Growing demand for solar power in Africa’s largest economies is driving governments to strengthen local manufacturing of components for panels. But China’s dominance of the supply chain means those ambitions could take years to materialize, energy analysts told the Associated Press.
Solar use has surged in South Africa and Nigeria as households and businesses look for alternatives to unreliable state-run grids. Both countries are developing domestic manufacturing, although limited industrial capacity means most production is confined to assembly. China remains the continent’s leading supplier of solar panels, photovoltaic cells, inverters, and batteries. But China’s trade pressures may create an opening: US tariffs on Chinese imports of polysilicon, a core solar-panel component, could encourage manufacturers to shift some production to Africa. Ethiopia could be one potential destination, the analysts said.
