South Africa to procure 4.6 GW of batteries and 5 GW of gas under IRP 2025
Victoria Shinder1 min readSouth Africa's government plans to procure 4.6 GW of battery storage and 5 GW of gas-fired power as the first allocations under its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2025, pv magazine reported on 8 October, citing a government statement.
Why storage and gas first. The IRP targets more than 105 GW of new generation by 2039, including 25 GW of solar, as the country reduces its reliance on coal. The government says prioritising 9.6 GW of storage and gas answers the system's immediate needs: batteries to reduce rising curtailment of renewable output, gas to provide dispatchable power when renewables fall or demand rises.
Conditions on the batteries. The statement says storage must be located and operated where it can absorb surplus electricity and discharge without reproducing network constraints, and procurement will follow the system operator's charging and discharging requirements, with enforceable availability and performance obligations. That is a notable design choice: storage is being bought as a grid service in specific places, not as generic capacity.
What is not in it. The first determination makes no provision for new solar or wind. The government says a later determination will cover them, including hybrid projects with storage and longer-term pumped storage.
Context. South Africa's earlier battery bid windows procured 513 MW (five projects in construction by June 2025), then 615 MW and 616 MW. Private projects are growing alongside: a TotalEnergies-led hybrid with a 500 MWh battery switched on in July, and Scatec completed a 100 MW / 200 MWh hybrid in August. Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa framed the plan as using available electricity better and addressing avoidable costs that weigh on affordability.
Source: pv magazine, "South Africa to procure 4.6 GW of battery storage", 8 October 2026 — https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/10/08/south-africa-to-procure-4-6-gw-of-battery-storage