South African businesses are increasingly relying on the giant ball in the sky for their energy solutions. To offset Eskom's rising tariffs and harness the African sun, they are choosing solar power to generate electricity.
Zaheer Khan, Regional Director for South Africa at Trinasolar MEA. Image supplied.
Zaheer Khan, regional director for South Africa at Solar & Storage Live Africa, Trinasolar MEA, spoke ahead of the renewable energy exhibition and conference. business community About the benefits of solar energy, the South African electricity market and Trinasolar's future projects.
What are the latest technological advances in solar energy in South Africa?
South Africa is experiencing a significant generational shift in solar module technology, with the N-Type i-Topcon rapidly establishing itself as the new industry standard for utility-scale deployment.
Moving from older PERC-based modules to the advanced N-type platform represents a fundamental improvement in efficiency, sustainability and long-term energy yield.
The change in N-Type i-Topcon technology is not incremental – it is transformational.
These modules offer high birefringence, superior low-radiation performance and significantly lower degradation rates over their operational lifetime, all of which directly improves the economics of large-scale solar projects.
Beyond modules, the rapid advancement of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is equally important.
According to SAPVIA (South African Photovoltaic Industry Association), almost half of South Africa's 220GW renewable energy project pipeline now integrates BESS, addressing solar power interruptions and providing the resiliency needed 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 true integrated step change in the way solar power is deployed and operated.
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Why do South African companies find solar energy more profitable than other renewable energies?
There are three structural factors that consistently drive South African businesses to turn to solar energy compared to other renewable options: speed of deployment, scalability across all segments, and the country's exceptional solar resource.
Most areas of South Africa receive over 2,500 hours of sunshine annually, with daily solar radiation averaging 4.5–6.5 kWh/m² – one of the strongest solar resources globally.
This is a natural competitive advantage that wind and other renewable energies cannot replicate on the same geographic footprint.
Electricity tariffs in South Africa have increased by more than 450% since the beginning of the electricity crisis, with above-inflation increases for 2026 and 2027 confirmed – strengthening solar power as a financially driven strategic choice, not just a fixture.
Solr's modularity gives it a distinct deployment advantage.
Using the same core technology, solar power can be scaled up from a rooftop C&I installation to a 500MW utility-scale project.
Wind requires specific resource geography and more complex logistics. Solar works wherever your business operates. That flexibility is extremely valuable.
Finally, the maturity of South Africa's solar ecosystem.
Since the launch of the REIPPPP (Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Purchase Programme) in 2011, South Africa has attracted over R292bn in renewable energy investment, secured over 9.6GW of generation capacity and created approximately 93,000 job-years – creating a deep pipeline of experienced developers, EPCs and financiers that make solar projects more bankable and faster to execute than newer technologies.
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In what specific ways can solar energy reduce Eskom's impact on the country's energy sector?
South Africa's electricity sector is undergoing the most significant structural transformation in its history.
This is not a comment on any one player – it is simply the direction in which energy markets are moving globally, and South Africa is following that path.
Eskom itself has recognized this direction – launching its first renewable energy offtake program and establishing Eskom Green, a dedicated renewable energy subsidiary that aims to have at least 2GW of construction-ready projects by 2026 and a pipeline scaling up to 32GW by 2040.
More broadly on structural change, three concrete changes are already underway.
First, the development of private generation.
South Africa's private solar sector has grown rapidly – South Africa plans to install 1.6GW of new solar power plants by 2025, with cumulative installed capacity now exceeding 10GW, the majority of which is 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 to 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 throughout the system. This is healthy for the area as a whole.
Third, the role of solar energy in grid stability.
The rapid expansion of renewable energy has significantly contributed to South Africa reaching 300 consecutive days without loadshedding by March 2026 – reducing 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-powered grid stability creates a more flexible and diverse power system – better equipped to meet the country’s growing energy demand and long-term decarbonization goals.
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What major changes do you expect to see in the South African electricity grid in the next five years?
I have identified four interrelated changes 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 a shift from policy to market – introducing transparent pricing, competitive remittances and large-scale private sector participation for the first time in more than a century. This is the most structurally significant transformation of South Africa's energy sector in living memory. By 2031, when SAWEM reaches full operation, the power 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 towards more holistic, portfolio-based solutions – enabling renewable energy to function as a scalable market rather than a collection of niche transactions.
- From intermittent to dispatchable solar. Nearly half of South Africa's 220GW renewable energy project pipeline now integrates battery energy storage systems – BESS is no longer optional; This is built into the project design from day one.
- From interrupted to extended transmission. At least 1,164 kilometers of new transmission lines have been identified for private sector procurement, with a request for proposals expected in the third quarter of 2026 – a decisive step towards breaking the state monopoly on transmission infrastructure.
Grid expansion is a prerequisite for everything else.
Production capacity is ready. The technology is ready. Capital is available.
Transmission is a bottleneck, and addressing it is the defining challenge of the next five years.
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Can you shed light on the major upcoming projects planned at Trinasolar in South Africa?
There are two key milestones that define the near-term trajectory of Trinasolar 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 concurrently concluded contracts – Khaouta South (352.5 MW) and Khaouta West (157.8 MW), the project was delivered in Welkom, Free State Province, in partnership with WBHO, one of South Africa's largest EPC companies.
Khauta demonstrates what is possible when the right technology, the right partnership and the right execution capability come together.
Two contracts at 510MW were delivered together – this 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 leading renewable energy developers, for the 220MW Orkney Solar Project – further deepening its presence in the utility-scale sector.
Beyond individual projects, the scale of Trinasolar's pipeline.
With over 2GW in the pipeline, Trinasolar currently holds the number one market share position in South Africa. That pipeline was built on a foundation of more than 1GW delivered in a single year.
The progress – from 1GW delivered to 2GW in the pipeline – tells you everything about where this market is going and how much confidence our development partners have in Trinasolar as a long-term partner of choice.