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The rise in solar panel imports is a continent-wide phenomenon, with 20 countries setting new records in the 12 months to June 2025. Twenty-five countries imported at least 100 MW, up from 15 countries the previous year. If installed, the solar panels imported into Sierra Leone over the last 12 months would generate electricity equivalent to 61 percent of the country's total reported electricity generation in 2023.

However, buoyed by low-cost solar-powered water pumps—also known as photovoltaic water pumping systems—some innovative small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe are now able to irrigate their crops and eliminate the need for rain-fed agriculture. According to experts, the use of solar energy to power groundwater pumps by farmers in drought-ridden, off-grid regions in Africa and elsewhere has been heralded as potentially revolutionary.

As decarbonization becomes a global catchphrase, Zimbabwe has become a vital supplier of critical lithium ore and several platinum group metals that are key to the green transition. According to the Supply Chain Intelligence for the Energy Intelligence, Zimbabwe is the fourth largest producer of lithium mined globally.  But in Magunje, western Zimbabwe, the remnants of indigenous Zimbabweans displaced by colonial dams' construction 100 years ago are enduring a new wave of fo

With innovative financing for clean energy like the Ilute solar project, the future looks bright for the expansion of solar energy in Zambia. However, it remains to be seen whether such a financing structure will be replicated in other African countries. Only time will tell.