In Africa, cheaper Chinese solar panels and energy storage systems are helping households and businesses transition to renewable sources. As the South China Morning Post reports, energy costs have become an important factor for many African countries amid differing energy approaches by the United States and China.

According to the Global Solar Council, the volume of new solar capacity in Africa grew by a record 54% in 2025, with up to 4.5 GW of photovoltaic generation added. The council’s executive director, Sonia Dunlop, said that cheaper solar energy and improved storage systems make it possible to replace fossil fuels more quickly. She linked this process to two major disruptions in the fossil fuel market over four years — the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Chinese energy projects

Chinese companies and financial institutions have participated in the development of hydropower, wind power and solar energy in several African countries. Among these facilities is the 1.8 GW Benban Solar Park in Aswan, Egypt, completed in 2019 with the participation of China Energy Engineering Corporation and TBEA.

In Ethiopia, the Adama I and Adama II wind farms, with a combined capacity of 204 MW, were financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, while HydroChina and CGCOC Group built them in 2015. In South Africa, the 244 MW De Aar wind project, developed and operated by China Longyuan Power Group and China Energy Investment Corporation, supplies electricity to more than 300,000 households in the Northern Cape province.

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Nigerian generators and solar systems

In Nigeria, according to the 2025 Connecting the Sun study prepared by the Global Solar Council, households use around 22 million gasoline and diesel generators due to limited electricity supply from the national grid. Operating these generators costs about $12 billion annually, and they generate eight times more electricity than the national grid.

SBM Intelligence analyst Cheta Nwanze called high fuel prices the main incentive for renewable energy development and noted that affordable Chinese panels have made the alternative economically viable. In April, the Nigerian government announced a transition to a decentralized system involving the use of households’ surplus energy, standalone systems and interconnected mini-grids.

The International Energy Agency forecasts that solar capacity installations in Africa this year will exceed the 2025 figure. According to its data, 15 major African markets imported more than $400 million worth of solar panels in the first quarter of the year, compared with $600 million for all of 2025.