Cooperation with South Africa Solar panel boom

    Depending on the location, electricity in South Africa is provided either by the national electricity company Eskom or by one of 167 municipal electricity authorities. In the past, municipalities were generally unwilling to grant permission for small-scale solar installations on roofs or private land. There were no technical standards, tariff models or processes in place for connecting them. Furthermore, strict national regulations severely limited the installation of small solar power systems.

    Participants in a training course on rooftop solar panels in Cape Town.

    Starting in 2019, German development cooperation has supported selected municipalities in creating the right conditions to enable the installation of roof-mounted solar panels. This support consisted of advising local government officials responsible for the technical, legal and commercial aspects of solar panel installations. The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) was closely involved in order to ensure that comparable terms were available nationwide. Despite initial scepticism regarding decentralised electricity generation, the national regulatory authority and the Department of Energy eventually showed an interest as well.

    The experience gained in the pilot municipalities served as the basis for a training programme for all 167 local governments. It combined training sessions with visits to selected facilities and one-to-one advice for staff members. This enabled the municipalities to set the necessary changes in motion to facilitate the installation of rooftop solar panels. In addition, staff at installation companies received further training on site. A “PV GreenCard” was introduced that is awarded to highly qualified companies. All of these measures ensured that the facilities operated reliably and that the market developed in a way that was economically viable in the long term.

    Training programmes and advisory support provided by the national authorities laid the foundations for the increasing use of solar power systems in South Africa. When the national government finally lifted the highly restrictive regulations on rooftop solar panels, there was a veritable boom. By mid-2024, more than 5,000 MW of decentralised renewable energy generation capacity had been installed – compared with less than 2,300 MW in 2022.