South Africa’s energy transition is moving fast enough to matter. The opening of the first phase of the Ummbila Emoyeni wind farm in Mpumalanga puts that momentum in concrete terms: 25 wind turbines, 155MW of generating capacity, and power already flowing through Eskom’s transmission network. For the millions of South Africans who depend on reliable, affordable electricity to keep hospitals running, schools open and homes lit, the pace and fairness of this shift is not an abstract policy question.
The project, developed by Seriti Green, a subsidiary of mining company Seriti Resources, sits on the Mpumalanga Highveld between Bethal, Davel and Morgenzon. Once the broader 900MW hybrid energy cluster is completed, combining wind, solar and battery storage, it is expected to become South Africa’s largest hybrid energy facility.
The scale of change across the country is striking. Renewable energy accounted for just 2 percent of locally generated electricity in 2016. By 2024 that figure had climbed to 9 percent. Installed renewable capacity now stands at nearly 16GW, with another 32GW of projects in the grid connection pipeline expected to connect by 2030. Households have moved quickly too. The number of homes with rooftop solar panels increased 86 percent over three years, reaching 675,000 in 2025.
What changed to accelerate this: a series of legislative and regulatory reforms, including the removal of licensing thresholds for self-generation and the revival of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, opened pathways that had long been blocked. At this year’s South Africa Investment Conference, more than R50 billion in green energy investment commitments were announced. Government has also published South Africa’s first Energy Infrastructure Investment Prospectus, setting out a coordinated pipeline of investment-ready projects across the electricity value chain.
For ordinary citizens, President Cyril Ramaphosa has framed the goal plainly. In his weekly newsletter, he emphasized that the energy transition must ultimately lower electricity costs for consumers and create new economic opportunities. Cabinet has approved publication for public comment of the Revised Electricity Pricing Policy and the draft Electricity Sector Market Transformation Position Paper, both aimed at building a competitive electricity market where operators compete to supply power at the lowest possible cost.
The transition, however, carries real risks for the workers and communities that have long sustained the country’s energy system. Mpumalanga’s coalfields have powered South Africa’s industrialization since the late 1800s, supporting mines, factories, businesses and public services through the labor of coal miners, artisans and power station workers. As that economic foundation shifts, those same workers and their families face uncertain futures.
Ramaphosa stressed that the Just Energy Transition must do more than swap coal for renewable sources. It must protect communities, workers and businesses affected by the shift while creating new economic opportunities. Government, business, labour and civil society will need to work together to ensure the transition is inclusive. The stated goal is a transition that leaves communities stronger while delivering secure, reliable and affordable electricity for South Africans now and in the future.
Structural reforms are also advancing. Ramaphosa said he had received a progress report from a task team working to establish a fully independent state-owned entity responsible for electricity transmission and operation of the electricity market. These institutional changes aim to create a more efficient, competitive system that ultimately serves consumers better.
The fact that significant renewable investment is coming from local companies like Seriti Resources, not only from foreign investors, signals that South African businesses are backing the country’s energy future. The Ummbila Emoyeni project shows how existing regional strengths can be leveraged alongside new technologies. The harder question, one that communities in Mpumalanga and beyond are already living with, is whether the institutions, funding and political will exist to ensure that the people who powered the nation’s past are not left behind as its energy future takes shape.