Chinese photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer Trina Solar, which initially entered the South African market in 2011 with a focus on the utility-scale projects emerging from the Department of Energy’s renewables programme, reports that it is increasingly turning its attention to the country’s high-potential commercial, industrial and residential rooftop solar market.

Africa sales manager Warren Pollard tells Engineering News Online that it remains interested in the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, having secured 50 MW during the first bid window and with other bids pending.

However, the localisation demands, together with sharply falling prices, have lowered the programme’s overall attractiveness, with the scale of the opportunity not seen as sufficient on its own to justify a manufacturing investment. Pollard adds, though, that the group, which shipped 3.6 GW worth of modules in 2014, continues to assess its manufacturing strategy and South Africa as a possible hub.

For the immediate future, though, the group will turn its attention to the South African rooftop market, where it currently has modules with a combined capacity of around 10 MW deployed and where it is hoping to capture a 40% market share in the coming two years.

Pollard expects the rooftop market to expand to around 50 MW in 2015, which remains modest when compared with the utility market, where the yearly deployment rate is around 300 MW.

However, should the regulatory constraints ease around feeding power into the grid from embedded generators, the uptake could accelerate, particularly as businesses and households seek to protect themselves from what could be another round of steep tariff increases.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa is aiming to finalise new rules for small-scale solar PV generators wanting to supply electricity from their homes or businesses into the grid by the end of May. The draft update of the Integrated Resource Plan estimates that embedded residential and commercial PV has the potential to be as high as 22.5 GW by 2030.

The tender activity in the commercial and provincial government sector has already increased and Trina believes its ability to supply dual-glass durable modules will position it well for a market where temperatures are generally high and where there is also high humidity in certain regions.

“With our local warehouse we are also able to support smaller installers,” Pollard argues, noting that it is stocking between 1 MW and 3 MW at its Pretoria facility.

It has also developed strategic partnerships with nearly half of the leading ten rooftop developers in South Africa and is hoping to build further relationships in future.

Besides South Africa, the Chinese group is also beginning to home in on prospects in the rest of Africa, particularly countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal.

The immediate prospects are likely to be in off-grid rural electrification, as well as some commercial rooftop applications. Pollard says Trina will initially pursue these prospects from Johannesburg.