This paper examines China’s growing role in Africa’s renewable energy landscape through a political economy and developmental state lens, using the Garissa Solar PV project in Kenya and the Adama Wind project in Ethiopia as comparative case studies. With Africa’s abundant renewable energy resources largely untapped, and persistent energy poverty constraining development, China’s BRI has emerged as a key vehicle for infrastructure-led energy transformation on the continent. Drawing on the Political Economy of Development framework and Developmental State Theory, the paper analyzes how Chinese-backed energy projects align with host country development strategies, institutional capacity, and structural transformation goals. While critics warn that Chinese investments often follow enclave-style patterns with limited local benefits, others highlight mutual gains, including energy access and green industrialization. This study investigates whether Chinese state-capitalist financing models–led by SOEs and policy banks–are compatible with inclusive development, local capacity building, and technology transfer. By focusing on Kenya and Ethiopia, the paper contributes to the debate on whether Chinese renewable energy investments replicate extractive models or offer viable, pragmatic pathways to low-carbon, infrastructure-driven growth across Africa.