South Africa's Ramokgopa Prioritizes 9.6GW Power Strategy

On October 7, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the Electricity and Energy Minister of South Africa, announced a strategic plan to prioritize 9.6 gigawatts of power generation, focusing on 4.6 gigawatts of battery storage and 5 gigawatts of gas-to-power. This approach aims to enhance the ability to deliver electricity when needed, ahead of further wind and solar procurement.

Ramokgopa highlighted a significant challenge: the development of electricity projects is outpacing the grid's capacity to deliver power, particularly in areas with limited network capacity. He noted that renewable projects in South Africa's south and west regions face curtailment, where generators must reduce output despite having the capacity to produce more electricity.

To mitigate this, he encouraged developers to consider locations with available grid capacity, referencing Seriti Green’s wind development in Mpumalanga as a model. Future allocations for wind and solar power will follow this initial focus on battery and gas power.