Africa’s wind and solar power generation capacity is led by 5 countries, with South Africa being the largest producer.

Egypt and Morocco were early starters in wind and solar power and led production from the early 2000s until 2014 when South Africa surpassed them. SA’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) was introduced in 2011 and kick-started the renewables drive in the country. SA has since become the largest producer of wind and solar power on the continent.

More recently Kenya has emerged as a renewable generator, jumping into fourth place on the continent in just the past 5 years.

Of the 3 largest economies on the continent, both Egypt and South African have growing wind and solar production. Nigeria is mostly focused on gas and hydro power.

Despite leading in wind and solar power South Africa still relies heavily on coal, producing more than 10 times as much coal-based power as wind in 2022.