Renewable Energy in Pakistan: 15.2% of Households Use Solar

[Riaz Haq]

Solar panel installations in Pakistani homes are rising rapidly. Pakistan PSLM/HIES 2018-19 survey results reveal that 15.2% of all households are using solar panels as a source of energy for their homes.  Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province leads the nation with 40% of all households using solar energy. Rural Pakistan is embracing solar power at a faster rate than Urban Pakistan. Adoption of solar in rural areas of KP is at 43%, Sindh 33.9%,  Balochistan 20.4% and Punjab 7.9%. Rapid decline in cost of solar panels appears to be driving the adoption of solar in Pakistan's rural areas where grid power is either unavailable or unreliable. Pakistan is starting to join the clean energy revolution with increasing adoption of solar and recent announcement of National Electric Vehicle Policy. Covid19 pandemic may temporarily slow it down but the upward trend will likely continue.

Pakistan Solar Panel Imports in Millions of US Dollars. Source: FBS...

Solar Panels in Pakistan: 

Imports of solar panels have increased at 15.9% annually in US dollar terms and 22.6% in Pakistan rupee terms in the last years. Solar panel imports have jumped from just $1 million in 2004 to a peak of $772 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, then declined to  $343 million in 2018 and then rose again to $409 million in 2019.  Covid19 pandemic may temporarily slow it down but the upward trend will likely continue.

Households Using Solar Panels. Source: PSLM/HIES 2018-19 Via Bilal ...

Solar panel installations in Pakistani homes are rising rapidly. Pakistan PSLM/HIES 2018-19 survey results reveal that 15.2% of all households are using solar panels as source of energy for their homes. 

Government survey data shows that 20% of rural households are  using solar panels, significantly ahead of just 7.7% urban households in the country. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province leads with 40% of households using solar energy, followed by Balochistan 25.7%, Sindh 20.5% and Punjab 6.4%.

Rural Pakistan is leading the nation into wider use of solar power.  Adoption of solar in rural areas of KP is at 43%, Sindh 33.9%,  Balochistan 20.4% and Punjab 7.9%. Rapid decline in cost of solar panels appears to be driving adoption of the solar energy in Pakistan's rural areas where grid power is either unavailable or unreliable.

Pakistan Electric Vehicle Policy:

Pakistan has a low level of motorization with just 9% of the households owning a car. Nearly half of all households own a motorcycle. Motorization rates in the country have tripled over the last decade and a half, resulting in nearly 40% of all emissions coming from vehicles. Concerns about climate change and environmental pollution have forced the government to to take a number of actions ranging from adoption of Euro6 emission standards for new vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE) since 2015 and announcement of a national electric vehicle (EV) policy this year.

Private vehicle ownership in Pakistan has risen sharply over the last 4 years. More than 9% of households now own cars, up from 6% in 2015. Motorcycle ownership has jumped from 41% of households in 2015 to 53% now, according to data released by Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) recently. There are 32.2 million households in Pakistan, according to 2017 Census.

Vehicle Ownership in Pakistan. Source: PBS

Pakistan's National EV Policy is a forward looking step needed to deal with climate concerns from growing transport sector emissions with rapidly rising vehicle ownership. It offers tax incentives for buyers and sellers. It also focuses on development of nationwide charging infrastructure to ease adoption of electric vehicles.

Low Carbon Energy Growth:

In recent years,  Pakistan government has introduced a number of supportive policies, including feed-in tariffs and a net metering program to incentivize renewables. These have been fairly successful, and renewables capacity in the country surged substantially over 2018 when 1245 MW was added, of which 826MW was contributed by the solar sector, according to Fitch Solutions.

Non-Hydro Renewables in Pakistan. Source: Fitch Solutions

Pakistan’s Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) recently signed deals for projects that will see the country expand its wind power capacity by 560 MW.  Fitch Solutions forecasts Pakistan's solar capacity to grow by an annual average of 9.4% between 2019-2028, taking total capacity over 3.8GW by the end of our forecast period.

Sindh government has recently signed a deal for 400MW solar park at Manjhand, 20MW rooftop solar systems on public sector buildings in Karachi and Hyderabad, and 200,000 solar home systems for remote areas in 10 districts of the province. The project is estimated to cost USD105million, with the World Bank funding USD100 million.

The biggest and most important source of low-carbon energy in Pakistan is its hydroelectric power plants. Pakistan ranked third in the world by adding nearly 2,500 MW of hydropower in 2018, according to Hydropower Status Report 2019.  China added the most capacity with the installation of 8,540 megawatts, followed by Brazil (3,866 MW), Pakistan (2,487 MW), Turkey (1,085 MW), Angola (668 MW), Tajikistan (605 MW), Ecuador (556 MW), India (535 MW), Norway (419 MW) and Canada (401 MW).

New Installed Hydroelectric Power Capacity in 2018. Source: Hydrowo...

Hydropower now makes up about 28% of the total installed capacity of 33,836 MW as of February, 2019.   WAPDA reports contributing 25.63 billion units of hydroelectricity to the national grid during the year, “despite the fact that water flows in 2018 remained historically low.” This contribution “greatly helped the country in meeting electricity needs and lowering the electricity tariff for the consumers.”

Chinese BYD in Pakistan:

Multiple media reports suggest that China's BYD is about to enter Pakistan market following the announcement of Pakistan National EV Policy.   These reports indicate that Toyota, one of the largest automakers in Pakistan, has signed a deal with BYD to manufacture electric vehicles.

Other reports indicate that Pakistan's Rahmat Group is in talks with BYD to set up an electric vehicle plant at Nooriabad in Sindh province.

Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has claimed that in three years Pakistan will become the first country to manufacture electric buses, which will be driven by an electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries.

Summary: 

Pakistan is starting to join the clean energy revolution with increasing adoption of solar and recent announcement of National Electric Vehicle Policy.  Solar panel installations in Pakistani homes are rising rapidly. Pakistan PSLM/HIES 2018-19 survey results reveal that 15.2% of all households are using solar panels as source of energy for their homes.  The country has set targets for renewable energy growth and announced National Electric Vehicle Policy.  In recent years,  Pakistan government has introduced a number of supportive policies, including feed-in tariffs and a net metering program to incentivize renewables. These have been fairly successful, and renewables capacity in the country surged substantially over 2018 when 1245 MW was added, of which 826MW was contributed by the solar sector, according to Fitch Solutions.  High-capacity battery pack costs have dropped nearly 40% since 2015, according to Wood Mackenzie data as reported by Wall Street Journal.  Cost reductions are expected to continue to only $8 to $14 per MW-hour by 2020, or about a penny per kW-hour. While production and use of renewable energy are growing, the electric vehicles in Pakistan have yet to find traction. Hopefully, the National EV policy will encourage production and adoption of electric vehicles in the country.  Covid19 pandemic may temporarily slow it down but the upward trend will likely continue.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

South Asia Investor Review

Clean Energy Revolution in Pakistan

Pakistan Electric Vehicle Policy

Nuclear Power in Pakistan

Recurring Cycles of Drought and Floods in Pakistan

Pakistan's Response to Climate Change

Massive Oil and Gas Discovery in Pakistan: Hype vs Reality

Renewable Energy for Pakistan

Digital BRI: China and Pakistan Building Fiber, 5G Networks

LNG Imports in Pakistan

Growing Water Scarcity in Pakistan

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

Ownership of Appliances and Vehicles in Pakistan

CPEC Transforming Pakistan

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Riaz Haq's YouTube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

[Riaz Haq]

“Sales of solar power systems have gone up 80 per cent in the last two years owing to a soaring demand in rural areas where power availability is still a remote possibility,” said M. Saleem Memon, the vice-president of Karachi Electronics Dealers Association (KEDA).

https://www.dawn.com/news/1626781


Mr Memon, who also deals in alternative energy solutions, said sales of solar-powered systems are going on in urban areas but these cannot match the impressive demand in rural areas. He went on to add that in urban areas, residential and educational buildings, private offices and industries are shifting towards the alternative energy option, he said.

Claiming that the price of solar panel systems had been unchanged for the last two years, he said, 5kW and 10kW system (battery, inverter and panels) cost Rs500,000 and Rs1 million, followed by Rs100,000 and Rs200,000 for 1kW and 2kW, respectively.

In rural areas, he said solar energy is also being used to run tube wells and water pumps.

Talking to Dawn, Sikandar Shahzada, the owner of Sikandar and Co, said the boom in construction of highrise buildings, big government projects, vertical expansion in factories, etc has caused an alarming jump in import bill of power generating machines which need 20kVA to 100kVA generators.

A dealer in solar system and generators, Mr Shahzada said that in highrise projects, standby generators are a must to keep lifts moving coupled with ensuring power requirement for water pumping machines in case of power failures.

“People are fast moving towards solar power solutions since power rates and petrol/diesel prices have been going up for the last few years, while many buyers are unable to afford generators due to the rising cost of living,” he said. “Consumers are now well informed regarding affordable living choices and are opting for solar power systems whose sales are 100 per cent up compared to the last two years,” he claimed.

A 20kW solar system is considered feasible as many consumers after consuming low power transfer excess power to K-Electric under a deal for which a separate meter is installed, he explained.

The price of 20kW and 30kW solar systems is Rs1.85m and Rs2.8m, respectively, while the price of one kVA branded Chinese generator now costs Rs32,000 as against Rs26,000 some 10 months back, he said. A 2.5kVA power gadget costs Rs52,000-55,000, up by 15pc compared to price prevailing 10 months back, he added.

Mr Shahzada attributed the hike in generator prices to rising freight charges, global container shortages and soaring copper and steel prices which had offset the impact of low import cost on account of gaining rupee against the dollar in the last nine months.

In August 2020, one dollar was equivalent to Rs168.71 as compared to current inter-bank rate of Rs152-153.

Talking to Dawn, Pakistan Mach­inery Merchants Group (PMMG) President Khurram Saigal said household consumers and small and medium enterprises (SME) are reluctant to purchase generators due to a slowdown in loadshedding in the last few years. “High generator prices and consumer focus towards solar systems has hit sales of these machine. Sales to SMEs are down by 70pc in the last two years,” he claimed.

[Riaz Haq]

#Pakistan to build #solar plants on #canals. Solar plants on canals have already been successfully built in #India, where this technology has shown that solar power can be generated without occupying land and, at the same time, reduce #water evaporation https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/09/20/pakistan-wants-to-build-sola...

The government of Pakistan is planning to build solar plants on top of canals spread across the region of Punjab, which hosts several canal irrigation systems.

The Punjab Power Development Board (PPDB) is currently seeking consultants to conduct a feasibility study for the deployment of solar plants on canals spread across the Gujranwala division, which is an administrative division in northern Punjab; and at the Rakh branch, which is a canal originating from Lower Chenab canal, in Gujranwala, and ending at Samundri, in Faisalabad district.

“Punjab has one of the widest-spread canal network[s] in the region; comprising of lined and unlined channels,” the authority said in the tender document. “Installations of solar PV panels on canal[s] … can avoid [the] use of expensive land for generating environment-friendly power. The generated electricity can be used by nearby localities or industry.”

The selected consultants will have to identify all lined and unlined canal parcels and distributary, minor canals that are suitable for canal-top solar power generation; and suitable power infrastructure located nearby, and select six sites. The deadline to submit proposals has been set for September 30.

According to a recent study from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the United States, solar canals are already competitive with ground-mounted PV. Solar plants on canals have already been successfully built in India, where this technology has shown that solar power can also be generated without occupying land and, at the same time, reduce water evaporation.

[Riaz Haq]

#Solar #energy shines with opportunity for #China, #Pakistan. Key initiatives: solar village electrification for 40,000 villages & 1.1 million solar powered pumps in rural Pakistan. #agriculture #electricity #renewableenergy #Renewables https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202110/01/WS61567d22a310cdd39bc6cc3...


Pakistan's population of 220 million is set to grow at a rate of 1.5 percent annually, which will lead to drastically growing demands for energy. However, energy deficiency has been a serious challenge to the security and economy of the country. Currently, almost 80 percent of Pakistan's energy supply comes from the burning of fossil fuels, such as the oil and gas that Pakistan has to import.

At the same time, Pakistan is blessed with natural resources such as sunlight and wind. According to recent studies, Pakistan's solar potential is estimated to be over 100,000 megawatts. Excellent conditions for harnessing solar energy can be found in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where the sun shines about eight hours daily or approximately 3,000 hours per year. For many Pakistani villagers who live far from the national grid, distributed solar power provides an ideal solution.

Facing the urgency of global climate change, Pakistan has been promoting more environmentally friendly renewable energy in recent years. The government intends to boost the share of clean and green energy to 60-65 percent of the total energy mix by 2030. Some key initiatives have been taken, such as the Solar Village Electrification program, under which more than 40,000 villages that are too far from the national grid to be economically connected now have energy access, and the Solar Powered Efficient Pumps program which is designed to replace 1.1 million water pumps that were previously operated with either insufficient electricity or diesel. The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power in Punjab is the first utility-scale solar power plant in the country.

To promote solar energy, the Pakistani government has also offered a flexible and attractive policy that includes tax incentives and legal protection for the return on investment (which is usually eight years, the highest in the world). Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), further incentives are offered for Chinese investors, along with other preferential treatment.

As the interviews in the book Belt and Road Through My Village have shown, Pakistani people are the beneficiaries of solar energy, which has improved the socioeconomic conditions of the common people, enhanced their income and made their lives more comfortable. Solar energy has served as a catalyst in poverty eradication. People are happy and grateful to their Chinese brethren and welcome more similar development projects to improve their lives. These projects are cost-effective, and, contrary to Western propaganda, they are not debt traps.

China is a world leader in solar energy and has been meeting the worldwide demand. Today, China can share its solar technology, experience and environmental improvement stories with the rest of the world. The Pakistani government's new policies and determination to develop solar energy provide Chinese solar companies and investors, as well as the Pakistani people, a great opportunity to grow together cleanly and sustainably.

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan: World Bank to provide aid for generating 350MW of clean electricity for Karachi
2 solar parks will be established in suburbs of Karachi, each on a 600-acre land

https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/pakistan-world-bank-to-pro...

Under the initiative, two solar parks will be established in suburbs of Karachi each having the area of 600 acres. One of the parks will be established in Maghopir area of District West and the other clean energy facility will be set up in District Malir of Karachi. Each of the park will generate 175 MWs of clean electricity. The project is expected to be completed in two years with a cost of $40 million.


The Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company, which is a subsidiary of Sindh government’s Energy Department, will lay the transmission line for evacuation of electricity from the solar parks. The K-Electric will be the buyer of the clean electricity and will also establish grid stations for the purpose.


Sindh Energy Minister, Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh, said the provincial government is committed to utilise renewable and indigenous resources for clean power generation for the people of Sindh.

He said the utilisation of the solar power would go a long way to protect the Karachi’s environment and also bring down the cost of electricity for the power consumers in the city.

He said the Sindh government had been making speedy progress to utilise solar power to generate electricity as per the international environmental standards.

The Energy Minister mentioned that after establishing solar parks in Karachi, similar clean energy facilities would be established in Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, and other cities of Sindh.

The MoU was signed by the K-Electric’s CEO, Moonis Abdullah Alvi, and Sindh government’s Energy Secretary Abu Bakar Madani. The World Bank’s Country Director in Pakistan, Najy Benhassine, attended the MoU signing ceremony virtually.

[Riaz Haq]

Chinese envoy sees big prospects of Sino-Pak partnership in renewables

https://pakobserver.net/chinese-envoy-sees-big-prospects-of-sino-pa...


Chinese Consul General in Karachi Li Bijian, while speaking as the chief guest at a Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony here, he said for achieving sustained development goals (SDGs) China had made huge progress in green energy as this was future of the world.

China had largest renewable energy resources and cutting-edge equipment and machinery. Pakistan was also making every possible effort for conversion to green energy. It had big potential of renewable energy with Sindh’s better position in solar.

The memorandum of understanding was signed between Chinese Solar Energy Zonergy Company Limited-Pakistan and Altamash General Hospital, Karachi to install 351 KV solar energy plants to feed Altamash’s three health facilities in the city; with expected completion period of three months.

AGH’s Director Dr. Emad Altamash and CEO of Zonergy Company Limited (Pakistan) Xu Hong Chang signed the agreement, which was witnessed by Chairman of Altamash Group, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Altamash, Chairperson of AGH, Dr. Shahina Altamash and Chinese Consul General in Karachi, Li Bijian.

Chinese Consul General said, “I am very impressed by the quality and quantum of medical equipment at Altamash General Hospital.”

He acknowledged Altamash’s health services to the humanity, especially to low income group people. Today, he said, Altamash Group had taken a step forward for conversion to renewable energy.

Being the fastest and tested friends, and big partners in various social and economic sectors, under CPEC China and Pakistan were also increasing their cooperation and partnership in energy sector especially in renewables, which was the only future solution.

For last couple of decades, the two countries had been working together in energy sector i.e. solar, wind and coal power generation.

“My government is committed for renewables,” he reaffirmed.

He described Zonergy as one of leading solar energy companies of China and appreciated the company’s contribution in promoting green energy. During a media chat there, Chinese diplomat congratulated Pakistanis on celebrating their “Pakistan Resolution Day “ and successfully holding great event of two-day OIC Foreign Ministers’ Conference in Islamabad.—APP

[Riaz Haq]

#Solar #Pakistan Expo #Lahore: Sungrow launches 2 key products: Ultra-powerful SG350HX and brand-new generation 3-phase C&I #inverter SG125CX onsite, which can better explore Pakistan's tremendous potential to generate #power from #renewable sources. http://en.ce.cn/Insight/202203/31/t20220331_37451929.shtml

Besides, the solar power giant a 100MW contract with its reliable partner Energy for You, furthering its commitment to renewable energy and fueling the national transition to a low carbon economy.


Pakistan is a perfect place to develop solar power due to its high levels of solar irradiation, and the government also enacts Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan 2021-2030 to facilitate the renewable energy transition. Up to now, 60 percent of Pakistan’s electricity comes from expensive imported fossil fuels and coal. Expanding renewable energy can help Pakistan save about US$ 5 billion in the next two decades. Beyond that, the development of the PV industry has excellent natural conditions in Pakistan, for instance, solar irradiance in Pakistan is 5.3 kWh/m2/day, which means inexhaustible resource for PV power generation. “To help meet Pakistan's targets of clean and green energy, Sungrow expands its cooperation capacity with local distributors to better empower small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as the emerging residential users. The upcoming 100MW sales contract helps provide more clean power for local users in Pakistan,” said Howard Fu, Country Director of Sungrow Pakistan, in an interview with Gwadar Pro.

Since entering the Pakistan market in 2015, Sungrow has made great contributions to the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. It provided inverters for the Zonergy 900MW Solar Power Project, as well as Pakistan's largest cement plant and first plant energy storage system. In 2020, Sungrow won the bid for the photovoltaic construction project of the Presidential Palace of Pakistan to install PV products for the presidential office. At present, it has established a good cooperative relationship with the Pakistani government and many local power enterprises. Sungrow will spare no effort to contribute to CPEC.

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan Private Sector Energy Project
@PFAN_PPSE
#Pakistan can get up to 20% of total power capacity from variable renewable energy simply by focusing on existing substations, mainly resulting in a series of small solar projects - according to ⁦⁦⁦⁦
@WorldBank


https://twitter.com/PFAN_PPSE/status/1529715190018760706?s=20&t...


https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/expanding-solar-a...


Rooftop solar can be delivered quickly and at a relatively low cost, while avoiding the need for additional transmission & distribution infrastructure.

Perhaps there can be a silver lining from the current load shedding--or planned power cuts due to insufficient supply--that is affecting the electricity sector in Pakistan: the immediate implementation of competitive bidding for new solar and wind capacity. For the last few years, the dominant narrative around the electricity sector has been one of “surplus capacity”, which has been used to justify postponing the procurement of new solar and wind. One of the concerns is that because the power sector must pay legacy fossil fuel generators regardless of whether they generate power (this is called “capacity payments”, for the capacity they provide to the system), adding additional capacity will further harm the financial viability of the sector. However, the current crisis illustrates the folly of such short-term thinking.

As highlighted in a report just published by the World Bank – “Variable Renewable Energy Competitive Bidding Study” – competitive bidding, whereby the government contracts for new power supplies through a reverse auction process based on the tariffs offered by different private sector developers, must start in 2022 to meet the requirements of the government’s Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan 2021-2030. This envisages 2 Gigawatts of additional solar and wind capacity coming online from 2024 onwards, with further additions in subsequent years. Previous analysis published by the World Bank suggests that the IGCEP 2021-2030 targets are not ambitious enough, with scope for a more aggressive expansion of variable renewable energy. Considering the heavy reliance on expensive fossil fuels – which have dramatically increased in cost over the last few months – Pakistan would be saving money right now if it had been more ambitious in the past, even allowing for capacity payments.

Pakistan can get up to 20% of total power capacity from variable renewable energy simply by focusing on existing substations.
wind power

Implementation of competitive bidding will need to be taken forward by both the federal government (under the auspices of the Alternative Energy Development Board) and the provincial governments through a coordinated process. In addition to launching a competitive bidding process for the existing “Category 3” projects (those for which Letters of Intent have been issued under the previous policy regime), there is huge potential for quick wins by identifying substations that have surplus integration capacity and then designing a competitive bidding process involving a large number of such sites. As noted by the World Bank in our last study on this topic, the country can get up to 20% of total power capacity from variable renewable energy simply by focusing on existing substations, mainly resulting in a series of relatively small solar projects spread across all provinces.

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan Private Sector Energy Project
@PFAN_PPSE
#Pakistan can get up to 20% of total power capacity from variable renewable energy simply by focusing on existing substations, mainly resulting in a series of small solar projects - according to ⁦⁦⁦⁦
@WorldBank


https://twitter.com/PFAN_PPSE/status/1529715190018760706?s=20&t...


https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/expanding-solar-a...


Rooftop solar can be delivered quickly and at a relatively low cost, while avoiding the need for additional transmission & distribution infrastructure.

Perhaps there can be a silver lining from the current load shedding--or planned power cuts due to insufficient supply--that is affecting the electricity sector in Pakistan: the immediate implementation of competitive bidding for new solar and wind capacity. For the last few years, the dominant narrative around the electricity sector has been one of “surplus capacity”, which has been used to justify postponing the procurement of new solar and wind. One of the concerns is that because the power sector must pay legacy fossil fuel generators regardless of whether they generate power (this is called “capacity payments”, for the capacity they provide to the system), adding additional capacity will further harm the financial viability of the sector. However, the current crisis illustrates the folly of such short-term thinking.

As highlighted in a report just published by the World Bank – “Variable Renewable Energy Competitive Bidding Study” – competitive bidding, whereby the government contracts for new power supplies through a reverse auction process based on the tariffs offered by different private sector developers, must start in 2022 to meet the requirements of the government’s Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan 2021-2030. This envisages 2 Gigawatts of additional solar and wind capacity coming online from 2024 onwards, with further additions in subsequent years. Previous analysis published by the World Bank suggests that the IGCEP 2021-2030 targets are not ambitious enough, with scope for a more aggressive expansion of variable renewable energy. Considering the heavy reliance on expensive fossil fuels – which have dramatically increased in cost over the last few months – Pakistan would be saving money right now if it had been more ambitious in the past, even allowing for capacity payments.

Pakistan can get up to 20% of total power capacity from variable renewable energy simply by focusing on existing substations.
wind power

Implementation of competitive bidding will need to be taken forward by both the federal government (under the auspices of the Alternative Energy Development Board) and the provincial governments through a coordinated process. In addition to launching a competitive bidding process for the existing “Category 3” projects (those for which Letters of Intent have been issued under the previous policy regime), there is huge potential for quick wins by identifying substations that have surplus integration capacity and then designing a competitive bidding process involving a large number of such sites. As noted by the World Bank in our last study on this topic, the country can get up to 20% of total power capacity from variable renewable energy simply by focusing on existing substations, mainly resulting in a series of relatively small solar projects spread across all provinces.

[Riaz Haq]

Sindh govt plans to launch floating solar power project on Keenjhar Lake
Solar panels to generate 500MW of electricity after two years

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2365112/sindh-govt-plans-to-launch-flo...

"Work on the feasibility report of the project is in full swing and it is hoped that the project will start generating electricity in two years time after going through the approval stages," said Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh, adding that Go Company, which was working on the project, was expected to invest US$400 million in the project.

The energy minister’s statement came during his talk with officials from power companies.

He said that this was a unique floating solar power plant project for Pakistan which would not only provide 500 MW of environmentally friendly electricity but would also create employment opportunities in the province.

"Keenjhar Lake will promote tourism and help in controlling load shedding," he added.

Imtiaz Shaikh said that the 500 MW eco-friendly power project was another milestone of the achievements of the Sindh government.

In recent months, Pakistan has seen efforts to increase the instalment and use of solar panels. The government worked towards a comprehensive solar energy package comprising tax waivers and concessionary loans for consumers in a bid to overcome the prolonged power outages that have stalled life in the country.

The solar package would include a short-term plan for shifting government offices to solar energy. It involves the preparation of a plan for helping small consumers to switch over to solar energy with the help of subsidies or concessionary loans.

The government is also planning to waive the general sales tax on all the components used in generating solar energy.

The energy task force, chaired by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, reviewed the solar power plan in a recent meeting. The prime minister constituted the task force on solar energy initiatives with a vision to promote sustainable and green energy.

[Riaz Haq]

In order to encourage the production of renewable energy in the country, the Pakistani government announced on Friday sales tax exemptions on imports of solar panels and their distribution.

http://en.ce.cn/Insight/202206/11/t20220611_37745824.shtml


Presenting the budgetary proposals for the next fiscal year in the National Assembly on Friday, Pakistani Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the energy sector has pivotal importance for the people as well as the industries and trade in the country, adding that at the moment fuel prices were skyrocketing, which made thermal energy expensive. “For these sectors and the people we gave an additional subsidy of 214 billion rupees,” the minister noted.

The Finance Minister proposed tax exemption on import and local supply of solar panels. He said soft loans from banks will be arranged for the people who consume less than 200 units of electricity to purchase solar panels.

The previous government of Prime Minister Imran Khan had imposed a 17 percent general sales tax. The imposition of taxes on solar panels has received criticism from different quarters.

Earlier in May, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the reversal of the decision to tax the solar panels, which will be implemented in FY23.

Chinese companies manufacturing solar panels will have to play a crucial role in the generation of Alternative Renewable Energy (ARE) in Pakistan. At the moment, according to a market survey, more than 90 percent of solar panels and other related equipment are being imported from China. Chinese companies are executing and running solar power projects in Pakistan including 300 MW solar power projects which is operational under the umbrella of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

In a recent interview with Gwadar Pro, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, “solar is very critical to Pakistan’s need today” and added, “I am expecting that China, which has the most experience in the world in solar, will come to Pakistan and help the country get more sustainable energy”. He also welcomed more Chinese companies to come to Pakistan and establish solar panel manufacturing plants in the country.

Pakistan targets an on-grid Alternative Renewable Energy (ARE) generation mix of 20 percent by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030, adding the policy targets the development of ARE projects mainly on competitive bedding, unsolicited mode limited to G2G and new technologies.

Pakistan has a population of over 225 million. Approximately 88 percent of the population has access to electricity while 12 percent remains un-electrified. The annual per capita electricity consumption in Pakistan is around 550 kWh as compared with the world average of 3,081 kWh per capita.

National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2021 with demand supply projects till 2030. Under IGCEP, the current installed capacity of 34,776 MW will become 61,112 MW by the end of 2030. Apart from the committed pipeline projects, the IGCEP requires an addition of 10,062 MW of ARE capacity by 2030.