Solar power generation should not be part of the national grid. Instead, it should be community-based and managed at the local level. Also, this is high time to opt for solar energy because solar power equipment has become quite cheap thus reducing the cost of installation and its operating costs are negligible, said some leading energy experts.
Amjad Mumtaz is of the view that going for renewables like solar is a good option but it should not be part of the national grid. Instead, it should be community-based and managed at the local level.
According to him, the investors dealing with housing and real estate should be given the incentive to make arrangements for solar parks in housing societies. This will also reduce the load on national grid and agreements for import/export of power during peak/off-peak hours would be possible, he added.
He said the up-gradation of transmission and distribution system is the need of the hour for system stability. We have got enough generation capacity but without augmentation of the national grid and low industrial growth, he added.
He is quite hopeful that the HVDC Lahore-Matriari Transmission Line would be a successful venture to be commissioning timely.
Suleman Najib said if Pakistan does not generate 80 percent from renewables, including hydel, solar, wind, and biomass, in the next 27 years then we would fail as a nation.
"Germany had solar PV of 34GW in 2013 which was twice our total power generation mix," he added. According to him, the old ratio 70:30 of hydel and thermal has now changed into 80:20 of RE and thermal generation.
Tahir Basharat Cheema, another energy expert, however, termed it a conservative approach and stressed the point that Pakistan would need to have AREs to the tune of 100 percent by the end of the next quarter of a century.
Former Director-General of Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Muhammad Khalid said this is high time for going for solar energy because solar power equipment has become quite cheap thus reducing the cost of installation and its operating costs are negligible.
According to him, many industrial concerns are in the process of installing solar power nowadays.
It may be noted that the power division has already finalized the draft of renewable energy policy, envisaging 25 percent of total generation capacity from alternative and renewable energy technologies by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030.
Pakistan produces only five percent of electricity from renewable power - mainly from wind, a bit of solar, and a little from bagasse as captive power plants in sugar mills.
The government decided to move to a renewable energy-reliant economy by 2030 in which hydropower would be the backbone. To keep pace with the demands, this would require the development of additional generation capacity of 20 gigawatts of hydropower, wind and solar.
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