African solar energy use is surging, with Chinese-made panels a common sight across the continent, on rooftops and in the massive renewable energy plants being built in countries such as Algeria and South Africa by companies from China.

An Oxford Economics study released on Monday showed the continent welcomed a record 9,516 megawatts worth of Chinese-made solar panels in the first seven months of this year, from just 6,625MW in the same period last year.

The trend reflects how Africa is increasingly turning to solar energy for homes and businesses as a way to connect those not served by the main power grid or to combat frequent power blackouts.

According to Oxford Economics, the imports are a useful measure of Africa’s increasing solar capacity, given China’s dominance in global production of the technology.

The surge is led by South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria, with imports to several other countries more than quadrupling year on year.

This is largely due to massive energy plants being developed by Chinese firms. In South Africa, for example, PowerChina is building the 342MW De Aar Central Solar Power Plant.