South Africa is already a major player in the solar industry. Of the top five African solar-enabled countries, it hosts 2 559MW, far ahead of second ranked Egypt with 750MW, according to 2018 figures from a SolarPlaza report scrutinising the top five solar countries in Africa.
Such a large capacity shows that solar is already expanding quickly in the background. South Africa added 373MW between 2017 and 2018, while Egypt gained a stunning 581MW. The solar boom has reached the mother continent, starting a surge in capacity that hopes to one day catch those of India and China.
However, doing so will take a bit more time as India has over 33GW of solar capacity.
Mark Walsh, business leader of AxizSolar at South Africa-based technology distributor Axiz, said: “Uptake is now across the whole of the SA economy.”
“From a 3KW system at a house right up to mining companies and large warehousing complexes that use multi-megawatt systems, anyone who uses electricity on a daily basis is now looking at solar. It has become a very broad market,” Walsh noted.
According to Axiz, Solar’s adoption is certain due to its dropping prices and the rising demand for energy.
And while solar is a subset of electricity – and electricity is dangerous, many installers have emerged to offer solar products despite their lack of credentials made the market nervous.
Walsh explained that South Africa has numerous first-class solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies. “Many have completed large projects such as the solar roof of the Mall of Africa in northern Johannesburg, at its launch the largest solar roof project in the southern hemisphere,” he said.
“There have been some really big local installations done by SA companies,” added Warren Pollard, business unit manager at AxizSolar. “Whereas in the old days, we had everyone arriving from Europe and they were the main players in the market, now, South African companies are stepping up and doing it on a larger scale.”
A significant part of that stabilisation has come from the maturing solar distribution market. “Distributors provide a crucial role as they can maintain the presence and stock of top brands, extend training and support to solar resellers, and provide price normality in usually volatile regions,” Pollard pointed out.
“These functions are particularly important for sub-Saharan Africa, where a distributor can use its experience and networks to support solar installers and resellers.”
According to Walsh the markets in many African countries are very volatile with component price flexibility being exceptional. “They fluctuate depending on available stock and people are nervous of committing to a purchase. By trying to ensure that everybody works at a fair margin, the end-buyer gets a good product at a fair price,” he said.
