Solar’s rapid rollout reshapes Africa’s power map

Last week, a series of satellite images showed a swath of new photovoltaic farms lighting up the Sahel, a visual that matches the headline in the Economist’s "Africa’s solar revolution is vast and speedy." The surge m…

A new study of the African grid, published this month, quantifies the shift. It finds that by 2050 half of the continent’s electricity could be generated by wind and solar, while the economic case for many planned hyd…

The situation echoes the 1973 oil shock, when sudden price spikes forced Western economies to diversify away from oil‑heavy generation toward nuclear and coal. In Africa, the catalyst is not a price spike but a relent…