Solar energy adoption escalating throughout Africa on a significant level

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the demand for solar panels across Africa. This trend has been particularly noticeable since mid-2024, and a recent report suggests that more research is needed to understand why this spike occurred specifically.

One factor contributing to this uptick could be the surge of domestic solar installations in China. In April and May of 2024, China saw a surge of installations as developers rushed to complete projects before new regulations ended the country's fixed pricing mechanism for renewable energy. As a result, a large number of solar panels found their way to the African market.

Many African countries share a series of characteristics that explain the broader demand for solar panels. For instance, the spike in imports appears to be driven by distributed generation, particularly within big cities like Lagos. In fact, if Sierra Leone were to install all the solar panels imported in the past 12 months, they would generate as much as 61% of the country's total reported electricity generation for 2023.

The African continent has seen a 60% increase in imports of Chinese solar panels over the past 12 months, surpassing 15 gigawatts. The main actors involved in importing solar modules from China to Africa are typically large Chinese manufacturers and exporters with extensive production capacities, supported by China’s robust renewable energy investments and infrastructure development in Africa.

However, there's not a lot of data available about how many of the imported solar panels in Africa are actually ending up generating power, or how soon. Dave Jones, lead author of the report, stated that the amount of solar panels imported into Africa can make a big difference to how that electricity system is being run. He also emphasised the need for more data and research to determine the actual installation and usage of the solar panels in Africa.

While Africa's utility-scale solar is rising, with 10 GW of utility solar projects announced to come online in 2025, most of those projects haven't started construction yet. This means that the majority of the solar panels present in Africa come from China, as local manufacturing capacity is still limited. The cost of Chinese solar panels in Nigeria and other countries is around $60, making them an affordable alternative for many people.

Jones expects imports of solar panels to Africa to increase even further now that the rush for domestic installations is over. Despite this, there's no evidence that China is selling solar panels below cost to find an outlet for its oversupply issues. Instead, it seems that China's robust renewable energy investments and infrastructure development in Africa are driving this trend.

It's worth noting that Europe had solar panels stored in warehouses in 2023, but eventually, almost all of them were installed. This suggests that the solar panels imported into Africa have the potential to make a meaningful impact on the continent's energy landscape.

The data on imports is sourced from the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China. The new trend of increased imports of solar panels from China continues through the first six months of the year, with 20 countries in Africa, including Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria, having imported an unprecedented number of solar panels in the 12 months leading up to June 2025.

In conclusion, the rise of Chinese solar panel imports in Africa is a significant development in the continent's renewable energy sector. While more research is needed to understand the full impact of these imports, it's clear that they have the potential to revolutionise the way electricity is generated and distributed across Africa.