Africa was the world’s fastest-growing solar market in 2025, with growth concentrated in parts of the continent beyond traditional hubs even as global solar expansion slowed, according to an industry report released in late January. The Africa Solar Industry Association said Africa’s solar installed capacity increased by 17% last year. The report credited imports of Chinese-made panels as a major factor behind the momentum.
The industry data also described a broader slowdown in solar deployment. The association said global solar power capacity rose 23% in 2025 to 618 gigawatts, down from a 44% increase in 2024. The contrast framed Africa as a standout market while other regions grew more slowly.
Cynthia Angweya-Muhati, acting chief executive of the Kenya Renewable Energy Association, said, “Chinese companies are the main drivers in Africa’s green transition,” adding that they were investing and building supply chains across Africa’s green energy ecosystem. John Van Zuylen, the chief executive of the Africa Solar Industry Association, said the growth reflected policy changes and enabling conditions. Van Zuylen said solar’s shift was durable, telling participants on the sidelines of the Inter Solar Africa summit in Nairobi that, “Solar energy has moved beyond a handful of early adopters to become a broader continental priority,” and that, “What we are seeing is not temporary. It is policies aligning with market dynamics.”
Still, the report said the scale of planned deployment has outpaced actual working capacity in many places. It said Africa has only 23.4 gigawatts peak (GWp) of solar capacity in operation even though nearly 64 GWp of solar equipment had been shipped to the continent since 2017. A gigawatt peak represents one billion watts of maximum output under ideal conditions.
The association described shifts in where demand is showing up fastest. It said South Africa once accounted for roughly half of panels shipped to the continent but that its share has slipped to below a third as other markets surged. It also said that in 2025, 20 African countries set new annual records for solar imports, with 25 countries importing at least 100 megawatts of capacity, and that Nigeria had overtaken Egypt as Africa’s second-largest importer.
Beyond panels, the report highlighted battery storage as central to making solar supply practical for electricity customers. It said at least 23 African countries, including South Africa, Tunisia, Kenya, Chad and the Central African Republic, generate over 5% of their electricity from solar. The report also said prices have fallen for both solar panels and batteries, mostly from China, and that battery storage costs in Africa fell to $112 per kilowatt-hour in 2025 from an average of $144 per kilowatt-hour in 2023. Van Zuylen said, “This ever-decreasing price of storage has game-changing implications for Africa, which has a dire need for stable and baseload power.”
Nigeria’s policy changes were cited as another driver of adoption. The report said the gradual removal of diesel subsidies in Nigeria in the past two years helped accelerate solar take-up by making diesel increasingly expensive for businesses and households. It said Nigeria announced plans for a 1 GW solar panel factory in September, describing it as the largest in West Africa, and it said similar manufacturing facilities are under construction in Egypt, South Africa and Ethiopia.
As Africa seeks to expand local manufacturing, the association said the industry is looking to China for technology and know-how transfer to reduce dependence on imported equipment. The report also pointed to job creation beyond factories, saying the “solar jobs boom is occurring in services including installation, maintenance, distribution and financing,” where thousands of small and medium enterprises have emerged to meet rising demand, according to Van Zuylen.
At the same time, the report warned that policy uncertainty remains a constraint. Unlike regions such as the Middle East, where governments publish long-term energy roadmaps, it said many African markets lack consistent policy signals. Amos Wemanya, senior analyst on renewable energy at Powershift Africa, said, “The problem is not the opportunity. It’s visibility,” adding that companies need to trust that plans announced by governments will remain in place. The report cited concerns including unpredictable tax regimes, shifting import duties and unclear long-term energy plans as factors that can undermine investor confidence.