China is an ideal partner to help South Africa as it builds its renewable energy capacity, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has said, given that it is a "dominant player in the renewables space" and has "done the kind of modernisation that is required".

The minister's comments come on the back of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, where he signed two overarching memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with China, relating to a donation from that country to help solve SA's power crisis, as well as help move SA's energy transition forward.

China is the world's biggest carbon emitter, followed by the US. But, counterintuitively, these two nations are also renewables leaders. China hosts nearly half the globe's operating wind and solar capacity and is the world's biggest investor in renewable energy.

China is also on track to exceed its 2030 wind and solar target five years ahead of schedule.  

But its carbon emissions remain a concern. Earlier this year, a report found that its CO₂ emissions rebounded to above the record levels seen in 2021, and China has seen ongoing investments in coal-based steel capacity too, which are expected to continue at a high rate until 2030. Its dependence on fossil fuels is also expected to remain high, with emissions expected to peak in approximately 2025.

"The partnership that we'll be entering [is] in relation to the exploitation of renewable energy resources in our country and the degree to which we [can] connect renewable energy into the grid," the minister said during a media briefing on Sunday.

"The rationale for entering with the Chinese in this regard is because they are a dominant player in the renewable energy space."

South Africa, which signed agreements with some eight Chinese power companies last week, would benefit from that country's technical know-how, the minister said.

This would help create a more stable supply of renewable energy.  

"They [China] have about 688 GW of installed capacity of renewables, a combination of [solar] PV and also wind.

"They have done one of the biggest expansions of transmission and they have also worked out the kind of transmission modernisation that is required to be able to accommodate the intermittency of renewable energy sources," Ramokgopa said. 

Last week, the minister told media that China had renewable capacity "12 times the size of Eskom". He also pointed out China's extensive coal and nuclear generation capacity.