Solarize Africa: Lessons from Madagascar’s solar-diesel hybrid projects

A consortium led by Enerdeal (now part of EDP) with the Becquerel Institute and other partners implemented solar hybrid projects in five locations. These projects integrate PV — and in some cases battery storage — with existing diesel generation. The result is measurable fuel savings, lower generation costs, and improved supply stability where diesel plants previously ran as the sole source.

The projects replaced a portion of diesel generation with PV during daylight hours, reducing diesel burn and run-hours for generators. Where batteries were added, they smoothed solar variability and enabled higher diesel-off periods without compromising reliability. The hybrid setups generally retained diesel plants for baseload and emergency supply, simplifying control and leveraging existing local skills for maintenance.

Fuel logistics and high oil prices make generation costly for Madagascar. Jirama, the main utility, operates at a loss because government price caps prevent passing full generation costs to customers. The hybrid projects show that adding PV reduces fuel spending and can lower electricity prices if financing and contract structures support cost recovery. Reduced outages improve business continuity, public services and daily life in affected communities.

Broader lessons for sub-Saharan Africa

Madagascar's solar resource is strong and replication potential exists where diesel minigrids are common. Key takeaways for other countries:

• Use existing diesel assets as dispatchable backup while adding PV to cut fuel and operating costs.
• Include battery storage selectively where solar variability or critical loads demand it.
• Structure tariffs or subsidies to allow utilities or operators to recover investment and operating costs while passing savings to consumers.
• Factor in local logistics: high transport costs for diesel can make PV economically attractive even at modest penetration levels.

Contextual constraints and considerations

Political unrest driven partly by recurring blackouts highlights that technical fixes must align with governance and financing reforms. Scaling requires access to capital, clear roles for utilities, and local capacity for O&M. Madagascar's experience is not a turnkey solution for every African country, but it provides concrete technical and commercial examples of how to reduce reliance on diesel.

Solar-diesel hybridization offers a pragmatic, incremental route to improve reliability and affordability in diesel-dependent systems. For Madagascar, continuing hybrid deployments and targeted storage can expand electrification while reducing fuel imports and pressure on public finances. For other sub-Saharan countries with similar mini-grid structures, the Malagasy projects act as practical case studies for integrating PV without abandoning existing generation assets.