The capacity of rooftop solar in South Africa has passed 8.3 GW, according to Eskom's National Transmission Company. The steepest growth came during peak loadshedding in 2022 and 2023, but even after loadshedding effectively ended in early 2024, installations kept climbing, driven by Eskom tariff hikes that have made solar cheaper than grid electricity.
The bulk of this capacity is not on household rooftops. It sits on shopping malls, warehouses, farms and other commercial properties. StatsSA's General Household Survey puts the number of households with solar panels at 675 000 in 2025, an 86% increase over three years, with over two-thirds concentrated in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
The private sector is driving the boom. Rooftop solar alone (8.3 GW installed) already exceeds the total operational solar capacity contracted and operational under the government's flagship energy programmes, REIPPPP and RMIPPPP, combined (2.8 GW).
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