Africa leads the world in solar power potential, research finds

Sep 7, 2022

With the collaboration of Statista.

Multiple solar panels on grass in the sunshine.

A lot of the solar power potential in the less developed countries of Africa is still untapped. Image: Unsplash/Sungrow EMEA

Martin Armstrong

Data Journalist, Statista

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This article is part of: Sustainable Development Impact Meetings

Africa leads the way in terms of the average potential of solar energy around the world, finds Statista.
Roughly 20% of the world population lives in 70 countries which possess "excellent conditions" for solar power.
A lot of Africa's potential in its less developed countries is still untapped.

Figures from the Global Solar Atlas for The World Bank, as analyzed by Statista, reveal the average potential of solar energy around the world and as this infographic shows, Africa is out in front. When combining the average long-term practical yield of a utility scale solar energy installation in each country, Africa's 4.51 kWh/kWp/day is ahead of second-placed Central & South America's 4.48, while North America is further behind on 4.37.

The assessments "exclude areas due to physical/technical constraints, such as rugged terrain, presence of urbanized/industrial areas, forests, and areas that are too distant from the centers of human activity", but do not consider “soft constraints, i.e., areas that might be unsuitable due to regulations imposed by national or regional authorities (such as conservation of cropland or nature conservation)".

To put the figures in context, roughly 20 percent of the world population lives in 70 countries which possess "excellent conditions" for solar power - meaning long-term output exceeding 4.5 kWh/kWp per day. On a world region basis, only the country's in Africa average together above this threshold. A lot of this potential in the less developed countries of Africa is still untapped, but as the source states, represents "a unique opportunity to provide affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity services to a large share of humanity where improved economic opportunities and quality of life are the most needed".

Bar chart showing that Africa leads the world in solar panel potential.

Africa is out in front in terms of solar potential. Image: Statista.

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What's the World Economic Forum doing about the transition to clean energy?

Moving to clean energy is key to combating climate change, yet in the past five years, the energy transition has stagnated.

Energy consumption and production contribute to two-thirds of global emissions, and 81% of the global energy system is still based on fossil fuels, the same percentage as 30 years ago. Plus, improvements in the energy intensity of the global economy (the amount of energy used per unit of economic activity) are slowing. In 2018 energy intensity improved by 1.2%, the slowest rate since 2010.

Effective policies, private-sector action and public-private cooperation are needed to create a more inclusive, sustainable, affordable and secure global energy system.

Benchmarking progress is essential to a successful transition. The World Economic Forum’s Energy Transition Index, which ranks 115 economies on how well they balance energy security and access with environmental sustainability and affordability, shows that the biggest challenge facing energy transition is the lack of readiness among the world’s largest emitters, including US, China, India and Russia. The 10 countries that score the highest in terms of readiness account for only 2.6% of global annual emissions.

To future-proof the global energy system, the Forum’s Centre for Energy & Materials is working on initiatives including Clean Power and Electrification, Energy and Industry Transition Intelligence, Industrial Ecosystems Transformation, and Transition Enablers to encourage and enable innovative energy investments, technologies and solutions.

Additionally, the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) is working to assemble public and private partners to further the industry transition to set heavy industry and mobility sectors on the pathway towards net-zero emissions. MPP is an initiative created by the World Economic Forum and the Energy Transitions Commission.

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