“I use the solar light for cooking at night. We save money because we had to buy candles and kerosene before. We also use it to charge our mobile phones.” Marvi, Yousaf Babar Village in Sindh, Pakistan
About 250 schools and 12,000 homes in Pakistani villages have so far been lit by solar lights. The program is funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DfID) to help flood-affected people in rural Sindh and Punjab.
Plan International Pakistan and the Punjab education department have rebuilt 400 schools destroyed by floods, and implemented solar panels in 250 schools that did not have electricity. In addition to the solar panel installation, the DfID funded project also provided water and sanitation, school furniture, school paper, schoolbags and uniforms, sports equipment and health education for 54,000 primary school children.
The solar lights cost about $15 each and give sustainable, free light for up to 10 hours after each charge, and can last for up to five years. The cost is recouped within a couple of months, providing excellent value for money, according to DfID sources.
The solar technology is also used for recharging mobile phones, which provide vital communication lifelines in rural areas, enabling people to keep in touch with family and community. The mobile phones are helping reunite displaced families and communities, and helping people to try to get back to a normal life.
In addition to growing number solar energy users in Pakistani villages, the city dwellers are also increasingly turning to solar to cope with frequent power cuts, and gas shortages. There is growing demand for low cost Chinese solar products such as solar street lights, solar garden lights, solar generators, solar heaters, solar water heaters and solar water collectors for industry, according to a report in Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper. Many consumers told ET they prefer solar over UPS (un-interruptible power supplies) and diesel or gas generators.
“Sales of solar energy panels have increased about 40 per cent compared to winter of last year. Sunshine in Pakistan remains for approximately 10 hours a day, which is enough to produce 1,000 watts per square meter. Producing electricity from the sun is very easy,” the paper quotes Tariq Nurani, a solar products dealer, as saying.
The Express Tribune story also features Khawaja Cotton Industries CEO Muhammad Amjad Khawaja who said he invested Rs 5 million for solar water boilers which helped deal with increasing gas load shedding in the textile manufacturing sector.
The rapid cost declines and increasing availability of solar equipment are enabling energy-starved but resilient Pakistanis to cope with the twin shortages of gas and electricity.
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AEDB to launch one wind power project every month, according to Power Engg:
As part of an ambitious strategy of the government to bridge gap between demand and supply of electricity, the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) would launch one wind power project every month. "The 2012 will be remembered as the year of wind power in Pakistan as we are planning to inaugurate one project every month in the current year," an AEDB official told.
Last week, Federal Minister for Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Liu Jian jointly performed the groundbreaking of 50 megawatt wind power project, which would be set up in Jhimpir area of Sindh. The official said that Pakistan has vast potential to generate electricity through alternative energy sources, which is reflective from the fact that alone the Thatta district has the capacity of producing 15,000 MW wind power.
Sources in the board said the project is being executed in collaboration with a Chinese company : Three Gorges : which has been mandated to set up total 20 wind-farms of 50 MW each during next five years.
This is the company's first project in Pakistan, while in total, it is third wind power project initiated in the country, the sources added.
They said that AEDB has set a target to generate 1500 MW wind power by 2013, which seems achievable because of the serious and accelerated efforts of the government.
The government has introduced an 'effective and attractive' renewable energy policy, which is bringing foreign investment in the power sector, the sources said, adding "It is an achievement that renewable and wind energy sectors are attracting the highest amount of private investment as compared to any other sector of the economy."
Special attention is being paid on other resources to produce electricity like hydro, hydel and wind, which are cheapest modes of generating power.
Besides, the focus is being given on the Thar coal reserves to use in power production, they added.
The Thar coal reserves worth $ 25 trillion have potential to generate 5,000 MW electricity for at least 800 years to meet growing energy demand of the country.
While, the power generated from coal gasification is the cheapest than other sources like furnace oil, natural gas and hydel. According to a report, a single reserve in Thar has about 850
trillion cubic feet coal (TCF).
http://www.power-eng.com/news/2012/01/1576631431/aedb-to-launch-one-wind-power-project-every-month.html
I bet the government and the residents in a certain area that uses Solar Powered Energy is able to save a hefty amout of money since it is more affordable, efficient and environmental friendly. I am hoping that our government here in Australia would also encourage and push through the use of solar energy. Thanks for posting this, it's quite encouraging.
Here's an assessment of the impact of energy crisis in Pakistan by Sky News:
Energy shortages across Pakistan are crippling the country's economy and costing businesses millions in lost productivity.
Electricity is cut off for hours at a time, fuel is rationed at filling stations and people are forced to run expensive generators to keep their homes lit.
Pakistan is not producing enough power to meet the growing demand and economists estimate the shortages are shaving 2% off its gross domestic product.
At one time most of the world's hand-stitched leather footballs were made in the town of Sialkot in the Punjab.
It is still a profitable business, but only just.
The power cuts keep production lines idle for hours at a time, orders take longer to make, some have to be flown abroad at great expense to make their deadlines rather than shipped.
"The energy crisis has been here for the last five or six years but it has become very severe over the past couple of years, very very severe," manager Ali Sheikh told Sky News.
"At times it is as if the government is trying to shut industry down altogether. It seems deliberate at times."
Add to that rising unemployment, a negligible tax collection rate, rampant corruption and a security situation that puts buyers off from travelling to Pakistan.
Businessman Asad Bajwa believes many foreigners are now reluctant to visit his factory in Sialkot and orders are down 40%.
But do not write Pakistan off just yet, one leading economist says.
Dr Rashid Amjad , the Vice Chancellor of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics in Islamabad, said: "The bottom line is we need to revive growth as soon as we can.
"The government has to give it the highest priority and go in for serious economic thinking to ensure macro-economic stability.
"But I still come back to the basic fact that there is a resilience in its people and a resilience in its economy.
"Everybody thinks Pakistan is going to collapse - it never has."
http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16163280
Here's an Energy Matters report on solar lights for flood affected villagers in Pakistan:
A cheap Australian-designed solar light is changing lives in developing nations, including 80,000 refugees in Pakistan still struggling to rebuild after the country suffered devastating floods a year ago.
As we've reported before, the adverse effects caused by the estimated one billion people living off the grid in poor countries who use kerosene lamps for lighting often outweigh their benefits.
Kerosene can account for a third of a family’s monthly income and toxic fumes from the lamps, which are often included in aid packages, can cause a number of illnesses. Soot and carbon dioxide created when burning kerosene also adds to the world's carbon emission woes.
Recognising the problem, Melbourne inventor Shane Thatcher founded illumination Solar in 2010, and the Mandarin Ultra solar light was born.
The Mandarin Ultra can provide up to four times more light than a kerosene lamp from 12 super-bright LEDs, illuminating a room for up to eight hours on a full charge, which is sourced by exposing the Ultra’s back solar panel to sunlight for six hours or more.
At a cost of less than $10 per unit, the Mandarin Ultra is touted to be the cheapest, quality solar light in the world. It costs a fraction of competing designs because it was designed with the income level of the target customer and the generation of UN accredited carbon credits in mind.
"What makes the lights affordable is the generation of carbon credits as the lights are sold and used. We worked with our alliance partner, CarbonSoft (a Standard Bank joint venture) on the complex accreditation program," says Liz Aitken, illumination’s CFO.
The governments of Britain, the USA, Japan and the EU have all bought the new lights and supplied them to refugees via the International Organisation for Migration.
"We created this light for the billion people who live off the grid and survive on less than a dollar a day. Buying fuel for a kerosene lamp can take a third of their income, the kerosene fumes are polluting, and the lanterns often start fires," Thatcher says.
http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3098
Here's an Express Tribune story on solar water pumps for Balochistan:
Ministry of National Food Security and Research has planned to introduce a pilot project of Solar Irrigation Pumping System in selected districts of Balochistan at an initial cost of Rs520 million.
Sources in the ministry said that Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Mir Israrullah Zehri would take the pilot project to his own province and introduce it in selected districts of Balochistan.
Major chunk of the project cost worth Rs492 million will be borne by the federal government and Rs28 million by the amers/beneficiaries. Under the project, as many as 190 solar pumps will be installed. According to the documents available with The Express Tribune, the objective of the project is bringing potential areas under cultivation, generating livelihood and improving the socio-economic conditions of the farmers/community. The water will be used for both irrigation and drinking purposes.
Lack of water severely constrains agricultural development in Balochistan, according to some reports only 1.5 million hectares of Balochistan’s 35 million hectares are under cultivation.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/330702/innovation-solar-irrigation-system-for-balochistan/
China's solar push has cut solar energy prices down to 17 cents per KWhr vs 12 cents per KWhr for wind, reports Bloomberg:
For years, solar took a back seat to wind as China’s preferred form of renewable energy. Solar was less efficient and cost about four times as much per kilowatt hour of production. As raw materials costs for panels have fallen, that gap has narrowed, says Ming Yang, vice president for business development at Shanghai panel maker JA Solar (JASO). Today, producing a kilowatt hour of solar power costs about 17¢, he says, vs. 12¢ for wind, and prices are falling fast.
That’s gotten the attention of Chinese officials. “There’s been a big change in the mindset of policy makers,” says Yang, whose company is on track to sell “north of 20 percent” of its production in China this year, more than double last year’s share. Like most in the industry, JA has benefited from an initiative dubbed Golden Sun that offers state support to developers of solar installations. Although introduced in 2009, Golden Sun started to take hold last year, when the government approved more than 600 Mw of projects. NPD Solarbuzz says there will be about 1,000 Mw of new Golden Sun projects in 2012.
Like Europe, China has started requiring “feed-in tariffs”—guaranteed prices utilities must pay solar power producers for their electricity. Though the rate fell to 16¢ per kilowatt hour this year from 18¢ in 2011, with production costs falling the lower amount is plenty, says NPD Solarbuzz analyst Ray Lian. “If this rate is maintained, we expect to see another surge in installations,” he says.
A larger Chinese market should be good news for renewable energy worldwide, with growing demand from China helping shore up prices at a time Europe is reassessing its solar energy policies. On Feb. 23, German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said his country would cut its assistance by as much as 29 percent. Although U.S. producers such as First Solar (FSLR) have made little headway in China, the country’s growth “will open up a much-needed source of demand,” says James Evans, a senior analyst with researcher Bloomberg Industries in London. A bigger Chinese market “will continue to allow the cost of solar technology to come down,” Evans says, “even without the European subsidized markets.”
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-15/firing-up-chinas-solar-market
Here's an excerpt of an AFP report on solar adoption in Pakistan:
Arif Allaudin, who heads the Alternate Energy Development Board, would like to see more of that help coming from renewable sources, saying there was a 2.4 million megawatt potential for solar energy alone in Pakistan.
Niaz Ahmed Kathia, director of private company Alternate Energy Systems, said abundant and free sunshine was the answer to Pakistan's energy woes.
"Energy is our biggest issue, more than terrorism, and if we replace our one million tubewell pumps with solar ones, we can save 7,000 megawatts," Kathia told AFP at the demonstration of a solar well in the capital.
The majority of Pakistan's tubewell pumps, which pump out underground water, run on the strained national grid or on diesel power.
There is no pretence that solar power is the only answer, but this month the prime minister ordered the government to provide solar electricity in remote villages far from the national grid.
The government described renewable energy as the "investor's choice" and said the private sector has offered to produce 1,500 megawatts a day.
In the mountains of Kashmir there is no gas pipeline and in the cold winter months electricity bills are prohibitively expensive.
In Azam's hometown of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, solar panels light up a public park and mosques.
Solar street lights are also being installed slowly in cities such as Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi.
Pakistan's first on-grid solar power station, capable of producing 178.9 kilowatts, began test operations in Islamabad this month with a grant of $5.4 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
"It is a seed for thousands more solar power plants," Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, a former chairperson of the Pakistan Engineering Council told AFP.
This winter Pakistan suffered a two billion cubic feet a day shortage of natural gas -- usually the mainstay of millions delivered to homes and industry via pipelines -- sparking protests and forcing factories to lay off labourers.
The trouble is remedial plans are only at an embryonic stage.
"We plan to promote the use of solar geysers as the gas shortage is becoming acute," petroleum and natural resources minister Asim Hussain said.
"The gas companies would install solar water heaters at consumer premises and deduct the amount in installments in the gas bills," he added.
Power generated during sunlight hours can be stored in deep cycle lead acid batteries to power lights, radios, televisions and fans at night.
Norwegian company Telenor says it has set up 50 solar-powered cell sites, mostly in remote areas, capable of reducing 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per site by saving over 940 litres of diesel a month.
Traders say demand has certainly risen. A 170-litre (37-gallon) capacity solar geyser starts from 27,000 rupees ($300) and a 218-litre version for 32,000 rupees as a one-time cost.
"Solar geysers can reduce gas bills considerably. The technology is not only environment friendly but also pocket friendly," said vendor Shakil Ahmed.
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Energy+starved+Pakistan+eyes+solar+power/6365467/story.html
Here's a pvtech.org story on solar powered wells in Pakistan:
Syncronys International has announced it has received an order valued at US$4.5 million to install 400 solar powered well pumps in Pakistan.
Although financing and insurance is still pending, the company envisions around 9,000 additional solar well installations throughout the region over the next three years.
Rex Gay, Syncronys CEO, said. "We are very gratified to be able to utilize our technology to provide reliable, durable, and simple to use solar pump systems to supply water for rural Pakistan communities.”
Syncronys offers a comprehensive product and technology strategy to provide a wide range of green energy applications, Micro Utility, Micro Grid and Smart Grid initiatives on any domestic and international level.
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/syncronys_to_receive_us4.5_million_order_from_pakistan_for_400_solar_powere
Here's a Daily Times report on Korean investment in 300 MW solar farm in Pakistan:
Global R&BD Division of CX Korea has informed after completion of formalities of NEPRA, Ministry of Water and Power etc their company would initiate project of establishment of 10 mw solar energy plant, which would later be extended upto 300 mw power generation through solar energy.
A four-member delegation of CX Korea Inc related to solar energy project, led by its Executive Director, Ko Young Sun informed CM Sindh Qaim Ali Shah the 10 mw plant would be ready by December this year and firstly the plant would be extended upto 100 mw while later it would be extended upto 300 mw by 2015. Sun said Germany and Korea have made good achievements in solar energy and Korean Global construction would fulfill the requirements and initiate and complete the project as per commitment. He informed KAPCO-Daewoo Engineering would provide project financing and for the purpose. They required 1200-acre land for 300 mw project as the project need four acre land per one mw power through solar energy. Qaim Ali Shah said the provincial government has made arrangements for provision of infrastructure and facilities to the investors.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\05\08\story_8-5-2012_pg5_3
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