- Foreign companies awarded renewable-energy contracts flout local-content obligations, undermining South African manufacturing.
- Vigorous enforcement and publicly led renewable projects are crucial for creating jobs, transferring skills, and driving industrial growth.
South Africa’s renewable energy programme should support local factories and workers. Instead, foreign companies exploit state contracts, ignoring local-content rules. Evidence shows that eighteen companies awarded contracts under the RMIPPP and REIPPP schemes failed to source even 30% of their solar panels locally. This blatant disregard poses a significant threat to industrial growth and job creation.
Durban-based ARTsolar, the region’s only solar panel manufacturer, exposed the scandal through court filings. These firms imported panels instead of buying from South African suppliers, undermining factories and destroying jobs. Localisation requirements were legally binding, yet authorities turned a blind eye. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, along with the IPP Office, failed to enforce these conditions, allowing industrial capacity to collapse.
At a time of 43% unemployment, this failure is devastating. Public investment could have powered both homes and factories. Instead, foreign profits dominate while South African manufacturers struggle to survive. ARTsolar now faces closure despite producing high-quality photovoltaic modules and training skilled workers. This crisis reflects a broader policy of de-industrialisation under neoliberal energy reforms.
Privatisation of energy generation worsens the problem. The IPP model prioritises profits over development, leaving localisation and job creation as optional extras. State oversight is inconsistent: local firms face strict scrutiny, while multinationals violate contracts with impunity. This double standard exposes government rhetoric about transformation and black industrialisation as empty promises.
Renewable energy could drive green industrialisation, anchor production hubs, and train workers. Instead, South Africa risks permanent import dependence and lost opportunities. SAFTU demands the public release of contracts, sanctions against non-compliant firms, and binding localisation rules. Labour standards and union rights must be protected, ensuring clean energy creates clean jobs.
South Africa must reclaim industrial sovereignty. A just energy transition requires public leadership, worker participation, and development-driven policies. Only then will solar power build factories, not dismantle them.