South Africa photovoltaic inverter production stopped

South Africa now has close to 2,500 MW of utility-scale solar in operation from the previous competitive bidding rounds. All those solar panels need inverters, so let's take a look at inverter imports. Inverter imports surged to R10.5 billion ($650 million) in 2022, up from about $350 million in 2021.

Professor Vally Padayachee, an energy expert and former Eskom generation executive manager, said he believes that there remains a significant future for solar PV in South Africa's energy landscape.

“The rapid deployment of Solar PV significantly helped to reduce load shedding," Spencer said. "However, South Africa still needs to build many more new clean power plants to help the economy grow and also to replace the old polluting coal power plants as they are decommissioned. Thus, solar PV will be a major contributor for decades to come.”

Two charts from Johannesburg-based Gaylor Montmasson-Clair, a Senior Economist at Trade, Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), recently showcased just how much imports of solar panels and inverters have surged in recent months in South Africa. Let's take a look at solar panel imports first.

The significant enforcement resources required to ensure compliance could simply result in wide-scale disobedience. Many South African households are likely using off-grid inverters in their solar and backup power systems which do not meet the necessary requirements for safe interaction with the grid.

“When I asked about the list for Johannesburg, I was told that there isn't one and that Cape Town's list is used nationally,” he said. The City of Cape Town was the first of the major metros to publish a list of approved inverters for grid-tied solar and backup systems.