Pakistan Parliament gets 1MW China-funded solar project

Solar_Panels_Parliament_Pakistan

Pakistan has formally inaugurated the installation of a 1 megawatt photovoltaic system at its parliament building.

The system, which uses multicrystalline solar modules made by Chinese PV manufacturer Yingli, is capable of generating 1.6 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

The system, fully financed by China, was inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Islamabad recently.

The Pakistani government has expressed hope that installation of the PV array will be completed by June, a report said.

The installation could reduce the electricity costs of the building by about $275,631 each year.

The 17th Bureau Group of China Railway is overseeing the engineering, procurement and construction of the project for which Yingli is supplying its YGE 60 Cell Series panels.

Solar energy projects have a huge potential in Pakistan as the country receives abundant solar radiation and is also suffering from severe electricity shortage.

The energy mix of the country is currently dominated by oil and gas.

Last year, Pakistan introduced a feed-in-tariff scheme which is applicable to solar power plants of capacity between 1 MW and 100 MW.

The scheme comes with varying rates in the north and south of the country.

The government also approved a net energy metering system, which allows solar panel purchasers to sell the power they produce to the national grid, late last year.

Among comparable installations globally, the unit in the Pakistani parliament has surpassed capacity at the Knesset of Israel.

The 450-kW system at Knesset was inaugurated last month and was claimed as the largest photovoltaic system on any parliament building in the world.

Unlike Pakistan’s Chinese-funded array, the Knesset solar system cost $610,000 to build and was funded by Israeli taxpayers. Used JA Solar PV modules were used for building the project.

Reports earlier had suggested that Pakistan was shifting its focus away from solar and wind development to liquefied natural gas.

Reports suggested that new solar and wind energy projects were being halted owing to the high costs of such projects compared with conventional ones producing electricity.

Ajith Kumar S

[email protected]