Madagascar’s diesel-dependent power system faces high costs and chronic blackouts, making solar PV and battery storage an increasingly attractive route to reliable, affordable electrification. Five solar-diesel hybrid projects demonstrate that PV can significantly reduce fuel consumption and electricity prices, offering a scalable model for Madagascar and wider sub-Saharan Africa.
Africa is too wide to be summarized as a single market, and that’s a common mistake made by many, especially in the northern hemisphere. However, one aspect of solar in Africa applies to the entire continent: its tremendous solar resource. From the desertic areas of the Sahara to the savanna zones in the south and the lush forests in its center, Africa is never short of solar energy but struggles to deploy PV as fast as other continents. The reasons are multiple, from incumbents to financing limitations, from skills to the lack of political willingness (but this is changing fast). But PV development is accelerating beyond the 20 GW installed at the end of 2025, and the reason is not only the need to acceleration electrification rate, but the tremendous impact of rising oil and gas prices.
The case of Madagascar will be discussed here: an island nation in the Indian Ocean, faces one of the most severe energy crises in Africa. With an extremely low electrification rate (depending on the interpretation of numbers, as little as 14% of the population could be considered electrified), most of its population relies on a mix of hydropower systems and diesel generators—a costly and unsustainable solution. The high price of oil, compounded by logistical challenges in transporting fuel across the country’s rugged terrain, has made electricity prohibitively expensive. Main local utility Jirama operates at a loss, as government-imposed price caps prevent them from passing the full cost of generation onto consumers. The result? Electricity is frequently rationed, with many communities experiencing blackouts for several hours each day.
