Africa solar capacity seen rising sixfold after 2025 record

Africa recorded its fastest solar growth on record in 2025, driven by a surge in utility-scale projects, and could add more than six times last year’s annual capacity by 2029, according to a new industry report.

The continent installed about 4.5 gigawatts of new solar capacity in 2025, a 54% jump from the previous year, surpassing a record set in 2023 and exceeding medium-term forecasts, a report released by the Global Solar Council on Tuesday said. South Africa led installations with 1.6 gigawatts, followed by Nigeria at 803 megawatts and Egypt at 500 megawatts, the industry lobby group said,

By 2029, Africa could install over 33 gigawatts of solar capacity, as distributed and utility-scale markets expand in parallel across a growing number of nations, GSC said.

Photovoltaic solar panels cover car parking spaces.

Realising this potential will hinge on aligning finance, planning and regulation with market realities, it said.

Leaders of some of the world’s largest solar mini-grid companies said last week they will need as much as $46 billion in investment by 2030 to meet the electrification targets of 29 African countries participating in a World Bank-backed program. The firms — including the largest operator, Husk Power Systems — estimate the total will comprise about $28 billion in debt, $14 billion in equity and $4.6 billion in grants and subsidies.

Africa is effectively pursuing two energy transitions at once: a government-led shift centered on grid-connected, utility-scale solar projects financed largely by public and development funds, and a privately financed transition driven by rooftop, commercial and other distributed systems adopted by households and businesses, according to GSC.

Financing frameworks, however, have struggled to keep pace. Even as rooftop and distributed solar scale rapidly, about 82% of clean-energy funding in Africa still comes from public and development sources, leaving capital structures geared mainly toward large projects, GSC said.

Despite these challenges, “solar and storage is the hope of Africa,” said GSC Chief Executive Officer Sonia Dunlop, in a statement accompanying the report. “This is the technology that can bring energy access, sustainable development, green growth and resilience to natural disasters and extreme weather.”

© 2026 Bloomberg

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