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Masdar signs its first solar PPA in Angola, against a backdrop of surging installations across the African continent
11/2/2026
News
As Africa records a 54% year-on-year jump in solar PV installations in 2025, Masdar has signed its first power purchase agreement (PPA) in Angola.
The PPA is for the 150 MW Quipungo solar farm in Huila Province, southern Angola. The project represents the first contracted site under ‘Project Royal Sable’, a planned 500 MW renewable energy programme across three sites.
‘Africa is the world’s fastest-growing continent and that growth will depend on affordable, secure energy,’ said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO, Masdar, at the official signing. ‘The Quipungo PPA demonstrates how long-term partnerships and structured offtake arrangements can accelerate the deployment of utility scale renewables that support national clean energy ambitions, economic development and job creation, providing reliable, affordable clean power to local communities.’
Masdar has positioned Africa as a pillar of its global strategy. Through its joint venture Infinity Power, the company claims to be the largest operator of renewables on the continent, with 1.3 GW of operating solar and onshore wind capacity across South Africa, Egypt and Senegal. Its African project pipeline totals 13.8 GW, including battery storage and green hydrogen projects at various stages of development. Globally, Masdar is targeting a portfolio capacity of 100 GW by 2030.
In other news, the Global Solar Council (GSC) reports that Africa recorded its fastest year of solar growth in 2025, with new installations rising 54% year-on-year to reach 4.5 GW.
The continent’s top markets continue to dominate capacity additions. The 10 largest markets accounted for around 90% of new installations in 2025, led by South Africa with 1.6 GW, followed by Nigeria (803 MW), Egypt (500 MW) and Algeria (400 MW).
Still, the data shows signs of geographic broadening. A growing group of mid-sized markets made notable contributions, including Morocco (204 MW), Zambia (139 MW), Tunisia (120 MW) and Botswana (120 MW).
In total, eight African countries installed 100 MW or more of solar capacity in 2025 – double the number recorded the previous year. Ghana and Chad are also approaching that threshold, with 92 MW and 86 MW respectively.
‘Solar deployment is no longer confined to a few early leaders – it is broadening across regions,’ the report notes.
A defining feature of Africa’s solar growth, according to the GSC, is the rise of distributed generation. Nearly half (44%) of new solar capacity added in 2025 came from distributed systems, including rooftop and commercial installations.
The GSC describes distributed solar as a ‘core growth engine’, while cautioning that it remains systematically undercounted in official statistics due to the challenges of tracking smaller, decentralised projects.
The report identifies two parallel pathways driving Africa’s solar expansion: government-led, grid-connected utility-scale projects – such as Masdar’s Quipungo development – and privately-financed rooftop, commercial and distributed systems. Both segments are expanding rapidly, but financing structures have not yet adapted to the changing market mix, suggests the report.
Despite the growth of distributed solar, around 82% of clean energy finance in Africa still comes from public and development sources, leaving funding frameworks largely geared towards large-scale infrastructure. While private clean energy investment has increased from approximately $17bn in 2019 to nearly $40bn in 2024, the GSC argues that much of this capital remains poorly suited to distributed solar, which requires ‘smaller ticket sizes, shorter tenors and local currency financing’.
‘As a result, many consumer-led and commercial projects face higher financing costs or constrained access to capital, despite strong demand and improving technology economics,’ it says.
The GSC also warns that: ‘Africa continues to attract only a small share of global clean energy investment, even as electricity demand grows faster than in most regions and solar resources rank among the strongest worldwide.’ Nevertheless, it believes the outlook is bullish, projecting that Africa could install more than 31.5 GW of solar capacity by 2029 – over six times the capacity added in 2025 – if finance, planning and regulation evolve in line with market realities.
The combination of utility-scale projects, distributed solar and battery storage is seen as critical to unlocking that potential. ‘Solar + storage is the hope of Africa. This is the technology that can bring energy access, sustainable development, green growth and resilience to natural disasters and extreme weather,’ said Sonia Dunlop, GSC CEO.
