Pakistan’s predominant landmass receives an overwhelming quantity of sun irradiation every year.
With an increasing focus of government regulations on sustainable practices and a 60 percent reduction in Photovoltaic cell prices over the past decade Solar Renewable energy in Pakistan experiences a surge in demand, reaching up to 19000 megawatts.
Fig. 1: Pakistan’s direct normal irradiation map
Figure 1 demonstrates that Pakistan has a potential in the category of solar renewable energy.
In addition, many small and medium-sized enterprises are now obtaining electricity through the solar energy distribution system. Companies are becoming more self-sufficient with the help of solar renewable energy, thanks to flexible PV plants such as rooftop solar. Moreover, with lucrative solar financing facilities, organizations are now switching towards solar power for energy needs.
Fig. 2: Shows the overall demand, supply of Solar Energy in Pakistan from 2017-2021
Pakistan’s global collaboration for solar initiatives
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has already planned to invest and promote the initiation of clean energy sources via its multiple renewable energy projects. One of them is covering a 1,000MW solar project.
Quaid-e-Azam solar park is a major project initiated by the government with foreign collaboration. With the help of China, Pakistan was able to build 100MW solar capacity at Bahawalpur City.
In addition, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) assisted the country in constructing a 365W solar facility, bringing in more attention towards the solar investments. As a result, the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) has issued letters of intent to twenty-eight enterprises with a total capacity of 956.52 MW.
These initiatives have encouraged many solar energy companies in Pakistan to continuously bridge the energy and demand gaps in the commercial and industrial sectors (C&I). The solar structures like rooftops, carports, and ground-mount are also facilitating the installation options for all types of enterprises.
UNIDO extends supports to commercial organizations (Featuring Shams Power)
To combat the energy crises in Pakistan, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) started clean initiatives for business entities.
They initiated a substantial energy program to boost the adoption of RE technology in Pakistan’s industrial sectors. They are also encouraging the trend of Solar Project Finance among businesses to go green.
With UNIDO’s assistance, Shams Power has also managed to secure 12 commercial and industrial sites’ power purchase agreements (PPA) Projects. That said, METRO Pakistan (Pvt) Limited, Packages Mall, and AkzoNobel in Lahore, among many, have managed to sign Solar PPA Agreement under this initiative with Shams Power.
Commending the industrial sector’s shift towards renewable energy resources, Omar Malik, Director Business Development of Shams Power Limited, said: “UNIDO and GEF’s Sustainable Energy Initiative has been instrumental in creating market-based adoption of RE technologies and measures in the industrial sectors of Pakistan. Our goal is to scale and replicate this concept throughout Pakistan’s commercial and industrial sites. We believe that we have developed the right expertise and experience with the support of UNIDO that will lead to substantial clean and green industrialization.”
Hence, with UNIDO’s support, knowledge, and experience, Pakistan is now moving one step closer towards a sustained, clean and environment-friendly industrialization.
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