South Africa has approved its South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM), a strategic initiative aimed at enhancing energy security and supporting industrial development. The plan sets out a target to increase renewable energy capacity by up to 5 GW annually.

SAREM is structured around four key objectives: ensuring system readiness to meet local demand for renewable power and storage, building industrial value chains for clean energy technologies, promoting inclusive growth and transformation within industries and fostering innovation and skill development for long-term sustainability. The masterplan also integrates green hydrogen as a key component. The initiative complements South Africa’s updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), revised in 2023, which aims for 29.5 GW of new energy capacity by 2030, with 14.4 GW from wind and 6 GW from solar. The most recent procurement round under the IRP is focused on securing 6.8 GW of renewable energy, 3 GW from natural gas, and 1.5 GW from coal.