Solar set for consumer boom

Since the advent of daily loadshedding at the end of October last year, South Africa has seen an acceleration of solar power installations at home and businesses, in an industry that was already mushrooming. According to the World Economic Forum, South Africa imported solar panels with $135-million in the first five months of 2022, which it said was enough to boost the country’s existing solar capacity by 40%.

There has been a remarkable surge in demand for subscription solar solutions in recent months, particularly in December and January,” says Andrew Middleton, CEO of solar subscription company Gosolr. “Although the exact size of the market is difficult to determine due to limited data, our estimates indicate that around 10,000 to 12,000 households installed solar last year, with subscription or ‘rent-to-own’ options accounting for approximately 30 to 40% of that figure. This proportion is expected to increase as more customers become aware of the benefits of subscription solar.