- South Africa will invest $127.1 billion to drive a major clean energy transition under the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2025.
- The plan targets 3% GDP growth by 2030, adds 105,000 MW of new capacity by 2039, and aims to cut CO₂ emissions to 160 million tonnes by 2030.
South Africa will invest 2.2 trillion rand ($127.1 billion), about 30% of its gross domestic product, in a sweeping energy transition plan aimed at ending chronic power shortages and boosting economic growth, Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said on Sunday, October 20 .
Ramokgopa announced the plan, part of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2025, at a press briefing in Pretoria. He said the IRP would stimulate growth, create jobs, and help the economy achieve a 3% GDP expansion by 2030.
The strategy will overhaul South Africa’s energy mix, allowing cleaner sources such as hydropower, nuclear, wind, and solar to surpass coal for the first time in the nation’s history. It also targets deep emissions cuts, 160 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030 and 142 million tonnes by 2035.
“There is no economy that grows if the lights are off,” Ramokgopa said. “Industries will not locate in South Africa without reliable, affordable power. If we cannot guarantee electricity, we will undermine our growth ambitions and investment prospects.”
South Africa’s power crisis, caused by aging coal plants and years of underinvestment in new generation, has crippled output and slowed growth to 0.6% in 2024 and 0.8% in the second quarter of 2025. Power cuts, known locally as load shedding, have lasted up to 12 hours a day, wiping out an estimated 20% of the country’s economic capacity, according to the Public Investment Corporation.
To stabilise supply, the government has opened electricity generation to private investors. Under the IRP, South Africa will add 105,000 megawatts of new capacity by 2039, 2.5 times Eskom’s current output, to secure long-term energy stability and drive industrial recovery.