RACA Journal I June 2026 www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za 31
FEATURE SERIES
POWERING COOLING
By Eamonn Ryan
How solar, storage and policy shifts are redefining HVAC & R in South Africa.
At Solar & Storage Live Africa 2026, a panel discussion titled‘ How solar and storage are powering South Africa’ s economy’ offered more than a snapshot of a rapidly evolving energy sector – revealed a system in transition, where technology, policy, finance and infrastructure are converging in ways that will fundamentally reshape industries far beyond electricity itself. Among the sectors most exposed to – and most capable of benefitting from – this shift, is HVAC & R.
The panel consisted of Makhosini Kharodi of City Power Johannesburg; Tokologo Phetla, CEO: Commodore Industries; Mvumikazi Vimbani of the Department of Electricity & Energy; Frank Spencer, CEO: SBG Earth; and Qhakazile Mathebula, senior project manager: City Power.
A decade ago, the economics of solar PV and battery storage remained prohibitive for most applications. Today, as the panel repeatedly emphasised, that barrier has largely fallen away. Costs have dropped to the point where the question is no longer whether to adopt these technologies, but how quickly and effectively they can be integrated. Yet despite this progress, the discussion made clear that the real constraints now lie elsewhere: in grid capacity, regulatory frameworks, municipal capability and market design.
FROM GRID CONSTRAINTS TO DECENTRALISED ENERGY One of the most striking insights was the emergence of a twospeed energy transition. Large-scale renewable projects – many connected through Eskom transmission infrastructure – are advancing rapidly, with nearly 20GW either under construction or in the pipeline. However, this growth is approaching a hard limit: transmission capacity. Without accelerated grid expansion, the pipeline of large projects could stall within the next few years.
For HVAC & R stakeholders, this has an indirect but important implication. While utility-scale generation shapes the national supply picture, the constraints at transmission level will likely accelerate a shift toward decentralised, embedded generation – solar PV and storage deployed at commercial, industrial and even building level. This is precisely where HVAC systems
The panel discussion gets under way. operate. As energy becomes more localised, HVAC & R systems will increasingly need to align with on-site generation profiles, storage capacity and dynamic pricing signals.
At the distribution level, the picture is more nuanced. Municipal networks – particularly in larger metros such as Johannesburg( City Power) – retain significant capacity to absorb smaller-scale projects, from a few hundred kilowatts up to tens of megawatts. However, as the panel made clear, the barriers here are not technical but administrative. Developers face complex and often inconsistent regulatory requirements: unclear wheeling arrangements, questions over who the off-taker is, and even practical constraints such as outdated municipal billing systems unable to accommodate new tariff structures.
This regulatory friction has direct consequences for HVAC & R innovation. Many next-generation HVAC solutions – such as solar-assisted cooling, battery-backed refrigeration or demandresponse-driven climate control – depend on precisely these kinds of embedded energy projects. Where regulatory pathways are unclear, such integrated solutions become difficult to implement, regardless of their technical merit.
The panel also highlighted a growing risk: grid defection. As solar and storage costs continue to fall, some consumers – particularly in high-tariff segments such as agriculture – are finding it economically viable to operate independently of the grid, supplementing renewable generation with diesel backup. While this may make sense at an individual level, it creates systemic challenges.
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RACA Journal I June 2026 www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za 31