China pushes up African solar & battery prices

October 06, 2025

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Solar and storage developers are expected to face higher procurement costs starting in Q4 2025, following Chinese government-imposed production cuts and the withdrawal of its 13% export VAT rebate. According to a report by Wood Mackenzie, solar module prices will rise by about 9% in Q4 2025, with additional increases likely through 2026.

  • China’s heavy investment in subsidising renewables to capture global market share is backfiring at home. Its six largest solar manufacturers saw combined losses double to $2.8 billion in the first half of the year.

  • Dominance of the global renewables supply chain means domestic Chinese policy shifts have far-reaching impacts.

  • Our take: Higher prices may hurt Africa in the short term, but could lead to long-term gains if governments invest in local manufacturing… Read more (2 min)

Even with the UK exiting an ambitious Moroccan subsea power scheme this year, North Africa keeps pushing its potential for exporting electricity to Europe. Egypt and Greece have agreed to fund studies for a 3,000 MW subsea cable called the GREGY inter-connector. The link would export renewable electricity from North Africa to Europe via Greece.

  • Access to electricity is near-universal in North Africa, providing a stable foundation for industrial-scale exports. Meanwhile, Europe is in an energy crunch and hence willing to invest in African grids. 

  • The Greek link joins others, such as the ELMED inter-connector in Tunisia, a $538 million contract for a 220 km cable to Italy’s Sicily with a 600 MW capacity, which recently entered construction.

  • Our take: North African countries can capitalise on renewables for their electricity export ambitions… Read more (2 min)

Record clean energy pledges for 16 countries 

Africa received at least $2.6 billion in renewable energy funding and commitments in September. North Africa remained the top destination, attracting around $1.6 billion in new investments. Southern Africa followed with about $493 million, while West Africa recorded $371 million. East Africa rounded out the month with approximately $95 million in funding.

  • The new commitments reach 16 countries, including some rarely mentioned in the context of energy investments, such as Benin, Burundi and Chad.

  • The month also saw 17 more countries join the Mission 300 initiative, bringing the total to 31 nations committed to expanding electricity access by 2030 through policy reforms and public–private partnerships.

  • Our take: The electrification of everything is attracting renewables as the most cost-effective energy source… Read more (2 min)

CrossBoundary Co-Founder Matt Tilleard explains what’s fuelling the world’s clean energy transition in a TED Talk.

Events

🗓️ Participate in the Solar Africa Tanzania 2025 event (Oct 8)

🗓️ Take part in the Nigeria Mining Week 2025 forum (Oct 13)

🗓️ Sign up for the first-ever African Energy Efficiency Conference (Dec 10)

Jobs 

⚙️ Join Sun King as an Installation and Maintenance Technician (Tanzania)

👨🏻‍💼 Spearhead Scatec Solar’s Contracts Administration (Tunisia)

👩🏼‍💼 Become Sistema.bio’s Commercial Director- Africa (Kenya)

Various 

🔌 Kenya powers green transport with 50,000 EVs per year

⚡ South Africa’s National Energy Regulator approves four trading licences

🟢 John Thompson joins with BECS to bring biomass energy solutions to Africa

Seen on LinkedIn 

Emmanuel (Simiyu) Barasa, Accounts assistant at MSN Laboratories, says, “Imagine the impact if more of Africa’s solar power were harnessed not just for businesses, but for millions of households still lacking reliable electricity.”