Nigeria’s installed Solar Capacity rises to 385.7 MWp in 2024 – Report  

This brought the country’s total installed capacity to 385.7MWp at the end of the year according to the AFSIA Africa Solar Outlook 2025 report.

The report noted that the increasing interest in solar in Nigeria is driven by the removal of fuel subsidy, which forced many Nigerians to start looking for solar as an alternative.

“Nigeria has started feeling the positive impact of the fuel subsidy removal and an increased interest for solar+storage as a cheaper alternative to diesel,” AFSIA stated in the report. 

According to the report, South Africa maintains its leader’s position in African solar and remains the only African country that is part of the “Gigawatt Club”

The report revealed that solar installations reached new heights across the globe in 2024 with a whopping 503 GWp of estimated capacity. This represents a 44% increase compared to 2023.

In Africa, the report shows that the growth was more modest but new installations maintain a solid level at 2.5 GWp after 2022 and 2023 being record years for solar in Africa.

“Thanks to new solar installations, Africa is now home to 19.2 GWp (excluding residential installations). This is the 3rd year in a row that more than 2 GWp are being installed, which is a testament to the good health of the industry. 

“But solar in Africa did however not grow as much as the global solar market and still represents less than 1% of all solar currently installed across the globe,” the report stated. 

Speaking on the report, which was unveiled during the Powerelec Nigeria conference and exhibition in Lagos, AFSIA CEO, Mr John van Zuylen, noted that while solar conquers more African countries, the business has remained highly concentrated.

“In 2024, South Africa and Egypt represented almost 80% of all the new solar installed, respectively representing 50% and 29%.  

“But with multiple projects already announced and at various stages of development in several countries that are new to solar, we may witness a more distributed spread of solar in Africa in the years to come,” he said.