Harvesting the sun

As we continue to suffer power outages, even if some improvement in duration is being seen, at least for now, it is clear the country needs to generate a far greater amount of energy, given its growing needs. Conventional sources may never be sufficient to meet the shortfall and in this situation, turning to other means seems like an obvious answer. After all we have to make use of every possible resource and sunshine is one resource we have in abundance. Tapping into the potential of solar energy therefore makes good sense and the opening up of the country’s first solar park at Bahawalpur by the prime minister on May 9 is welcome news.

Naturally, results cannot be instant. Unfortunately, we cannot simply trap sunlight in jars and use it to make machines whir. But it is hoped the park, a joint project of the Punjab government, the Bank of the Punjab and a Chinese firm that will provide technical expertise, will by the end of the year, generate around 100 megawatts (MW) of power and increase this to 1,000MW by 2016. This is a huge step forward and perhaps leads us towards the path we need to follow in the future. Alternative energy is clean, in the long term, cheap, and we, as a nation, have many options with experimental wind turbines already set up along coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan. These initiatives need to be taken forward and the full potential of solar power pulled down, too, out of the sky.

The current government seems committed to solving the energy crisis. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says his government will be endeavouring to eventually generate an additional 21,000MW of power (23,000MW has been generated since Pakistan was created). Adding on a huge amount more and virtually doubling grid capacity would then be a monumental feat. We certainly hope it can be achieved, solving the crippling power crisis. Alternative energy offers solutions and the Bahawalpur park offers hope. We wait to see when the next such venture opens up, bringing the force of nature in to better lives ravaged by the acute energy shortfall we have faced for years.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2014.

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