CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) of Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) Dr Rana Abdul Jabbar Khan delivered a thought-provoking address to the Ist Virtual Conference on Solarization of Pakistan – a moot that deliberated upon the solar power potential of the country and how to exploit this valuable resource. He emphasized that solar power is the way forward for Pakistan to safeguard its energy security and to lower the basket price of electricity for the consumers in the country. He said that Pakistan should massively take advantage of its presence in one of the best solar zones of the world.
Pakistan has realized its cherished objective of generating enough electricity to meet its growing demand but the achievement has come at a significant cost and the higher generation cost has led to unbearable burden both on consumers as well as the distribution companies that find it next to impossible to overcome the issue of rising circular debt. It is also a fact that the benefits of surplus generation are not reaching out to the consumer due to worn out system of transmission and distribution, the replacement of which requires staggering investment over a longer period of time. Under these circumstances, alternative energy offers solution to most of our energy woes and it is encouraging that the agency responsible for development of renewable resources is mindful of the challenge and taking steps to help resolve problems of the energy sector. With eight to nine hours of sunshine per day the climatic conditions in Pakistan are ideal for solar power generation. According to studies, Pakistan has 2.9 million megawatts of solar energy potential besides photovoltaic opportunities. The potential is there but we have so far not been able to exploit even a fraction of it mainly due to lack of vision and proper policies besides tendency of politicizing even developmental initiatives. Apart from encouraging indigenous research and development in the field, Pakistan can attract global companies of repute to invest in the field provided we offer right kind of incentives and bank loans for solar projects.
