CEO Voice - July 2026
Dear Members,
The month of July concluded on a high note, with our member, Seriti Green, achieving commercial operation at the Ummbila Emoyeni Wind Energy Facility, powered by the technologically advanced turbines supplied by fellow SAWEA member, Goldwind.
Officially opened by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the facility marks a significant and historic milestone for the wind industry, the Mpumalanga province and the country. It demonstrates the role that wind energy can play in supporting a just and inclusive energy transition in Mpumalanga, while contributing to South Africa’s broader energy security and economic development objectives.
Congratulations to both Seriti Green and Goldwind on this important achievement – representing South Africa and China very well. Their collaboration is a powerful reminder that partnerships across the sector will take us further as we strengthen our collective advocacy and advance towards a more competitive, inclusive and resilient energy future.
The recent South Africa–China Electricity and Energy Investment Conference further highlighted the importance of international collaboration, investment partnerships, technology transfer and industrial development in supporting South Africa’s energy ambitions. As the country considers the significant scale of renewable energy infrastructure required over the coming decades, international partnerships will be important in strengthening local manufacturing, developing skills, expanding infrastructure and building a globally competitive renewable energy value chain.
Curtailment
As the electricity market advances towards a more competitive and increasingly complex phase, recent developments across the renewable energy landscape continue to reinforce both the scale of the opportunity before us and the urgency of translating ambition into implementation.
The evolving curtailment landscape remains an important consideration for wind farm operations, commercial performance and long-term system planning. Following record curtailment levels experienced during May, where curtailment in a single month was broadly comparable to the total experienced during the whole of 2025, June reflected a noticeable reduction, with early July trends indicating a continued moderation in curtailment events.
This improvement is a welcome development and reflects the continued focus on managing the operational realities of an increasingly complex and renewable-energy-intensive power system. However, the recent reduction should not detract from the importance of establishing predictable, transparent and efficient curtailment processes.
As renewable energy penetration continues to increase, curtailment is likely to remain an operational tool available to the System Operator. The focus must therefore be on ensuring that operational decisions, communication protocols and deemed-energy settlement mechanisms are well understood, consistently applied and supported by clear governance. This is essential to provide confidence to project owners, investors and financiers, while supporting both system reliability and the continued development of renewable energy.
SAWEA welcomes the continued engagement between the System Operator, the Central Purchasing Agency (CPA) and renewable energy stakeholders to improve understanding of curtailment processes and deemed-energy administration. Members can expect further engagement over the coming months as discussions continue on curtailment administration, deemed-energy processes and associated methodologies.
Continued collaboration between all parties will remain essential to ensuring that curtailment is managed in a manner that supports system reliability, investor confidence and the sustainable growth of the renewable energy sector.
Windaba 2026
These critical developments will form an important part of the discussions at Windaba 2026, where policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, investors and other stakeholders will come together to explore the practical actions required to accelerate South Africa’s energy transition.
I am therefore excited to announce the theme for Windaba 2026: Implementing Watt Matters: Policy. Power. People.
The theme reflects the sector’s transition from ambition and planning towards delivery and implementation. It recognises that South Africa’s renewable energy future will depend not only on the strength of our policies and the availability of generation capacity, but also on the people, institutions, partnerships and communities that must collectively drive the transition forward.
The R22 trillion blueprint for developing renewable energy infrastructure in South Africa provides an important indication of the scale of investment, infrastructure development and industrial coordination required to realise this opportunity, with wind energy playing a central role. However, achieving this vision will require more than capital investment. It will require policy certainty, coordinated planning, expanded transmission infrastructure, a supportive regulatory environment and deliberate investment in local capabilities and people.
These are precisely the issues that Windaba 2026 will seek to advance. Through the interconnected pillars of Policy, Power and People, the event will create a platform for practical dialogue on how South Africa can move from long-term plans to implementation at the pace and scale required.
The People pillar is particularly important. The energy transition must deliver meaningful and measurable benefits beyond the deployment of megawatts. It must create opportunities for communities, support skills development, enable meaningful participation by historically disadvantaged groups and contribute to the development of an inclusive renewable energy economy.
Energy Drive Mpumalanga: Building Participation in the Energy Transition
SAWEA’s successful implementation of Energy Drive Mpumalanga demonstrates what can be achieved when industry, government and local stakeholders work together to create meaningful opportunities and strengthen participation in the energy transition.
The initiative has reinforced the value of collaborative action and the importance of ensuring that communities and people are not simply observers of the transition, but active participants and beneficiaries. This further echoes the People pillar of the Windaba 2026 theme and demonstrates how collaboration can translate the ambitions of an inclusive energy transition into practical impact.
Thank you to all our member sponsors for making this initiative possible. We also value the opportunity to have collaborated with SAPVIA during this financial year, strengthening our collective efforts to broaden participation and create opportunities across the renewable energy sector.
As we enter Women’s Month, we recognise and celebrate the important contribution of women across the renewable energy sector. We remain committed to advancing meaningful representation, leadership and participation by women throughout the energy value chain, while creating opportunities for the next generation of women leaders in the sector.
We look forward to continuing these important conversations at SAWEA’s upcoming Mid-Year Reflections Session, where the CEO of Eskom Green, Rivoningo Mnisi, will deliver the keynote address. The session will provide an important opportunity to reflect on progress to date, consider the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, and strengthen collaboration as we move towards Windaba 2026 and into the second half of the year.
The path ahead requires collective action: moving from policy to implementation, from ambition to delivery, and from isolated initiatives to coordinated action.
Implementing Watt Matters: Policy. Power. People.
Warm Regards,
Titania Stefanus Zincke
Interim CEO
