Sungrow, Tongwei, Trina & LONGi: Chinese PV Leaders’ Strategic Layout in Africa

Electrification rates in sub-Saharan Africa have remained stagnant... According to the latest data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), 730 million people worldwide still had no access to electricity in 2024, a reduction of 110 million compared to 2023, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 80% of the current population without electricity.

（Image source: IEA）

The electrification progress across sub-Saharan Africa shows uneven progress, concentrated in only a handful of countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Mozambique. In 2024, as many as 27 countries in the region saw their electrification progress lag behind pre-pandemic levels. 

For numerous sub-Saharan African nations, population growth has outpaced  electrification rates.

Grid extension and microgrids drove nearly 90% of the newly added grid connection capacity in 2024, with the annual number of grid connections surging by over 11% year-on-year. The International Energy Agency (IEA) points out that Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda are the countries that registered remarkable growth in this metric.

Global Off-Grid Lighting Association（GOGLA）shows global sales of Solar Home Systems (SHS) rose by 4% in 2024, while the number of newly added end-users in sub-Saharan Africa jumped by 26%. 

Early 2025, with China’s solar PV imports hitting record highs and multiple countries issuing new electrification policies, power supply in the region is expected to pick up speed slightly.

Immense Potential

Africa is composed of 54 countries and boasts longer sunshine hours than any other continent. It ranks among the top regions globally in terms of solar radiation, and its solar energy potential is described as “virtually unlimited” by the African Development Bank.

（Image source: Solargis）

Photovoltaic (PV) power generation, as an effective power supplement, plays a crucial role in advancing Africa’s electrification. In recent years, the cost of PV power generation has been continuously declining, and in many parts of Africa, solar energy is increasingly emerging as a more economical and convenient alternative to diesel generators.

（Image source: CNN）

Despite a low existing base, Africa’s solar energy market is demonstrating strong growth momentum. The African Solar Energy Industry Association (AFSIA) reports that Africa’s current solar installed capacity has exceeded 20GW, with a combined capacity of over 10GW under construction, of which utility-scale solar projects account for a dominant 70%.

These projects under construction are widely spread across multiple African countries. Beyond South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Angola, Tunisia and Zambia are emerging as solar energy development hotspots, collectively contributing 75% of Africa’s ongoing solar construction activities. In 2024,

Africa’s newly added photovoltaic capacity grew by 44%, sustaining the 22% growth momentum observed in 2023. With over 10 GWp of capacity already under construction, the region’s future development prospects look even more promising.

(Image source: CNN)

Manufacturing Gaps

However, Africa’s local photovoltaic manufacturing industry is still in the early stages of development. Key sectors such as polysilicon, wafers and solar cells have not yet formed large-scale production capacity, resulting in obvious gaps in the supply chain system. To address this situation and accelerate energy transition, some African countries are actively importing solar panels from China to bridge the funding gap caused by insufficient investment in traditional power infrastructure, which reflects their high dependence on imported photovoltaic modules and system integration capabilities.

At the same time, a growing number of countries are no longer satisfied with mere imports and have shifted to seeking in-depth cooperation with Chinese enterprises to introduce advanced technologies and establish localized manufacturing bases. Recently, the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) announced that it has reached a strategic cooperation agreement with LONGi Green Energy at the latter’s headquarters in Xi’an, to jointly promote the construction of a solar cell and module production base in Nigeria. With a planned capacity of 500 to 1,000 MW, the project is hailed as a “milestone project in the field of energy transition” and is expected to inject new impetus into the development of the regional clean energy industry.

In fact, this cooperation has been well-prepared. Earlier this year, the Energy Commission of Nigeria and LONGi Green Energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in London, UK, laying a solid foundation for this in-depth cooperation. LONGi also announced simultaneously that it has entered into a cooperation with the Nigerian government to jointly promote the popularization of renewable energy, which explicitly includes a localized manufacturing plan.

(Image source: Energy Commission of Nigeria)

In May this year, Sungrow signed a supply and service agreement for a battery energy storage project with Globeleq, an independent power producer (IPP) in South Africa. Under the agreement, Sungrow will supply its PowerTitan 2.0 liquid-cooled energy storage system for the "Red Sands" project—the largest standalone battery energy storage system in Africa—and provide 15-year operation and maintenance (O&M) services.

In July this year, Trina Solar supplied energy storage batteries for the Abydos 300MWh solar-plus-storage project in Egypt, which stands as the largest energy storage project in North Africa.

Additionally, Tongwei entered into a cooperation agreement with AMEA Power to jointly develop the 140MW Doornhoek photovoltaic project.

(Image source: sinovoltaics)

With record-high imports of Chinese photovoltaic products and successive roll-outs of new electrification policies across multiple African countries, the power supply in this region is expected to embrace accelerated development. Africa’s solar energy potential is “virtually unlimited”, and Chinese enterprises, leveraging their mature technologies, well-established supply chains and localized cooperation experience, are emerging as a pivotal force driving the energy transition across this continent.

Looking ahead, as the cooperation model evolves from product export to deeper technology transfer and local manufacturing, Chinese companies are poised to unlock broader development prospects in Africa’s clean energy market.