510MW delivered simultaneously — that is a benchmark for utility-scale solar delivery in this market.
Looking ahead, Trinasolar has signed a contract with Mulilo, one of South Africa's prominent renewable energy developers, for the 220MW Orkney Solar Project — further deepening its presence in the utility-scale segment.
Beyond individual projects, the scale of Trinasolar's pipeline.
Trinasolar currently holds the number one market share position in South Africa, with a pipeline exceeding 2GW. That pipeline was built on a foundation of over 1GW delivered in a single year.
The progression — from 1GW delivered to 2GW in the pipeline — tells you everything about where this market is heading and the confidence our development partners have in Trinasolar as a long-term partner of choice.
