Solar power in Pakistan
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Solar power in Pakistan is growing at the "most extreme" rate in the world, with solar installations providing an estimated one-third of the country's entire generating capacity added in 2024 alone.[1] Solar power became part of the energy mix in 2013, following government policies aimed at supporting renewable energy development. Benefiting from nine and a half hours of sunlight daily, the country now has seven large-scale solar projects that contribute 530 MW to the national grid, along with a growing number of harder to measure off-grid projects. Rising electricity costs and grid reliability concerns have driven industries, businesses, and urban homeowners to increasingly turn to solar solutions, including rooftop photovoltaic installations.[2]
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The country has solar plants in Pakistani Kashmir, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. Initiatives are under development by the International Renewable Energy Agency, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Chinese companies, and Pakistani private sector energy companies. The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Park (QASP) was built in the Cholistan Desert, Punjab, in 2015 and has a 400 MW capacity.[3] As electricity prices doubled from 2021 to 2024, and Chinese solar panel manufacturers with manufacturing overcapacity cut prices,[4] Pakistanis have taken to installing solar panels around the country, importing $1.4 billion of panels from China in the first half of 2024.[5]
Solar resource
Solar irradiance in Pakistan is 5.3 kWh/m2/day.[6]
Government policy
Summarize
Perspective
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the Federal Minister of Water & Power of Pakistan, announced on 2 July 2009 that 7,000 villages would be electrified using solar energy by 2014. Senior adviser Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa stated that the Punjab government would begin new projects aimed at power production through coal, solar energy and wind power; this would generate additional resources.[7]
The Government of Pakistan allowed the provincial government of Sindh to conduct feasibility research. The government planned to install a desalination plant powered by solar energy.[8]
On 21 May 2022, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the removal of 17 per cent general sales tax on solar panels.[9]
The World Bank reports that Pakistan possesses a solar power potential of 40 GW and has set a goal to achieve 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025. To promote the use of solar energy, Pakistan has introduced incentives, including net metering and feed-in tariffs.[10] Net metering allows small systems to have a payback period of just 2-4 years.[11]
The Sindh and Punjab provincial governments announced policies in 2024 to provide free or subsidized solar panels to low income residents to reduce their electricity costs.[5]
Projects
- Beaconhouse installed the first high quality integrated solar energy system with a 10 kW power generation capacity capable of grid tie-in at Beaconhouse Canal Side Campus, Lahore. It was a pilot project for BSS designed by U.S. consultants, based upon feasibility by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).[12][13]
- 50 to 100 MW of photovoltaics is expected to be installed in 2013, and at least 300 MW in 2014.[14] In May 2015, 100 MW of a planned 1,000 MW were installed in the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park.[15]
- The progress of net metering in Pakistan up to 31 October 2021 is 2188 MW commissioned systems.[16]
- Muzaffargarh solar power project
- The Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP), funded by the World Bank with $100 million, aims to enhance solar power generation in Sindh Province.[17] It encompasses utility-scale solar development, distributed solar installations on public buildings, and the deployment of solar home systems in areas with limited grid access.[18]
- To avail the Net Metering Facility in Pakistan you need to install minimum of 10 KW solar system with on-grid inverter and 20 solar panels.[citation needed]
- In February 2025, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif inaugurated a subsidized solarization project for agricultural tube wells in the province.[19] About 87% of these wells are currently powered by diesel or grid power.
See also
References
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