Currently in the throes of an energy crisis due to a massive reduction in hydro-electric power generation, Pakistan is looking towards solar energy to make up the deficit.
On Friday, China offered a partnership for generating and manufacturing solar power equipment in Pakistan to help meet its growing power shortages. China says it is ready to send technicians to assist with the introduction and manufacturing of cost effective solar panels in the country as a means of not only addressing energy issues but also to create many new job opportunities in Pakistan.
China’s courting of Pakistan may upset the Australian coal industry’s apple cart as the industry has already expressed interest in setting up two 1000 MW coal fired power plants in the country. It could be seen as somewhat ironic that the environmental and energy issues facing Pakistan, which go hand in hand, are related to climate change; a phenomenon that’s been attributed to greenhouse gas emissions such as those created by the burning of coal.
According to Pakistan’s Solar Energy Resource Centre, the country receives an average of about 5 kilowatts per square metre of solar energy per day. Pakistan is facing serious energy problems as 95 per cent of its electricity generation comes from hydro-electric sources, which cannot keep pace with demand in its increasingly dry months.
Additionally, around 70 per cent of the population live in thousands of villages scattered around the country, many of which are far from main transmission lines and as such, it’s not economically viable to connect these villages to the grid. The Centre says that solar energy has excellent potential in reaching these people.
