Page 8 - AsiaElec Week 29 2021

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Wind, solar to account for 7%

of electricity in Pakistan

PAKISTAN RENEWABLES will soon account for 7% of our best to achieve it,” said the AEDB chief.
Pakistan’s power output, with 2,000 MW of green He said that they had been waiting for the
capacity currently operating in the country. finalisation of the generation expansion plan
Shah Jahan Mirza, CEO of the country’s by the government, as this would be helpful to
Alternative Energy Development Board determine the exact year-wise need to generate
(AEDB), told a local energy conference that clean electricity to overcome the energy short-
another 850 MW of wind and solar capacity was fall in the country. He assured the participants
under construction. that more electricity would be drawn from the
He added that solar and wind projects were wind and solar power projects already functional
facing the problem of non-payment of bills for in the country with an increase in nationwide
power generated. energy demand.
The problem is widespread throughout the Of Pakistan’s 207mn people, roughly 58mn
country, as end-users do not pay bills, meaning lacked access to grid electricity in 2018, includ-
that retailers also do not have the cash to pay ing 46% of the rural population.
generators. Pakistan recently opened the $1.7bn, 660-kV
Mirza said that AEDB was looking to intro- Matiari-Lahore power line as part of government
duce a system of international competitive bid- efforts to use Chinese money and technology to
ding to promote green electricity generation. shore up the country’s power grid.
Prosun Solar CEO Muhammad Tahir told Pakistan has inaugurated the Chinese-built
the conference that his company was working to second reactor at the Karachi nuclear power
introduce solar-powered appliances in off-grid plant (NPP), known as K-2, the first Hualong
areas. One reactor to be built outside China.
A major problem was the sale and usage of The 1,100-MW reactor is the sixth in Pakistan
sub-standard solar equipment and products and will help meet the country’s growing energy
in the country, he said, and he wanted the reg- needs.
ulatory authorities to prevent the sale of such Pakistan is also rich in hydropower resources
equipment. but only around 16% of its identified hydro-
He said the solar energy sector had a very power potential has been harnessed.
bright future in Pakistan as the country had The country’s power sector is reliant on
massive potential to produce electricity using imported fuel-based power generation and is
alternative power resources. burdened with a stressed transmission and dis-
“We have an ambitious target of clean elec- tribution network.™
tricity generation in the country but we will try

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