In a candid and insightful conversation, Mike Mangnall, Managing Director of PNE South Africa, sits down with Tony Tiyou, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Renewables in Africa, to unpack the shifting tides of renewable energy in South Africa, and what it means for the continent. From adapting to grid constraints and rebranding for global alignment, to unlocking opportunities in private PPAs, battery storage, and the Just Energy Transition, this interview offers a grounded yet forward-looking view into one of Africa’s most ambitious project developers. Expect strategic depth, on-the-ground realities, and bold ambitions for a cleaner, smarter energy future.
INTERVIEW
TT: What prompted the rebrand from WKN Windcurrent to PNE South Africa, and how does it position you for the next phase of growth?
MM: The rebrand was driven by a company-wide, strategic alignment with the global PNE Group brand, reflecting our evolution and long-term growth ambitions in the renewable energy sector. As part of the internationally recognized PNE AG, the rebrand allows us to fully leverage the group’s global expertise, resources, and reputation while reinforcing our commitment to the South African energy market. This transition positions us for the next phase of growth by enhancing our credibility with stakeholders, including investors, government entities and local communities.
TT: How does being part of the global PNE Group enhance your capabilities and competitiveness in the South African market?
MM: Being part of the global PNE Group significantly enhances our capabilities and competitiveness in the South African market by giving us access to decades of international project development experience, technical expertise, and financial strength. PNE Group’s global footprint and track record in developing, constructing, owning and operating renewable energy projects across multiple continents allows us to bring proven best practices, innovation, and operational excellence to the local South African context. Ultimately, it ensures we remain a trusted, resilient project development partner in South Africa’s energy transition.
TT: With South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (JET) and evolving regulations, what key opportunities or trends are you most excited about right now?
MM: There are currently many exciting opportunities and trends in the market. One of the most transformative is the ongoing rise of the private power market. Corporate and industrial users are actively seeking long-term renewable energy supply to decarbonize their operations, reduce energy costs and secure supply, which has driven a surge in bilateral Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The recent emergence of electricity traders and aggregators, which is creating more flexible, multi-buyer, multi-seller procurement frameworks, is playing a vital role in further enabling this market. For project developers like PNE South Africa, this has opened up an even larger demand for our well-developed wind, solar and battery energy storage projects.
MM: Recent regulatory reforms have also made it easier for private generators to wheel power across the grid to end users, which enables decentralized, site-specific energy solutions and supports regional economic and industrial growth. Further to this, the country is moving toward a liberalised, competitive Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM), which will allow multiple generators and buyers to trade electricity freely via a centralized platform, which should further help facilitate a Just Energy Transition and further accelerate the addition of renewable energy to the South African electricity mix.
MM: We anticipate that Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) will play an essential role in the future energy market, for grid stability, renewables dispatchability and other ancillary services, hence expanded government tenders and regulatory support for stand-alone and co-located BESS systems are expected. Lastly, the government’s renewed commitment to the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), with the announcement of Round 8 potentially expected in late-2025, continues to stimulate investor interest despite the current grid capacity constraints in large parts of the country.
TT: Grid constraints have slowed wind and solar development—how is PNE adapting its strategy in response?
MM: Grid constraints are undoubtedly the most significant challenge to scaling up wind energy in South Africa, particularly in high-resource provinces like the Eastern, Western, and Northern Cape. The same issue has more-recently also been negatively impacting the solar industry’s growth, with grid capacity in provinces like the Free State and North West being heavily congested. However, these challenges are also resulting in a more agile, forward-looking approach to project development—and at PNE South Africa, we are adapting our strategy accordingly. We are diversifying our project pipeline to proactively include sites across multiple provinces and grid corridors to spread the risks associated with development. Our project team and consultants engage early with Eskom and the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) to assess grid availability, navigate connection processes, and align with future infrastructure expansion plans. The introduction of Independent Transmission Projects (ITPs) as a long-term structural solution to grid bottlenecks is being closely monitored.
MM: Furthermore, the recent approval of the Congestion Curtailment Regime (CCR) marked a pivotal step forward as it will allow projects in constrained areas to connect to the grid under a managed curtailment framework. This unlocks previously stranded capacity and gives developers, like PNE South Africa, the opportunity to move forward with projects in these areas in the near future.
TT: Your pipeline exceeds 5 GW, including major solar and hydrogen projects—can you share what sets your approach apart in developing these assets?
MM: We’re proud of our growing pipeline of wind, solar PV, battery storage, and green hydrogen projects in various stages of development across South Africa. Beyond a development budget allowing for significant pipeline scale, what possibly differentiates us is our strategic approach, which combines global experience with local agility, long-term thinking, and commitment to quality and impact. Our sale projects are not just technically viable—they are financially robust, grid-aligned, and close to execution-ready. We focus on early-stage rigor in permitting, land use, grid studies, and stakeholder engagement to reduce risk and ensure bankability.
MM: As part of the PNE Group, a global renewable energy company with over 30 years of experience across Europe, the Americas, and Africa, we bring international best practices, technical depth, and financial acumen. At the same time, we’re a South African team, on the ground and deeply engaged with local stakeholders, partners, and regulators.
TT: The recent success with the Khauta PV projects and previous wind developments shows momentum—what’s next in your rollout?
MM: Yes, thank you, we are delighted that the PNE-developed Khauta 240MW South and 110MW West PV projects in the Free State, that we sold to NOA in 2024, recently achieved Financial Close and have commenced construction. Another smaller (60MW) PV project, also sold in 2024 and located in the Free State, is progressing well through the various milestones required for Financial Close. Similarly, a 140MW wind farm located in the Eastern Cape, is also now again progressing well following its sale to a well-known IPP in 2021. Furthermore, additional wind and solar project sales processes are currently underway.
TT: How do you ensure that global engineering expertise translates effectively to the South African context?
MM: As part of the international PNE Group, we have access to deep engineering, technical, and project execution expertise. But we are equally committed to ensuring that this knowledge is contextualized, relevant, and responsive to South African conditions. We maintain a South Africa-based development and engineering team that leads all local projects end-to-end. This team works in close collaboration with our global technical specialists, leveraging international know-how in areas like wind resource modelling, plant design, storage optimization, and green hydrogen systems, while ensuring local priorities, constraints, and regulatory frameworks are fully incorporated.
TT: What steps is PNE South Africa taking to align with Just Energy Transition principles—particularly job creation and local content?
MM: At PNE South Africa, while we are not usually the final project owners, we nevertheless believe the transition to clean energy must be inclusive, equitable, and locally empowering. As the “early-stage” developer of the projects, we aim to engage local stakeholders and communities from the earliest stages of project development, ensuring that they are informed and included. This lays the groundwork for the investors/buyers of our projects (IPPs, traders and aggregators) to deliver on much needed local job creation across the project’s value chain, within a well-coordinated local content strategy.
TT: Looking ahead, what legacy do you hope to leave in South Africa’s renewable energy landscape?
MM: We want to leave a legacy for developing renewable energy projects that stand the test of time— technically sound, financially bankable, environmentally responsible, and socially inclusive. Working in close partnerships with our highly valued project investors, our focus is on consistently delivering well-diversified and robust projects for sale that provide long-term value to the ultimate asset owners, off-takers, economy, and the communities around them.
