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South Africa · asset class

Power Plants in South Africa

South Africa has 172 power plants mapped on the OverWatts open energy atlas — the 24th-largest fleet of the 155 countries that hold any, and 0.6% of the world's mapped total. Of these, 66 operating and 99 under construction or proposed. Operating generation capacity totals 59.7 GW across 66 utility-scale plants of 100 MW and above. The largest is JER Green Hydrogen Solar PV Project (South Africa) (12.0 GW).

The largest owner-operators are Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (25), Blue Crane Environmental (17) and Mainstream Renewable Power (8) — Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd alone is named on 15% of them. Half of South Africa's power plants in service predate 2015 (median commissioning year of the 65 with a known date), 32 came online in the past decade and the oldest still listed is Kelvin power station, dating from 1962. 99 are in the pipeline, led by JER Green Hydrogen Solar PV Project (South Africa) (12.0 GW), proposed. They account for 43% of every energy asset OverWatts maps in South Africa.

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172
Power Plant in South Africa
#24
of 155 countries
59.7 GW
Operating capacity
99
In construction / proposed

Operating generation capacity by fuel

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Largest power plants in South Africa

Who owns South Africa's power plants

Counts an asset once per company named as its owner or operator; a joint venture counts for each partner.

When they were built

Median commissioning year 2015 · oldest Kelvin power station (1962) · newest San Kraal wind farm (2025) · 65 of 172 carry a start date

Under construction & proposed

How South Africa compares · power plants by country

Frequently asked

How many power plants are there in South Africa?
OverWatts maps 172 power plants in South Africa — 0.6% of the world's mapped total, the 24th-largest national fleet of the 155 countries with any.
What is the largest power plant in South Africa?
JER Green Hydrogen Solar PV Project (South Africa), at 12.0 GW.
How much power-generation capacity do South Africa's power plants have?
About 59.7 GW operating across 66 plants, with a further 55.2 GW under construction or proposed. That covers utility-scale sites of 100 MW and above, so it sits below national installed capacity wherever distributed generation is large.
Who owns the power plants in South Africa?
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd is named as owner or operator on the most — 25 of 172 (15%). Next are Blue Crane Environmental (17), Mainstream Renewable Power (8) and EDF Renewables (6).
How old are South Africa's power plants?
The median commissioning year is 2015, across the 65 in service with a known start date. The oldest still listed is Kelvin power station (1962); 32 came online in the past ten years.
What new power plants are being built in South Africa?
99 projects are under construction or proposed. The largest are JER Green Hydrogen Solar PV Project (South Africa) (12.0 GW), Coega power station (3.0 GW) and Richards Bay (Eskom) power station (3.0 GW).

Other asset classes in South Africa

Coal / Uranium Mine 140Cement Plant 22Iron Ore Mine 14Pipeline 11Export Terminal 8LNG Terminal 7Grid Storage 5Iron & Steel Plant 5Oil & Gas Field 4Refinery 2Interconnector 2Data Centre 2

Power Plants in other countries

China 11,537United States 3,831India 1,675Brazil 879Spain 653Australia 615Philippines 489Russia 461Canada 452Vietnam 392Japan 387Germany 335