Is Africa about to see the solar energy boom it needs?

A record increase in solar panels flowing from China to African countries during the past year is a sign that the continent sees a rapid construction of renewable energies. This could help extend cheap and clean electricity access and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.

“It is not yet a massive explosion in itself,” explains Dave Jones at EME, an energy reflection group in the United Kingdom. “This is the start of takeoff.”

Jones and his colleagues have analyzed data on Chinese exports of solar panels since 2017. There is a capacity for making solar panels in Africa – but as with most of the world, Chinese imports constitute almost all the supply of the continent.

Between June 2024 and 2025, researchers found that exports to Africa jumped 60% compared to the previous year, just over 15 gigawatts of energy capacity imported during this period.

Unlike a previous increase in 2022 and 2023 which was mainly motivated by imports to South Africa, this upward trend was widespread on the continent – with 20 countries that saw import files and 25 significant countries more than 100 megawatts of panels. “It is not led by one or two countries,” explains Jones. “For me, this is the most incredible part of history.”

South Africa was still the leader, important about a quarter of the total. But other countries have also imported a panel tour: Nigeria finished second with 1721 megawatts, followed by Algeria with 1199 megawatts, approximately one tenth of the total. Over the past two years, imports from solar panels from China to African countries – excluding South Africa – have more than tripled.

Assuming that all the panels imported in the past year have been installed, researchers estimate that 16 imported countries to provide at least 5% of current electricity production; The Sierra Leone could generate more than 60% of its current electricity with the panels that are imported alone. These solar imports could start to compensate for imports of much more expensive fossil fuels.

“The energy transition from Africa is no longer a future aspiration. It takes place now, ”explains Amos Wemyya at Greenpeace Africa, an environment for the environment. “This transition has enormous potential for reshaping how we build resilience to climate chaos and development of development.”

The rise in power comes from large solar installations under construction, but it is not the whole history. Jones says that many imports seem to go to small installations distributed on roofs or farms, because people are looking for more reliable and less reliable sources than national networks. A similar trend takes place in Pakistan, which has experienced explosive solar growth on the roof in recent years, caused by the drop in the cost of panels.

It is a trend full of hope, given to around 600 million people in Africa – almost half of the continent’s population – lack of access to reliable electricity. However, solar development on the continent is still lagging behind the rest of the world. African countries have struggled to attract investments in renewable energies, receiving only 2% of the world total in recent decades, according to the International Energy Agency. In the past year, Pakistan alone has known more imports of solar panels than all of Africa, despite the sixth of the population.

“The real challenge we are seized is to transform this momentum into sustainable gains by aligning local funding, policies and industries to ensure that clean energy is not only available, but also reliable, affordable and inclusive for all Africans,” explains Wemanya.

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