November 5, 2025
Solar shines, comments throw shade
Solarpunk is already happening in Africa
Startups bring light; comments brawl over socialism, capitalism, and ChatGPT vibes
TLDR: African startups are lighting up rural homes with pay‑as‑you‑go solar, adding hundreds of thousands of installations each month as panels get dirt‑cheap. Comments erupted over whether this is socialism or venture‑powered capitalism, with side drama about grid costs and a cheeky “was this written by ChatGPT?” jab.
Africa isn’t waiting for the cable guy—it’s plugging itself in. The article says startups are selling solar kits on payment plans, delivering 400,000 new installs a month and 30 million products in 2024, with 90%+ repayment. Panels got 99.5% cheaper since the ’80s. Add carbon credits and smart chips, and boom: lights on, fridges cold, phones charging. The author calls “waiting for the grid” a 50‑year scam, and the community came ready to fight.
Big mood: r14c calls it “socialism with afrofuturist aesthetics,” while hexator fires back that “Solarpunk with capitalism” misses the point. Meanwhile, epistasis says the quiet part out loud: building a grid is wildly expensive even in the U.S., where rules and lawsuits stall power lines for years. Others cheer the hustle—czbond: “Really great article.” Some throw shade at the tone: tomasz_fm claims it’s got ChatGPT fingerprints.
Memes flew: Moore’s Law “but for sunshine,” and the “cable guy” joke became a rallying cry—stop waiting, start wiring. The core drama: is pay‑as‑you‑go empowerment or debt with good vibes? Fans point to high repayment and real-world results; critics want public power, not venture logos. Either way, the lights are coming on—and the comments are absolutely lit.
Key Points
- •Grid extension to rural areas in Sub-Saharan Africa is economically challenging, leaving 600 million people without reliable electricity.
- •Decentralized solar, sold by startups on financing plans, is scaling rapidly: 30+ million products sold in 2024 and ~400,000 monthly installations across Africa.
- •New entrants founded within the last 15 years hold over 50% market share, supported by carbon credits, IoT-enabled devices, and high (>90%) loan repayment rates.
- •Solar module prices have fallen from roughly $40/W in 1980 to a projected $0.20/W by 2025, enabling affordable off-grid solutions.
- •The article attributes success to three factors: cheap hardware, near-zero-cost payments, and pay-as-you-go financing, proposing this as a template beyond Africa.