This work reviewed solar PV potential in Africa for three generational time-scales: present, near future and far future. For the present, the potential of wide scale rooftop solar PV systems was reviewed, particularly in African cities.
However, sub-Saharan African countries excluding South Africa only have an accumulated capacity of 74 MWp rooftop solar PV as of 2019 . Initiatives such as the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) has developed a coalition of nine sub-Saharan countries to increase their renewable energy contributions and reduce their emissions .
In contrast, solar technology is simple to install, and PV panels have no moving components. The solar isolation potential of Africa is higher compared to other continents . Therefore, solar energy can be an easy means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector in Africa and helping to limit climate change, .
Table 5. List of recommendations for solar PV systems in Africa based on the reviewed literature. Affordability of rooftop solar PV should be increased through government incentives such as appropriate FiT, subsidies, tax relief, public–private partnership, grants, loans (low/zero-interest), and community loan sharing programmes.
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