According to an analysis conducted by Ember, a global energy think tank, in collaboration with the African Science and Technology Future Laboratory, Africa is expected to install a record 17 GW of solar power capacity in 2026. With a year-on-year increase of 45% , this will be the third consecutive year that the African continent has set a record for solar installed capacity. What is
more noteworthy is that by 2026, 36 of the 54 countries in Africa are expected to install record solar power capacity . This also shows that the growth of solar installed capacity in Africa is expanding from mature markets. According to the report of the
above-mentioned agencies, the installed capacity of solar energy in 19 countries is expected to increase by more than 100% year-on-year. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is expected to achieve the strongest growth, with an increase of 544% . This was followed by Zimbabwe with 282% and Egypt with 176% .
South Africa, which previously accounted for more than half of Africa's solar imports, is expected to account for less than a fifth of Africa's total solar installed capacity by 2026, highlighting the increasingly widespread deployment of solar installations on the continent. According to
the report data, it is estimated that 17 GW of new photovoltaic installed capacity will be added in Africa in 2026, which can generate about 23 TWh of electricity per year. This amount of electricity is equivalent to the average annual increase in electricity demand in Africa over the past decade. In more than half of the 54 countries in
Africa, the growth rate of photovoltaic power generation is expected to exceed the historical growth rate of electricity demand.
It is estimated that in 2026, the contribution of new photovoltaic installations in 10 countries will account for more than 10% of their total annual power generation. Sierra Leone has the highest growth rate of 97% , followed by Togo with 24% , Somalia and Djibouti with 21 %; The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Comoros are both 14% .
Other countries on the list include Namibia, Liberia (both 12%), Chad (11%) and Lesotho (10%).
While the demand for new photovoltaic installations is growing explosively, the photovoltaic manufacturing industry on the African continent is also developing rapidly.
With the support of new production capacity in Egypt and Tanzania, the production capacity of photovoltaic modules in Africa is expected to quadruple to about 3.5G W in 2026. However, the vast majority of the region's output is expected to be exported to the US .
At the same time, 94% of photovoltaic modules installed in Africa are still imported from China, highlighting the continent's continued dependence on Chinese photovoltaic equipment.
Underestimated distributed photovoltaic market
analysis data in Africa show that between 2023 and 2025, about 75% of the new solar power generation capacity in Africa comes from distributed solar energy, but this part of the data is missing in official and international statistics.
In fact, there is a dearth of data on solar deployment across the continent. Only South Africa, Tunisia and Tanzania currently release solar capacity data on a quarterly or more frequent basis. Only 36 of Africa's 54 countries have official national solar capacity figures, while only 14 have reported data for 2025.
That is to say, the existing statistics are likely to underestimate the actual scale of photovoltaic installation in Africa.
At present, photovoltaic filing and licensing systems in at least 15 African countries have entered the mature stage of landing, and several of them have been put into use. According to the two agencies, improving the data collection and reporting system is crucial for governments, grid operators and regulators to efficiently plan rapidly expanding photovoltaic market in Africa. Dave Jones, chief analyst
of Ember, pointed out that the downward price of photovoltaic modules and the continuous improvement of economy are promoting the popularization of photovoltaic applications in African countries, while improving data statistics will help governments better grasp the pace of photovoltaic development and make supporting plans.
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