--- title: "Trump’s War on Iran is Pushing the Global South Toward Chinese Solar Panels in Record Numbers" description: "The US-led fossil fuel economy is crumbling in countries like Nigeria, which are increasingly drawn to Chinese solar infrastructure." date: "2026-11-14" modified: "2026-11-14" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/science-energy/trump-iran-war-nigeria-chinese-solar-panel" categories: - "Energy" - "Renewable Energy" - "Science & Energy" - "Solar Power" --- # Trump’s War on Iran is Pushing the Global South Toward Chinese Solar Panels in Record Numbers ![Expansive solar energy farm, grid of photovoltaic panels in vast arid landscape.]() *Shutterstock* Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office has been a devastating blow for American soft power, the network of [global institutions]() that structurally tie foreign economies to US capital. Under his second administration, programs like the US Agency for International Development have become shells of their past iterations, leaving countries [dependent on US support]() struggling in the short term and US interests weakened on the world stage for years if not decades to come. A case in point is the US's [disastrous war against Iran](). After suffering generations of [brutal economic sanctions]() from the US, the Iranian state and its allies have imposed a kind of reverse-sanction on their adversaries, choking a crucial supply of oil from world markets. In Nigeria — which has been a [key US stronghold]() in Africa for years — the rising costs of oil resulting from Trump's compounding failures in Iran are driving more and more markets away from the US-dominated fossil fuel economy altogether, and straight into the hands of increasingly accessible Chinese solar infrastructure. New reporting [by the *Los Angeles Times*]() details just how widespread this pivot has become in West Africa. In one of Africa's largest electronics bazaars, located in the Nigerian megalopolis of Lagos, the paper reports trade of photovoltaic supplies like solar panels, lithium batteries, and energy inverters has skyrocketed, driven by interest from specialists and general retailers alike. "Even tomato sellers have put signs up saying they collect solar batteries and all kinds of solar waste," Nnamdi Nkemka, the owner of a solar retail shop boasted to the *LA Times*. Nkemka says that his shop was just one of a few niche outlets specializing in solar equipment when it opened in 2008. Now in 2026, it's one of over 200 operating in that electronics exchange alone. "Most people selling electrical items are migrating to solar," he told the paper. Though Nigeria is one of West Africa's major oil producers, its consumers, companies, and government alike have [steadily embraced]() cheaper solar panels over recent years. Installation rates in Nigeria have only gone up since Trump began his war on Iran, with the country's total added capacity across 2026 already surpassing that of 2024 and 2025 combined, per the *LA Times*. And while major hurdles remain in upfront installation costs, solar energy is now a multi-billion dollar industry in Nigeria alone, with imports of Chinese solar panels rising by two-thirds between June 2024 and June 2025, [per Yale's *Environment360*](). As Nigerian homeowner Oluwaseun Aguda told the *LA Times*, domestic gasoline prices have risen by 40 percent since the US first began its war on Iran, making his previous energy source — a fuel generator — a losing proposition. "I looked at my future, there was no savings left," Aguda explained. Now after installing a three-kilowatt solar array supplied by a Chinese company, he told the paper that "I don't struggle for power anymore. That alone gives me peace of mind." **More on solar energy:** *[Trump Admin Caught Illegally Canceling Billion-Dollar Solar Project That Would Have Helped Lower Utility Bills Across the Country]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [The War in Iran Is Causing China to Sell So Many Solar Panels That Your Jaw Will Drop]() - [Iran Says It’s Ready to Destroy the Global Economy]() - [Evidence Grows That Trump Is Using the War in Iran to Manipulate Markets]() - [Take a Look at This Electric Motorhome Powered by Solar Panels and a Battery Pack]() - [New NASA Visualization Shows Where This Month’s Solar Eclipse Will Be Visible]() - [Researchers Say Solar Is Getting So Good That People Could Start Quitting the Electric Grid]() - [Electricity-Generating Windows Could Turn Skyscrapers into Solar Farms]() - [Astronomers Find Wreckage of Destroyed Solar System Right Near Our Own]()