South Africa is one of the top 10 countries in the world harnessing renewable energy from the sun, ranking 10th on a list topped by the U.S., according to Wiki-Solar.org.

Wiki-Solar tracks global utility-scale photovoltaic power plant deployment of five-to-10 megawatts and higher.

South Africa was the only African country to make the list, ranking 10th with 15 solar plants that connected 503 megawatts of utility-scale solar power. It’s right behind France, which has 677 megawatts of solar power, according to SouthAfrica.info.

By comparison, the U.S. is No. 1 on Wiki-Solar’s list of top 10 markets for utility-scale solar power with 349 solar plants that together generate 6,498 megawatts.

China is No. 2 on the list with 4,607 megawatts. Germany is No. 3 (3,428 megawatts), India is No. 4 (1,897 megawatts), Spain is No. 5 (1,680 megawatts), the U.K. is No. 6 (1,523 megawatts), Italy is No. 7 (875 megawatts) and Canada is No. 8 (714 megawatts).

Japan and Chile may soon be joining the top 10, possibly threatening the position of France and Italy in the top-10 ranks of world utility scale solar, RenewEconomy.com reports.

Most of South Africa’s 15 solar plants were built in the first round of the government’s renewable energy program for private producers.

With several solar projects under construction and contracts signed for others, South Africa will likely climb further up Wiki-Solar’s rankings, SouthAfrica.info reports.

South Africa’s Department of Energy signed agreements in November with 17 new bidders in the third round of the program. Combined with 47 projects from the first and second rounds, the country approved 64 renewable energy projects since 2011.

These include wind, solar photovoltaic and concentrating solar power projects representing foreign and domestic investment of more than 100-billion rand ($9.35 billion US). Once they are all operational, they are expected to add another 3,900 megawatts of wind, solar photovoltaic and concentrating solar power to South Africa’s energy mix.

The government plans to push ahead with round four of the program to take advantage of wind, solar, biomass and other technologies that increase opportunities for rural development in the country, President Jacob Zuma said in his State of the Nation address in June.

First-round solar projects that are delivering power to South Africa’s national grid include the following:

– The 75-megawatt Lesedi and 75-megawatt Letsatsi plants in the Northern Cape and Free State provinces, built by a consortium led by U.S. company SolarReserve.
– The 75-megawatt Kalkbult solar plant near Petrusville in the Northern Cape, built by Norwegian-based company Scatec Solar with local partners.
– The 50-megawatt De Aar and 50-megawatt Droogfontein solar plants near De Aar and Kimberley in the Northern Cape, built and operated by a consortium led by British company Globeleq.
– The 22-megawatt Herbert and 11-megawatt Greefspan solar plants in the Northern Cape, built by U.S. company SunPower and owned by a joint venture  between Spain’s AMDA energy and South Africa’s Alt-E Technologies.