To make use of this extra power by 2025, local renewable energy projects planned for around 2027 will need to be sped up. More projects will also be needed to integrate the renewable energy and avoid any issues with the local network.
But there’s a catch. If local municipalities buy power and it’s successful, and if it’s located in the Western and Eastern Cape and used during busy times, it could affect the new power capacity. Some space has been made for rooftop PV in the power capacity for cuts, even though it wasn’t specifically included.
According to the GCCA 2025, projects in the Western Cape will be allocated to wind farms:
While the Eastern Cape projects can only be accommodated on the eastern side of the supply area because of congestion. These are the 310MW at Neptune and 480MW Dorper wind projects.
Eskom did note that if the demand for power doesn’t grow as expected, or if it decreases, there could be more temporary reductions in power production, especially if all the new capacity is used for renewable energy.
On the other hand, large power consumers like data centres could help reduce these reductions if they are set up in the given timeframe and location.