The rapid adoption of solar energy was initially encouraged by the government in power-starved Pakistan, but officials now fear it is spreading too quickly.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2025/08/24/pakista...

DHAKU, Pakistan — In Pakistan’s agricultural heartland, the solar energy boom is hard to miss.



Mosques have installed solar panels to keep prayer rooms lit; some factories are now powered exclusively by the sun; farmers are using the technology to transform once-barren land into lush fields.



“Even rich people are trying to become farmers now,” said Mohammed Latif, standing in his newly built house in Dhaku, a village in the eastern Punjab region. Installing a solar-powered pump last year allowed Latif to plant thriving rows of bell peppers on his formerly arid property. He made enough money to send one of his sons to study in Britain.



Latif, 68, could recall only one other societal “revolution” in his lifetime as dramatic as this one: the construction of the country’s highway system nearly four decades ago.

Two years ago, solar energy was the fifth-largest source of electricity in Pakistan. Now, it is alone at the top, accounting for around one-fourth of the national power supply. Its rapid adoption was initially welcomed by the government, which has long struggled to provide reliable power to its 240 million people, but officials now fear it is spreading too quickly and giving the rich an unfair advantage.



The boom began in 2023, when the price of solar panels plunged globally and imports from China surged. Wealthy Pakistanis, and farmers like Latif — encouraged by government subsidies — started buying them up in bulk. Now, many have gone off the aging and overburdened national grid entirely.



“I don’t blame them,” Pakistani Power Minister Awais Leghari said in an interview with The Washington Post. “It’s the price of electricity that has led to people getting out of the grid.”

But 45 percent of Pakistanis live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank, putting solar panel systems well beyond their reach. The pool of customers for the national grid has gotten smaller and poorer, and the costs of financing old coal-powered plants have increasingly been passed on to those who can least afford it.



Electricity prices roughly doubled between 2021 and 2024, before government intervention recently stabilized them. Many families say they have had to cut back on food and other essentials to pay their power bills.

“High-income consumers go solar while nonsolar users absorb the costs,” said Hasnat Khan, senior vice chairman of the Pakistan Solar Association. “It’s a death spiral.”



After decades of chronic shortages, Pakistan now has an excess of power-generating capacity, analysts say, and too many power plants.

The government argues that its expensive fossil fuel plants remain necessary. Whenever solar energy production falls on cloudy days, officials say, grid consumption still surges. If coal plants weren’t constantly running, they fear rolling blackouts would quickly become a feature of life again.



The quandary, according to analysts, is rooted in a lack of foresight.

Amid widespread power outages between the 1990s and early 2010s, which frequently caused economic paralysis, Pakistani authorities rushed to massively expand coal power production. The debt-burdened nation secured billions of dollars in loans, agreeing to pay for a set amount of production capacity — even if the electricity went unused, said Muhammad Basit Ghauri, a Pakistani energy analyst, describing the approach as “inefficient and mismanaged.”

Pakistan’s power sector is saddled with around $5.6 billion of debt, according to official figures. Leghari said the government has stanched losses by cracking down on electricity theft and collecting outstanding payments. But much of the burden has been passed on to consumers, fueling energy inequality — and what critics contend is a glaring double standard.

Hithium signs 1GWh residential and C&I BESS distribution agreement in Pakistan - Energy-Storage.News

https://www.energy-storage.news/hithium-signs-1gwh-residential-and-...

Energy storage-focused lithium-ion OEM Hithium has partnered with power system integrator The Imperial Electric Company (IEC) to deliver 1GWh of energy storage across Pakistan’s residential and commercial & industrial (C&I) sectors.

With the partnership formalised at the China International Energy Storage Exhibition (EESA EXPO) in Shanghai, IEC will now distribute Hithium’s HeroEE residential energy storage systems across Pakistan.

The HeroEE residential energy storage systems feature advanced battery management systems (BMS) with cell-level monitoring and thermal management capabilities optimised for Pakistan’s climate.

Indeed, Pakistan’s temperatures can range from below freezing in northern regions to over 50°C (122°F) in southern provinces during summer months.

As part of the agreement, Hithium will establish a local service centre in Pakistan to provide technical support and expertise. This move is expected to accelerate the adoption of battery energy storage systems (BESS) throughout the country and build local technical capacity.

The partnership aims to address Pakistan’s persistent energy reliability challenges, which have worsened considerably over the past 18 months.

Pakistan’s power grid has been deemed one of Southeast Asia’s most unreliable, with blackouts regularly occurring. Perhaps one of the largest in recent years was the 2023 blackout, which plunged 220 million people into darkness for a whole day.

According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2025-26, released in June by the government, these disruptions have significantly impacted both businesses and households, contributing to a 1.5% contraction in the country’s large-scale manufacturing sector during fiscal year 2025.

According to local media, the situation has deteriorated markedly since January 2025, when a major power outage in northern Pakistan sparked week-long protests that shut down a key highway linking Pakistan with China.

Hithium expands manufacturing capabilities
In 2025, Hithium has made significant strides in expanding its manufacturing capabilities and product portfolio. Most notably, the company started mass production of the “world’s first” 1000Ah+ battery cell, specifically designed for long-duration energy storage applications.

This breakthrough ∞Cell 1175Ah battery was officially announced at SNEC 2025 on 11 June, marking what the company describes as “the beginning of a new phase, where long-duration energy storage enters scaled deployment.”

Meanwhile, in a major development for its North American operations, Hithium opened a new manufacturing facility in Mesquite, Texas, in June 2025.

The 484,441-square-foot facility represents a US$200 million investment and will create approximately 200 jobs. With an annual production capacity of 10GWh for battery modules and systems, the factory is expected to begin mass production later this year, strengthening Hithium’s position in the US energy storage market.

AI Overview
Battery storage deployment is rapidly accelerating globally as, by the end of 2025, battery pack prices dropped 8% to a record low of
$
108
$
1
0
8
/kWh, with some Chinese packs hitting
$
84
$
8
4
/kWh. Driven by manufacturing overcapacity, LFP chemistry adoption, and improved design, 4-hour battery system costs fell 27% year-over-year to
$
78
$
7
8
/MWh, making them competitive with fossil fuel peaker plants.
Saur Energy
Saur Energy
+4
Key Trends in Battery Deployment:
Rapid Cost Reductions: Average lithium-ion battery pack prices have plummeted by 90% over the last 15 years. In 2025, turn-key battery energy storage systems (BESS) fell by 31% to an average of
$
117
$
1
1
7
/kWh.
Surging Installations: Stationary energy storage is projected to increase by one-third in 2026, reaching 122.5 GW, with massive growth in utility-scale projects.
Solar + Storage Dominance: Falling costs are driving the adoption of co-located projects, with 87 GW of combined solar and storage added in 2025.
Market Drivers: The rapid adoption is fueled by the need to balance renewable energy, manage grid constraints, and meet surging power demand from data centers, despite some regional trade barriers in the US and Europe.
Outlook: Future cost declines are expected to continue, driven by innovation in battery chemistries and manufacturing, with 4-hour systems reaching under
$
100
$
1
0
0
/MWh in major markets.
BloombergNEF