The Wire, a digital news magazine, posted on 5 April 2026 an article titled "China's Solar Industry Follows the Sun to Africa" by Noah Berman.
Based on the current trend of Chinese solar panel sales to Africa, China will become the critical supplier of energy infrastructure to Africa by the end of the decade. There is concern, however, that this may result in dependency on China with Africa becoming a dumping ground for Chinese solar products.
Discovery Alert posted on 1 March 2026 an analysis titled "China Becomes World's Leading Chrome Processor Overtaking South Africa" by Muflih Hidayat.
Ferrochrome production, which is essential for stainless steel, requires consistent, energy-intensive processing. Although South Africa is the source of much of the world's chrome ore, China's coal-based power generation is more reliable and cheaper than South Africa's electricity. Consequently, processing of the ore has shifted from South Africa to China.
Ember, a global energy think tank, published on 26 August 2025 a report titled "The First Evidence of a Take-off in Solar in Africa" by Dave Jones.
The report presents Ember's analysis of Africa's imports of solar panels from China. African imports from China rose 60 percent in the last 12 months to 15,032 MW. Over the last two years, the imports of solar panels outside of South Africa have nearly tripled from 3,734 MW to 11,248 MW. Twenty African countries set a new record for the import of solar panels in the 12 months to June 2025.
The Wilson Center's Africa Up Close blog posted on 22 November 2024 a commentary titled "Lights On or Off? Chinese Solar and Wind Companies in Sub-Saharan Africa" by Xiaokang Xue, Brown University.
China;s experience and overcapacity in wind and solar energy should make it a good fit for investing in projects in Africa. But market hurdles, financing gaps, and shifting investment models create a more complicated picture. China's new "small yet beautiful" investment model may result in innovative financing methods.
The Nanyang Technological University published on 28 February 2024 an article titled "Ethiopia Is a Frontier for Chinese Crypto."
Attracted by plentiful, inexpensive, renewable electricity and a favorable investment climate, over a dozen Chinese crypto mining firms have signed electric supply deals with the national Ethiopian electric utility. The primary operating cost of a cryptocurrency mining facility is the cost of electricity. Following construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, Ethiopia is poised to become a new magnet for global mining.
The Diplomat published on 14 February 2024 a report titled "The China-Built Addis-Djibouti Railway Gains Steam" by Istvan Tarrosy and Zoltan Voros, both at University of Pecs.
The Ethiopia-Djibouti railway opened in 2018 and was largely operated by Chinese nationals. It is now operated by the Ethio-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway Share Company. It still employs about 80 Chinese who provide technical assistance. Several trunk lines were not built for lack of funding and the trains run at less than half their planed speed because of unreliable electrical power and several security problems. While freight traffic is growing, it remains far below projected levels.
The Daily Maverick published on 26 October 2023 a commentary titled "Africa Is a Key Source of Critical Minerals for the Global Energy Transition--But There Are Hidden Dangers" by Adrian Joseph.
China is the dominant producer and processor of critical minerals, many of which come from Africa. A growing number of countries, especially the United States and members of the European Union, are concerned about their vulnerability due to a disruption of supply chains. But African countries are also concerned that they are only suppliers of raw materials and have almost no role in processing the minerals.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation posted on 13 September 2023 a six minute podcast titled "Is Egypt's Water Supply Threatened by a Dam on the Nile?"
Now that the reservoir behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has been filled, this discussion looks at the legitimacy of Egypt's complaints that the structure will result to water shortages downstream.
The Stimson Center published in February 2023 a report titled "Renewable Energy & the United Nations: A Green Spark for Peace in South Sudan" by Eugene Chen, Flora McCrone, and David Mozersky.
The report looks at electricity access (7 percent of South Sudan's population) in relationship to South Sudan's conflict, which is exacerbated by an oil economy, and the options to harness renewable energy as a tool for peace and development.
Ethiopia Insight published on 22 February 2023 a commentary titled "War and Siege Inflicted Damage on Tigray's Ecosystem" by Emnet Negash, Ghent University, and Emiru Birhane, Mekelle University.
The war in Ethiopia's Tigray Region resulted in significant damage to agriculture, animal herds, reforestation, wildlife, and the environment generally.
Agence France Presse published on 26 December 2022 an article titled "Ethiopia Govt. Team in Rebel Tigray after Nov. 2 Peace Deal."
A high level Ethiopian government team has arrived in the capital of Tigray Region to supervise the implementation of major issues associated with the peace agreement. Eritrean Defense Forces and Amhara militia remain in Tigray.
The Associated Press published on 7 December 2022 an article titled "Electricity, Telecoms Return to Parts of Ethiopia's Tigray."
The government-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation reported on 6 December that Tigray's capital, Mekele, had been reconnected to the national power grid and telecommunications have resumed in parts of southern Tigray. The internet and other services remain largely unavailable and Eritrean troops have not yet left Tigray.
The National Bureau of Asian Research published on 3 May 2022 a major study titled "(In) Roads and Outposts: Critical Infrastructure in China's Africa Strategy" edited by Nadege Rolland.
It examines the implications of China's growing presence in African ports, railways, industrial parks, information and telecommunication networks, and power generation. It has chapters by Isaac Kardon on ports, Yunnan Chen on railways, Daria Impiombato on telecommunications, Erica Downs on power, and Thierry Pairault on industrial parks.
The Council on Foreign Relations blog posted on 22 April 2022 an analysis titled "How Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Will Impact Africa's Energy Transition" by Katie Auth and Todd Moss, both at the Energy for Growth Hub.
The authors reached 7 conclusions:
(1) African leaders will increasingly frame energy poverty as an energy security issue deserving the same urgency.
(2) The rush to boost LNG supply to Europe will stoke further African frustration with climate hypocrisy--unless development finance follows through.
(3) Rising oil and gas prices will hurt African electricity markets.
(4) But rising interest rates will also create headwinds for renewable projects.
(5) The need to diversify away from Russia will reinvigorate interest in African oil and gas production for export.
(6) As the urgency behind decarbonization intensifies, demand for critical minerals will spur investment in African mining.
(7) Russian actions (and Western financial sanctions) could give countries pause about betting on Russian nuclear technology.
Agence France Press published on 20 February 2022 an article titled "Ethiopia Starts Generating Power at Nile Mega-dam" by Robbie Corey-Boulet.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pressed the buttons on 19 February to begin electricity production for one of the 13 turbines at the $4.2 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile near Ethiopia's border with Sudan. The turbine has an installed capacity of 375 megawatts of electricity; the completed dam is expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts.
The GERD is about 84 percent complete and is expected to be fully completed in 2024. The reservoir behind the dam has a total capacity of 74 billion cubic meters of water. The filling process began during the 2020 rainy season with the accumulation of 4.9 billion cubic meters. During the 2021 rainy season, the goal was to add 13.5 billion cubic meters, which appears to have been achieved.
Comment: Most of the criticism by downstream Sudan and Egypt concerns the rate at which Ethiopia fills the reservoir, which so far has not posed a problem, and the demand by Egypt that Ethiopia release a guaranteed amount of water from the reservoir each year even if there are consecutive years of drought in the Nile Basin that negatively impact the water level in the reservoir.
The South African Institute of International Affairs published in December 2021 a policy briefing titled "China-Driven Coal Power: Lessons from Zimbabwe and Indonesia" by Xue Gong and Cobus van Staden.
The paper compares Chinese funded and built coal electricity projects in Indonesia and Zimbabwe. Whereas Indonesia has managed to limit the environmental impacts of coal electricity to some extent, the same is not true for Zimbabwe. The technology and mitigation measures were much more advanced in Indonesia than in Zimbabwe. Nor was socio-economic mitigation high on the agenda in the case of Zimbabwe. Chinese firms in Zimbabwe seemed to respond to low levels of Zimbabwe government standard setting and high levels of secrecy.
Reuters posted on 29 July 2021 an excellent series of graphics titled "Power Struggle" by Feilding Cage, Samuel Granadas, and Michael Ovaska. It deals with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and water flows throughout the Nile Basin.
The Washington Post published on 15 October 2020 an article titled "Africa's Largest Dam Powers Dreams of Prosperity in Ethiopia--and Fears of Hunger in Egypt" by Max Bearak and Sudarsan Raghavan.
The authors assess the impact of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile from the perspective of Ethiopians who seek adequate electricity and Egyptian farmers who want to grow crops in the desert.
