Over 2023, a lot of consumers in South Africa took energy security into their own hands.
Despite having the third largest economy in the world, rolling blackouts since 2007 have caused a lack of energy security across the country.
Frequent breakdowns and unplanned outages have significantly reduced the electricity available on the grid.
South Africa’s national utility, Eksom, have survived through a series of state bailouts and the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
Through this partnership, advanced economies across the world were set to provide around $8,500,000,000 to support the decarbonisation of South Africa’s failing power sector.
This is a step in the right direction but the development of solar is too slow.
The South African population have taken electricity matters into their own hands to such an extent a nationwide solar rooftop boom is anticipated.
In the first quarter of 2023 alone, South Africa imported five times as many batteries than the whole of 2022.
In total, South Africa’s installed rooftop solar capacity increased from 983megawatts (MW) in the March of 2022 to 4412MW in June 2023.
Registering a 349% increase in less than a year.
The rooftop solar boom has increased energy security for consumers across South Africa.
The government in South Africa is actively encouraging the uptake of rooftop solar with new consumer led policies.
Consumers are now able to claim up to a 25% rebate on new solar panel installations on homes. The offer is available between the 1st of March 2023 and the 29th of February 2024.
Over time, the roof top solar boom will contribute to a full decarbonisation of South Africa’s electricity grid.
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