Trony Solar began entering the African market in 2009, and now nearly half of its annual turnover is from the continent. The company opened a representative office in Kenya at the end of February 2012, and the number of employees has increased to 15. It has since been expanding its operational presence in other African countries, including Ethiopia, South Sudan, Ghana and Nigeria.

In addition, developing renewable energy is one of the eight measures that China's Premier Wen Jiabao proposed in 2009 to aid Africa at the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Egypt. China has decided to build 100 clean energy projects for Africa covering solar power, bio-gas and small hydro-power. The first batch of projects centering on utilization of solar energy were launched in Africa in June 2011.

Challenge ahead

There is huge demand for clean energy in Africa, but strong demand does not necessarily mean strong consumption. 

Analysts said many Africans were not able to afford solar power as the per-capita income level of the African countries is generally not high.

"The small [solar] panel I am selling costs about $215, more than the monthly wage of an average South African farm laborer," said an exhibitor who gave his surname as Wu, at the African Energy Indaba held in South Africa last year.

CEO of Trony Solar Li Yi believed that the price of the Chinese PV products was still highly competitive, although they are not characterized by the world's highest efficiency of photoelectric conversion.

Solar panel prices have fallen nearly 40 percent since the middle of last year. Chinese photovoltaic products are under pressure from price cutting and irrational competition from the solar industry.

From another perspective, however, industrial insiders believed that those sharp price drops are a good thing, forcing Chinese solar makers to rethink product plans for sustainable growth and helping to accelerate solar energy development and application in Africa.

Africa has ideal conditions for solar energy, said Wang Wenming, President of the Africa-invest.net, after visiting Africa many times. He added that feedback has been overwhelmingly positive as many African officials expressed their willingness to strengthen cooperation with China in the development of new energy.

It's proven through Sino-African bilateral cooperation in science and technology recent years. Since June 2009, China and Kenya has worked together to develop solar power projects that will be suitable to Kenya's geographic conditions. In that December, China Exhibition on Innovative Technologies and Products, a platform and mechanism to strengthen China-Africa relationship and help African countries raise the technological capability, was held in Egypt. A China-Africa Science & Technology Cooperation Forum was held in December last year in Beijing. Obviously, those in the eyes of Chinese solar manufacturers as well as African counterparts indicate hope for Sino-African solar energy development.