As the new round of storage procurement plans advances, South Africa’s energy transition is entering a new phase centred on delivery capability and system flexibility.
For South Africa, the next phase of the challenge is clear: it is about converting the country’s high-quality wind and solar resources into reliable, affordable and dispatchable electricity, and ultimately into industrial competitiveness. This broader transition ensures that the grid absorbs clean electricity, industry uses it, and it drives national economic growth.
With this shift, Envision Energy is ready to work alongside South African stakeholders, drawing on the company’s global experience in energy transitions to support South Africa’s journey from the grid to industry and to jointly advance the country’s energy transition and industrial future.
Our grid-forming battery storage products provide inertia, voltage and frequency support, and black-start capability to fill the system gap left by retiring coal.
The grid as a critical enabler for the next phase
South Africa’s wind and solar resources are among the best in the world, and development is accelerating. To fully unlock this potential, the grid is the key.
The Ministry of Electricity and Energy has repeatedly noted that the curtailment of renewable energy (wind and solar curtailment) not only causes lost revenue but also raises system costs. Against this backdrop, the value of energy storage becomes clear—not merely storing electricity but providing system flexibility and stability.
We are already putting this exploration into practice in South Africa.
In the Free State, the Naos-1 solar-plus-storage project, in which Envision Energy is participating, is progressing steadily. The project will deliver reliable, dispatchable clean electricity to large commercial and industrial (C&I) users.
The project’s coordinated solar-storage operation model is designed to strengthen regional grid flexibility, helping the system operator better forecast wind and solar output and release more renewable energy within existing grid constraints.
Is it possible to operate wind, storage and AI as one system?
Wind, storage and AI must operate in concert to unlock value. We believe the competitiveness of future energy systems depends on whether assets can coordinate intelligently—turning variability into dispatchable, supporting growth-enabling capacity.
Our smart wind turbines use sensors and AI algorithms to optimise operations in real time, adapting to South African wind conditions, increasing generation and improving availability through predictive maintenance. Our grid-forming battery storage provides stability as a synchronous generator would.
For our customers, this means tangible benefits: a lower total cost of energy supply, more stable delivery, and more predictable operational returns.
In the field, Envision Energy’s Tianji Weather Foundation Model and intelligent IoT operating system enable precise output forecasting and dispatch optimisation. For South Africa, Envision Energy’s system capabilities mean a more secure electricity supply, a stronger foundation for growth, and industrial opportunities from the energy transition. Our storage business in South Africa is advancing at pace, with teams working on-site alongside local partners—converting technical capability into grid capability.
‘In South Africa, For South Africa’
The energy transition is not just about technology, it is also an industrial transition that requires creating jobs, building skills, and establishing a competitive local supply chain. Therefore, we fully support the South African government’s policy direction on localisation, B-BBEE, and the just transition.
We firmly believe that technology alone cannot build the future.
Envision Energy is assessing the feasibility of establishing local battery storage assembly capacity in South Africa. As part of this, we are working with local EPCs, electrical engineering firms, logistics providers, and lifting companies to continuously train South African engineers and skilled workers so they can operate and maintain these advanced systems.
We support B-BBEE and localisation objectives, and we are willing to work with government, industry and communities to explore how green electricity can be converted into industrial competitiveness.
Our long-term commitment in South Africa extends beyond manufacturing. Converting quality green electricity into industrial competitiveness is an even more important challenge for the country’s next phase. To achieve this, we will develop assembly, operation and maintenance, and talent cultivation step-by-step, based on sustained market demand, project scale, and the capabilities of the local supply chain.
In August 2026, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, South Africa’s Minister of Electricity and Energy, visited Envision Energy’s Chifeng Industrial Park during a China visit, where we convert wind and solar into green hydrogen, green ammonia and green manufacturing competitiveness—demonstrating the viability of this pathway.
South Africa has what it takes to convert quality green electricity into an industrial advantage. Green hydrogen in the Northern Cape, AI data centres and low-carbon manufacturing for export are all viable pathways for this conversion.
A long-term partner
South Africa’s wind industry today is the result of years of shared effort by government, developers, financial institutions and manufacturers.
The energy transition won’t happen overnight. The next decade will require long-term commitment and collaboration. Envision Energy is here to stay, to move forward together with all stakeholders, and to become a trusted part of the energy system and industrial ecosystem.
South Africa’s sun and wind are enough to power a more secure, more prosperous and more competitive future. We look forward to realising it together.
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About the author
Kane Xu is Senior Vice President of Envision Energy and President of the International Business Product line, responsible for the company’s global operational and financial performance and operations of its international businesses. He also leads Envision’s High-Growth Markets, driving expansion across the Middle East & Africa, Turkey & the Caucasus, India & Australia, and North America.
