Uche Cecil Izuora
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), has reported that Africa’s installed renewable energy capacity reached 82,397 megawatts (MW) in 2025, up from 71,111 MW a year earlier.
The data was captured in its Renewable Energy Statistics 2026 report.
The increase represents annual growth of nearly 16 per cent, although Africa continued to make only a limited contribution to global renewable energy capacity additions.
Hydropower remained Africa’s largest renewable energy source.
Installed hydropower capacity increased from 43,317 MW in 2024 to 48,914 MW in 2025.
Meanwhile, installed solar capacity rose from 18,375 MW to 22,194 MW, while wind capacity increased from 9,586 MW to 11,469 MW.
South Africa retained the continent’s largest renewable energy fleet with 16,598 MW of installed capacity.
The country continued to expand its renewable energy sector through government procurement programs, while independent power producers and industrial companies increasingly purchased renewable electricity directly.
Ethiopia ranked second with 10,082 MW of installed renewable capacity.
The country’s expansion reflected the 2025 commissioning of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which added more than 5,000 MW to the national electricity system.
Egypt ranked third with 9,258 MW of installed renewable capacity. The country aims to expand its renewable energy generation fleet to 30,705 MW by the end of 2029.
Globally, countries added 693 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity in 2025.
As a result, Africa accounted for only about 1.6 per cent of global renewable capacity additions despite its strong annual growth.
Meanwhile, solar and wind represented 96.9 per cent of all new renewable energy capacity installed worldwide, highlighting the continued acceleration of renewable energy deployment across global markets.