Made in Nigeria: Africa's drive to become a solar superpower

Chinese solar energy systems dominate Africa’s market

African campaigners demand home-grown innovation

Nigeria aims to become a key solar hub

Bukola Adebayo

In pink overalls they pack the tested products to be shipped from the Salpha Energy solar assembly plant near Calabar, West Africa.

Salpha Energy founder Sandra Chukwudozie said, "I see the same pride on the faces I see of engineers in factories and plants in Tokyo and in the United States where they build things."

It's not happening at home anymore.

Salpha Energy, which began in 2017, has produced solar power systems for over two million Nigerian households and businesses. It aims to produce up to 300,000.

Salpha Energy is part and parcel of the green leadership that Africans attending the U.N. COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil want to promote and showcase.

Carlos Lopes is the special envoy of the COP30 Presidency for Africa. He said that Africa was no longer the "terrain of assistance" but rather the frontline in terms of solutions, such as renewable energy.

Nigeria, among the African nations aims to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. They also aim to generate 30% of their energy through renewable sources by 2030 and develop local manufacturing capabilities.

The grid's power is now 75% gas, and 20% hydropower. This is renewable energy. Other clean sources of energy like solar, wind, and biomass are less than 2%.

In March, Nigeria and the World Bank signed an agreement worth $200 million to build solar grids for rural areas. This is part of Nigeria's efforts to reach its renewable energy goals.

Salpha Energy, a Nigerian energy non-profit investor founded by Shell, has invested 2 billion Naira ($1.4 million) to expand local manufacturing in the country.

Competition from Asia

Despite the growth in local production, there is fierce competition from Asian giants, led by China, who dominate the global supply chain of solar panels with their cheaper, mass-produced panels.

African climate leaders believe that while the Chinese panels are a great start for Africa, the continent should not be importing clean energy. Instead, it should become an industrial player in the transition to renewable energy.

According to data from Ember, between June 2024-2025, Nigeria imported 1,721MW of solar panels. This makes it Africa's second largest importer after South Africa.

The report stated that China accounted for about 60% of Africa’s solar imports in the same period.

Lopes stated that money spent on the importation of panels, turbines, and software could have been used to create African clean energy design laboratories and regional research hubs for local engineers to adapt foreign technology.

He said that countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (which has 70% of the cobalt reserves in the world), lithium-rich Zimbabwe, and manganese rich Gabon, should not just export raw materials, but also build technologies locally.

Lopes stated that "when processing occurs where the minerals are, jobs remain, emissions fall and dignity increases."

More Local Assemblies

Morocco, South Africa, and Egypt are among the African countries that are accelerating production by installing solar assembly plants and manufacturing equipment.

Egypt is building three manufacturing facilities in collaboration with clean-tech companies from Asia, including EliTe Solar of Singapore, which will start up a 3-gigawatt facility this year.

In October, Nigeria signed an agreement with the Chinese solar PV manufacturer LONGi for the construction of a 500-1,000 megawatt (MW), solar panel manufacturing factory in Nigeria.

Dave Jones, an energy analyst and cofounder of Ember, a U.K. based think tank, says that China's dominance is unlikely to change, due to years of investment, low costs of production and a highly skilled workforce. However, Africa can still make a mark.

He said that by assembling the other components in-house, but importing Chinese batteries, manufacturers could keep 60% of their value chain.

The cells are about 40% of the price of a panel. If you can manufacture the panels and assemble them, you save over half.

Chukwudozie stated that her assembly plant was a testament of Africa's capability to produce green technologies, and export them as it did to Ghana last year.

Chukwudozie says, "We sent some of our products by road to Accra."

(source: Reuters)