Investec Investec Focus Radio SA

The Current Ep 7 | SA's solar awakening

Loading player...
This year, South Africa is set to become the tenth-largest solar market in the world. In 2023 R17.5 Billion rands of solar panels were imported into this country. In the latest episode of The Current podcast series, we’re talking all things solar PV – from market dynamics to how much it costs and whether it makes commercial sense for you to install it for your business or your home. Listen to Investec’s Melanie Humphries, Bernard Geldenhuys, and SAPVIA’s De Wet Taljaard, as they enlighten us on SA’s solar boom.

00:00: Intro
01:56: Meet the guests
02:24: Overview of solar in SA and its domination
03:36: 86% of all solar is residential or rooftop
04:24: Large-scale solar PV projects
05:03: SA in comparison to other country's solar adoption
06:20: The impact of residential solar's boom on the national grid
07:16: The cost implications of installing solar
09:46: Homeowners installing solar for commercial value
11:55: Equitable access to solar power
13:55: Local manufacturing of solar lagging behind
14:49: REIPP Programme attracting substantial FDI
15:19: Feeding excess energy back into the grid
17:32: Transmission is the biggest hurdle for large-scale solar
18:50: What is wheeling and why is it important for IPPs?
21:19: Top considerations when installing rooftop solar
22:28: Maintenance of solar equipment
23:10: Loadshedding and solar's relationship is changing
24:17: SMMEs benefit from solar
25:24: What are the risks to SA's solar boom?
28:28 Closing comments and some practical advice
21 May 2024 English South Africa Business · Investing

Other recent episodes

What next? | Powering Africa's future

A discussion of Africa’s energy transition as both an economic strategy and a question of agency, featuring insights from Professor Carlos Lopes and investment leader Jasandra Nyker. They argue that while the world often views Africa through the narrow lens of risk, fragility, or aid dependency, the continent increasingly sees…
3 Dec 48 min

NOW Ep116: Markets in dissonance | What 2025 taught us

The year-end episode of the No Ordinary Wednesday podcast confronts a familiar contradiction: markets that looked buoyant, and an economy that often didn’t. In conversation with our Chief Investment Strategist Chris Holdsworth, we dissect the year’s dissonance and the lessons it leaves behind - above all, that in a noisy…
2 Dec 13 min

Everything Counts | Episode 36: Holiday Scams

This festive season, scamsters are busier than ever. From fake travel deals to holiday shopping traps, the pressure to click quickly can make anyone vulnerable. In this episode of Everything Counts, Motheo Khoaripe sits down with fraud expert Kevin Hogan and cybersecurity specialist Nomalizo Hlazo to unpack the most common…
1 Dec 25 min

Macro Monday Ep 98: South African markets outperform

While November was flat for global markets, they’ve performed well over six and 12 months. Chris Holdsworth, Chief Investment Strategist, Investec Wealth & Investment International discusses South African equities that have stood out, with a 43% gain in US dollar terms over the past 12 months, compared to 19% for…
1 Dec 10 min

What Next? | Shaping the future with Dominic Vergine

In this episode we host Dominic Vergine, CEO and founder of Monumo to discuss how AI can play a central role in advancing positive people and planet outcomes and the real impact of this technology. 00:00 – 01:41 | Setting the scene – AI and leadership in a changing world…
27 Nov 42 min
All episodes