South Africa has developed one of the most successful renewable energy development programs in the world. However, the establishment of a South African solar Photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing localisation agenda has fallen behind. This study assesses the financial feasibility for local manufacturing of solar panels in South Africa using the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) method to determine a Minimum Sustainable Price (MSP) for a local production plant. Our findings show that local manufacturing of solar panels can play a role in supporting a “just energy transition”, particularly, in regions that are phasing-out the coal economy. We observed the financial feasibility of solar panel local manufacturing and found that the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) was 1.75%. When sensitivity analysis of +15% was applied, the IRR increased to 3.51%. The study also determined that without any subsidies local manufacturing of solar panel is not economically feasible when the MSP is used. Lastly, the probable negative impacts of coal phase-out can be prudently mitigated by the creation of alternative economic opportunities which promotes a just energy transition in coal phase-out regions like Steve Tshwete Local Municipality (STLM).

南非制定了世界上最成功的可再生能源开发计划之一。但是，南非太阳能光伏（PV）制造本地化议程的建立却落后了。这项研究使用公认会计原则（GAAP）方法来确定本地生产工厂的最低可持续价格（MSP），从而评估南非本地制造太阳能电池板的财务可行性。我们的发现表明，太阳能电池板的本地制造可以在支持“公正的能源转型”方面发挥作用，特别是在逐步淘汰煤炭经济的地区。我们观察了太阳能电池板本地制造的财务可行性，发现内部收益率（IRR）为1.75％。当应用+ 15％的敏感度分析时，IRR增加到3。51％。该研究还确定，在没有任何补贴的情况下，使用MSP时在当地制造太阳能电池板在经济上不可行。最后，可以通过创造替代性经济机会来审慎地缓解煤炭淘汰可能带来的负面影响，这些替代机会会促进煤炭淘汰地区（如史蒂夫·特谢维特地方自治市（STLM））的公正能源转型。