South Africa Plans to Prioritize Procurement of 9,600 MW of Energy Storage and Gas-Fired Generation Capacity

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 7, South Africa's Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa announced the first batch of electricity procurement arrangements under the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, proposing to prioritize the allocation of 4,600 MW of battery energy storage systems and 5,000 MW of gas-fired generation capacity, totaling 9,600 MW. The arrangement will form an electricity capacity determination under Section 34 of South Africa's Electricity Regulation Act, and the first batch of procurement will not include new wind and solar PV generation capacity for the time being. Subsequent procurement decisions will cover wind, solar, and hybrid energy projects with supporting storage, as well as long-term pumped-storage development.

Regarding battery energy storage procurement, the South African government will focus on grid areas with high renewable energy curtailment, requiring storage facilities to have the ability to absorb surplus electricity, discharge electricity during evening peak demand, and provide grid regulation services. The siting and operation of storage projects will be aligned with the system operator's charging and discharging needs, and procurement contracts will also set requirements for availability and operational performance. As of June 2025, all five projects in South Africa's first round of battery storage tenders had completed commercial close and entered the construction phase, with a total installed capacity of 513 MW, attracting 15.4 billion rand in investment.

Gas-fired generation procurement will focus on the flexible operation capability of generating units, including startup time, load ramping performance, and minimum stable operating load. Project evaluation will also take into account natural gas supply capacity, delivered fuel prices, port and pipeline supporting facilities, grid connection conditions, and unit commissioning progress. Under South Africa's previously launched gas independent power producer procurement program, the first round of tenders was for 2,000 MW, and the government is evaluating bids from four shortlisted consortia. That round of tenders was launched in December 2023, and four bid documents were received in May 2026, with a combined declared capacity of 2,830 MW.

According to South Africa's long-term electricity resource plan published in 2025, the country plans to add more than 105 GW of generation capacity by 2039, with renewable energy accounting for more than half of the new capacity and gas-fired generation planned at 16 GW. This procurement arrangement will be implemented in coordination with transmission network expansion, new industrial electricity demand, and regional electricity trading. South Africa's Department of Electricity and Energy also plans to set performance requirements through procurement projects in areas such as local manufacturing, engineering construction, skills training, and participation in ownership of energy infrastructure.