The province has set a target of generating 5 700 MW of energy by 2035.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) registered 111 electricity generation facilities in the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.
The facilities, registered between April and June 2025, have a total capacity of 1 916MW, with an estimated investment value of R51.91 billion, Nersa said on Friday.
The energy regulator registered the 111 generation facilities within 11 working days, an improvement from registering 104 applications in 15 days during the same period last year.
“This illustrates Nersa’s commitment to the efficient evaluation and processing of energy infrastructure registration applications,” it said
The first quarter saw solar photovoltaic (PV) emerging as the predominant generation technology chosen, underscoring South Africa’s abundant sunlight resources which are ideal for both small-scale and large-scale energy generation.
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The top three provinces leading in the number of newly registered generation facilities in the first quarter are Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, with 31, 24 and 14 registered facilities, respectively.
However, in terms of total installed capacity and investment costs, the Western Cape emerged as the clear leader.
The province boasts an impressive capacity of 741 MW and an associated investment cost of R21.4 billion. This is followed by the Northern Cape, with a capacity of 507 MW and an associated investment of R14.8 billion, and the Free State with a capacity of 302 MW and an investment of R6.4 billion.
Since the inception of the registration regime in 2018, Nersa has registered a total of 2 056 generation facilities with a total capacity of 12 757 MW and a total investment cost of R293 billion.
Western Cape beating load shedding
During a virtual conference held in May last year, hosted by Western Cape premier Alan Winde, the province gave an update on numerous energy initiatives the provincial government was implementing to make it the first province to beat load shedding.
The province has set a target of generating 5 700 MW of energy by 2035.
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Winde said that since load shedding started in 2007, the Western Cape had lost between R48.6 billion and R61.2 billion in real GDP.
In the 2023/24 financial year, the provincial government allocated R12 billion to its alternative energy support programme, which is rolling out PV and battery storage systems to 12 trading hubs in seven municipalities where SMMEs operate.
“With the resilience plan as our blueprint we are mapping out and implementing measures, both short and long-term, to beat mass power cuts. While we seek out and implement short-term measures, we must always keep one eye on the future and what our future energy needs will be, so that we don’t face this crisis again,” Winde said.
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