What’s stopping sunny South Africa’s solar industry? Court case sheds light on the wider problem

South Africa needs a renewable energy industrial strategy, not just requirements for green power projects to buy a percentage of solar parts from local companies.

By: Wikus Kruger, University of Cape Town, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: February 2, 2026

Words: 1,316

Last Updated: 1 month, 2 weeks ago

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By Wikus Kruger, University of Cape Town

A South African solar manufacturer, ARTsolar, is taking the government and several renewable energy developers to court. The case focuses on local content rules for renewable energy projects. ARTsolar says it invested in new manufacturing capacity because it expected these rules to lead to orders for locally assembled solar panels. That did not happen.

Wikus Kruger has researched renewable energy financing and procurement in …

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