{"id":97756,"date":"2026-04-26T13:57:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T13:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future"},"modified":"2026-04-26T13:57:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T13:57:05","slug":"one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future","title":{"rendered":"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Officials from the Northern Cape have said the province will focus on renewable energy as a source of economic growth and job creation over the next few years.<\/p>\n<p>The Northern Cape is set to play a key role in South Africa\u2019s move away from fossil fuels towards cleaner alternatives, which will also reduce the country\u2019s dependence on state-owned Eskom.<\/p>\n<p>The Northern Cape\u2019s critical role in this transition was outlined ahead of the inaugural Northern Cape Investment and Jobs Conference (NCIJC), which kicked off on 13 March 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at a stakeholders\u2019 workshop on 25 March, Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul said the province serves as a hub for the country\u2019s renewable energy industry, with even more opportunity for growth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith solar capacity factors of around 26% and wind at 37%, the province offers performance metrics that continue to attract independent power producers (IPPs) and energy investors from around the world,\u201d Saul said.<\/p>\n<p>Saul said the Northern Cape produces three times more renewable energy than it consumes, accounting for over 60% of the country\u2019s entire green energy sector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe province is already central to the country\u2019s IPP landscape,\u201d Saul said. \u201cRoughly 60% of all of South Africa\u2019s IPPs are based in the Northern Cape.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis gives the province a critical role in transforming the national grid under the new integrated resource and transmission development plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saul listed renewable energy as one of six key investment pillars for the province, alongside traditional sectors such as mining, agriculture, industrialisation, infrastructure, and tourism.<\/p>\n<p>At a press conference on the eve of the NCIJC, the Northern Cape MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Venus Lorato Blennies-Magage, said the province aims to achieve R200 billion in GDP growth by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s quite a number of projects that we have secured already in the investment pipeline,\u201d Blennies-Magage said. \u201cThe plan is to ensure we get to R200 billion by 2030 in terms of GDP.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat that should translate to is sustainable jobs for the people of this province. We\u2019ve set ourselves a target of 60,000 sustainable jobs, and we see that as our medium-term target.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Transforming South Africa\u2019s energy sector<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul<\/p>\n<p>Through greater investment into the renewable energy sector, Northern Cape officials hope to position the province as a driving force in the country\u2019s Just Energy Transition (JET).<\/p>\n<p>Through JET, South Africa aims to shift away from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy production, with a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2050.<\/p>\n<p>This will also make South Africa less reliant on Eskom, which mainly uses coal-fired power plants to generate electricity, thereby bringing an end to the state-owned utility\u2019s century-old monopoly.<\/p>\n<p>Eskom plans to shut down an estimated 23 GW of electricity generated by five of its coal power stations by 2040, while increasing electricity produced from renewables, gas, hydro and nuclear power.<\/p>\n<p>National Business Initiative CEO Shameela Soobramoney explained how the Northern Cape presents significant opportunities in the clean energy sector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe province is endowed with an abundance of critical minerals, particularly manganese and rare earth elements, which are essential for the technologies that will define the global energy transition,\u201d Soobramoney said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCombined with the province\u2019s focus on value addition, beneficiation, logistics and industrial development, we see the Northern Cape as a hub for green industrialisation and regional economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the key projects Saul highlighted was the proposed construction of a deep-water port and railway near the Namibian border.<\/p>\n<p>The Boegoebaai Port Development project aims to create a major exporting hub for green hydrogen and will reportedly cost around R122.9 billion.<\/p>\n<p>The project was first announced in October 2021, with Sasol announced as a key partner in conducting the project\u2019s feasibility study.<\/p>\n<p>Over the next few years, the project seemed to stall with little in the way of updates until the Industrial Development Corporation announced a new tender for the project in November 2025.<\/p>\n<p>This nine-month advisory contract will allow the winner to provide legal advice on capital procurement for the project\u2019s development.<\/p>\n<p>Saul emphasised the importance of projects such as Boegoebaai in developing the economy not only of the Northern Cape but of the whole of South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Northern Cape has some of the best solar and wind resources in the world,\u201d Saul said. \u201cThis is not just an environmental advantage, it is also a cost advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur intention is to expand South Africa\u2019s economic footprint \u2013 not merely to shift activities from one province to another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">South-Africa<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; South-Africa. Officials from the Northern Cape have said the province will focus on renewable energy as a source of economic growth and job creation over the next few years. The Northern Cape is set to play a key role in South Africa\u2019s move away from fossil fuels towards cleaner alternatives, which will also [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":97755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-97756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; South-Africa. Officials from the Northern Cape have said the province will focus on renewable energy as a source of economic growth and job creation over the next few years. The Northern Cape is set to play a key role in South Africa\u2019s move away from fossil fuels towards cleaner alternatives, which will also [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-26T13:57:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-26T13:57:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future\"},\"wordCount\":766,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1777200088.834731.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future\",\"name\":\"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future - South Africa\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1777200088.834731.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-26T13:57:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1777200088.834731.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1777200088.834731.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\",\"name\":\"South Africa\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future - South Africa","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future","og_description":"Africa-Press &#8211; South-Africa. Officials from the Northern Cape have said the province will focus on renewable energy as a source of economic growth and job creation over the next few years. The Northern Cape is set to play a key role in South Africa\u2019s move away from fossil fuels towards cleaner alternatives, which will also [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future","og_site_name":"South Africa","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2026-04-26T13:57:05+00:00","author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future","datePublished":"2026-04-26T13:57:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future"},"wordCount":766,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1777200088.834731.jpg","keywords":["South-Africa"],"articleSection":["all news","economy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future","name":"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future - South Africa","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1777200088.834731.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-26T13:57:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1777200088.834731.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1777200088.834731.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/one-province-is-key-to-south-africas-energy-future#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"One Province Is Key to South Africa\u2019s Energy Future"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/","name":"South Africa","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}