Business

Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park to get 900MW upgrade

NEPRA has already approved upfront solar power tariff

APP January 29, 2016

Officials suggested giving each house in far-off villages a solar panel, which would be cost effective and save investment in transmission lines, as connecting such remote areas to the national power grid was very costly. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: The government has planned to generate an additional 900 megawatts of electricity from the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, which is already producing 100MW of renewable energy.

Of the 900MW, the solar park’s phase-II would generate 300MW and its phase-III would produce 600MW, officials told APP.

Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park: Solar energy’s 100MW to arrive in April

In a landmark decision, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has already approved upfront tariff for delivery of solar electricity to the purchaser.

Solar energy is clean, environmentally friendly and renewable and also provides carbon credits. The overall cost of such projects is very much competitive.

According to the officials, though per-megawatt cost of solar power is higher at the beginning of a project, a subsequent decline in the cost makes it financially viable in the medium term. Its installation is easy and quick and it could play an important role in addressing the energy crisis.

They said the low operation and maintenance cost of the solar power project was an added advantage, which would mean less reliance on import of fossil fuels and no worry about depletion of domestic natural resources like gas.

They suggested giving each house in far-off villages a solar panel, which would be cost effective and save investment in transmission lines, as connecting such remote areas to the national power grid was very costly.

PM inaugurates 100MW solar plant in Bahawalpur

Many countries such as the US, Germany, Australia, Brazil, the UK, Japan, India, China and Thailand are now generating electricity in bulk through the solar system.

Pakistan receives one of the best solar irradiation in the world and has the potential to generate over 2.324 million megawatts per annum through solar thermal and photovoltaic systems but the potential is yet to be tapped.

The net metering regulations, recently introduced by the federal government, have also paved the way for establishing a flexible regulatory regime where a consumer can install solar panels and sell excessive electricity to a distribution company by following a short, simple and easy process.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2016.

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COMMENTS (5)

zaid | 8 years ago | Reply @dost mohammed: how can a solar PV plant give " reactive " power at night, could you please enlighten us

dost mohammed | 8 years ago | Reply The cost of a power plant should be measured in terms of its Rs per kWh (electricical energy) output not the MW nameplate rating. The MW rating depends on several different factors and nomenclature conventions/assumptions - it can therefore be misleading especially for comparisons between different power sources. Solar if properly planned is cheaper than other sources even in countries with their own fossil fuels. Solar plants being set up in different countries now produce electricity at as low as 6 US cents per kWh. Large grid-connected plants have several advantages over distributed solar rooftops. Solar electricial output is not continuous so the grid can be used to allocate it according to demand. Large plants are also less affected by clouds as clouds cannot cover all of the plant at once. Economies of scale in setting up a large plant result in a cheaper installation cost. It can also help the grid by supplying "reactive power" at night. In short, large grid-connected solar plants are the inevitable future for the whole world including Pakistan.