Underperforming Africa Holds out Huge Solar Opportunities, Says African Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) Outlook 2023

Underperforming Africa Holds out Huge Solar Opportunities, Says African Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) Outlook 2023

The 2023 annual solar outlook report from the African Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) points to huge continent-wide opportunities even though Africa is still underperforming in realising the full power of solar.

The report was released today (January 18) at the World Future Energy Summit - the leading international event accelerating sustainability and the global transition to clean energy - running at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in the UAE capital for which AFSIA is an official partner. The report says major opportunities lie in four key segments - commercial and industrial (C&I), green hydrogen product, solar powered mobility, and the productive use of energy to realise the Continent’s potential.

The C&I segment, which accounted for 28 per cent of newly installed capacity in 2022 representing a growth of around two-thirds on 2021 capacity, is currently led by South Africa. AFSIA says C&I growth will continue across the continent with more than 5 GW of projects under development, translating to almost half of Africa’s total installed capacity.

The report singles out green energy as a high potential sector with Africa’s stellar solar irradiation providing some of the best criteria for green hydrogen production which currently represents five times the Continent’s total installed solar capacity.

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