- Close to 9 GW of solar is currently under development across Africa, according to an update from the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA).
Data from the association says utility-scale solar projects are under construction in 45 out of 54 African countries. The five most active countries – Algeria, Angola, Egypt, South Africa and Zambia – are responsible for 70% of the new capacity being built.
AFSIA says the project pipeline contains a growing number of hybrid utility-scale projects combining solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS). While only 4% of utility-scale solar projects built before 2024 encompassed storage, 20% of projects either built last year or currently under development include storage.
The association told pv magazine the sharply decreasing cost of BESS is making its inclusion both technically possible and commercially viable, helping African countries to address challenges around grid stability.
The largest share of utility-scale solar projects under development are the result of bilateral negotiations between developer and host government, AFSIA also noted, moving away from the dominance of international tenders in Africa.
“This approach has proven very successful and has in some cases significantly reduced project development time,” AFSIA said, while adding that the new approach has led to an evolution in the leading private developers on the continent.
“While Scatec and ACWA Power continue to consistently be among the top solar developers in Africa, utility giants such as Enel Green Power, Engie, EDF, Globeleq or Acciona to cite a few, have barely added any new solar capacity since 2020,” AFSIA added.
“They have been replaced by a group of new players led by AMEA Power, MCA, Sun Africa and Copperbelt Energy. These companies seem to be more agile in their project development approach and achieve better and faster results by engaging in direct negotiations with their governmental clients,” it emphasised.
AFSIA’s Africa Solar Outlook 2025 report, published in January, revealed that only 2.5 GW of solar was deployed across the continent last year, the majority of which was utility-scale
Author: Patrick Jowett
This article was originally published in pv magazine and is republished with permission.
