Is Africa about the solar energy pocket it needs?

Solar panels for sale in niamey, niger, a country where solar energy is blooming

Bourima Hama/AFP via Getty Images

A record wave of solar cell panels flowing from China to countries in Africa in the past year is a sign that the continent is seeing a rapid build -up of renewable energy. It can help expand access to cheap, pure electricity and reduce the dependence on imported fossil fuels.

“This is not a massive explosion yet in itself,” says Dave Jones in Ember, an energy thinking tank in the UK. “That’s the start of the start.”

Jones and his colleagues analyzed data on Chinese solar panel exports sale 2017. There is some sole -single panel production capacity in Africa – but which with most of the world constitutes Chinese imports almost all the continent’s supply.

Between June 2024 and 2025, researchers found exports to Africa rose 60 percent compared to the previous year, equivalent to just over 15 gigawatts with power capacity imported during this period.

Unlike a previous wave in 2022 and 2023, mostly driven by imports to South Africa, this upward trend was spread over the continent – with 20 countries that saw import registries and 25 countries that imported more than 100 megawatts worth of panels. “It is not led by one or two countries,” says Jones. “For me, it’s the most inclusive part of the story.”

South Africa was still the leader and imported about a quarter of the total amount. But other countries also imported a number of panels: Nigeria was second with 1721 megawatts, followed by Algeria with 1199 megawatts, around a tenant. Over the past two years, solar cell panel imports from China to countries in Africa – excl. South Africa – more than tripled.

Assuming that all the panels imported in the past year were installed, the researchers estimate that 16 countries imported enough to deliver at least 5 percent of current electricity generation; Sierra Leone could generate more than 60 percent of its current electricity with the panels it imported alone. These solar imports could begin to offset far more expensive imports of fossil fuel.

“Africa’s righteous energy transition is not long a future suction. It is now unfolding,” says Amos Wemanya at Power Shift Africa, an energy thinking tank in Kenya. “This transition has tremendous potential by reshaping how we build resistance to the climate -chaos and drives development.”

The wave comes partly from large solar installations under construction, but that is not the whole story. Jones says many of the imports seem to go to small, distributed installations on roofs or farms as people are looking for cheaper, more reliable sources than national grids. A similar trend plays in Pakistan, which saw explosive growth in roof terrace over the last few years driven by the falling cost of panels.

This is a hopeful trend, given about 600 million people in Africa – almost half of the continent’s population – lacks access to reliable electricity. However, sun development on the continent is still lagging behind the rest of the world. African countries have struggled to attract renewable energy investments and received only two percent of global total amounts in recent decades, according to the International Energy Agency. In the past year, Pakistan alone saw more import of the solar panel than all of Africa, despite having a sixth population.

“The real challenge in front of us is to transform this momentum into lasting gains by adapting funding, politics and local industries to ensure that clean energy is not only available but also reliable, affordable and including for all Africans,” says Wemanya.