Africa has reached solar power capacity crossing 20 gigawatts (GW) across the continent. According to the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA), another 10 GW is already under construction, meaning the record will be broken again soon.
The AFSIA database now tracks nearly 40,000 solar projects, from large utility-scale plants to mini-grids and home systems.
South Africa is the biggest solar producer in Africa, holding about half of all installed capacity, which is followed by Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.
In 2025, most of the newly installed solar capacity came from Southern Africa, with countries like Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. These countries were the main contributors to the growth in that year. Senegal has added 54MW of solar energy, and Algeria is starting a big plan to build 3 GW of solar projects.
While solar growth is slowing in many parts of the world, with global capacity expected to fall by 1.4% in 2025, Africa is still moving at full speed. The continent recorded a 44% jump in new installations in 2024, building on a 22% rise in 2023.
Most of this boom is driven by large-scale power plants, which make up 70% of projects under construction. Six countries, South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Angola, Tunisia, and Zambia, account for three-quarters of all new solar projects currently being built.
This increased growth will be one of the main topics at the Renewable Energy Forum Africa (REFA) on 3–4 December in Accra, organised by AFSIA and SolarPower Europe, in which they will explore opportunities in solar, energy storage, electric mobility, and green hydrogen.
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