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Rabat – A new report detailed Morocco’s commitment to renewable energy as the country continues to equip itself with tools to advance its sustainable development goals.
The report from the energy tracking group Ember featured Morocco as one of Africa’s largest importers of Chinese solar panels.
Morocco’s imports of solar panels from China amounted to 915 megawatts in 12 months leading up to June 2025.
This positions the North African country as Africa’s fourth-largest importer, behind Algeria, which imported 1,199 megawatts of solar panels from China.
Africa’s electricity map
One of the strongest importers on the continent is South Africa, which dominated imports of solar panels from China, accounting for 3,784 megawatts in the past 12 months through June 2025.
Nigeria is the second-largest powerhouse in terms of panel imports with 1,721 megawatts. Tunisia imports 655 megawatts of solar panels from China. Senegal imports 519 megawatts of solar panels from the Asian country, while Egypt imports 854 megawatts.
Other countries import relatively low volumes, like Mauritania (39).
Several others import at least 100 megawatts of solar panels from China, like Mali and Benin.
Despite the relatively low numbers in countries, like Niger (37), Eritrea (51), and Uganda (77), the report finds that the past 12 months witnessed an increase in Africa’s solar panel imports.
“Imports from China rose 60% in the last 12 months to 15,032 MW,” the report said, citing South Africa’s dominance.
“The rise happened across Africa. 20 countries set a new record for the imports of solar panels in the 12 months to June 2025,” Ember stated.
It also mapped the number of countries that imported at least 100 MW from China, estimating the figure at 25.
This number shows a 10-country increase, jumping from 15 to 25 states that imported at least 100 megawatts of solar panels from China within the past 12 months.
Ember suggested that these imports will lead to reduced fuel imports.
China is one of the largest manufacturers of solar panels, producing 80% of the world’s solar panels in 2024. It is also the largest exporter of solar panels.
“Africa depends heavily on imports because domestic solar panel manufacturing is still limited,” the report said. It has, however, been found that Morocco recently doubled its manufacturing to 1 gigawatt per year, similar to South Africa.
“There are many smaller manufacturing lines in some countries, including Egypt and Nigeria,” it added.
Morocco’s ambition
Morocco has been eager to develop and strengthen its position in renewable energy, to produce 52% of electricity from solar sources by 2030.
The country’s applauded renewable energy plan is expected to witness more development following its commitment to invest up to $3 billion in attempts to upgrade its electricity grid by 2030.
The government expects over 9 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity to be added between 2023 and 2027, with current renewable energy capacity estimated at 5.4 gigawatts – supplying nearly 20% of Morocco’s electricity demands.
Renewable resources currently contribute over 45% to Morocco’s electricity and grid.
The government has recently acknowledged that more investment is needed to further improve the sector. In July, Minister of Energy Leila Benali suggested that Morocco should invest $40 billion to achieve its national energy goals.
“We need to invest more than $20 billion in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and another $20 billion in the interconnection between Africa and Europe,” she said.
A report from SolarPower Europe in March estimated Morocco’s installed electricity capacity at 11,987 megawatts. Thermal resources account for 6,676 megawatts, and solar capacity stands at 831 megawatts.
The report also commended Morocco’s solar ambition, highlighting the country’s position as a key player in the renewable energy sector.
Despite the ambitious plans set up by African countries, the continent remains desperate to upgrade its electricity grid system.
A report from the UN finds that around 600 million people in Africa lack reliable access to electricity. This represents nearly half of the continent’s population and more than 80% of the global electricity access gap.
The report admits that North African countries, as well as some nations like Ghana, Gabon, and South Africa, have made progress in the sector.
Central Africa and the Sahel regions, however, face many challenges due to several factors, the report said, citing Burundi and South Sudan, which have low levels of electricity access.
The report also cited Mission 300 or Africa’s A2030 energy vision, which seeks to expand electricity access to 300 million people on the continent by 2030.
The initiative aims to improve Africa’s energy sector through enhancing infrastructure as well as attracting private investment, an opportunity seized by countries like China and others.
