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Pakistan is planning a wave of new wind and solar power plants that will bring its clean energy capacity to about one-fifth of its total capacity.
The South Asian nation plans to quadruple its renewables by adding up to 7 gigawatts to 8 to 9 gigawatts by 2025, said Nadeem Babar, head of the Pakistan Energy Task Force. The new energy policy that aims to increase the country's total production capacity from 40% to 42-43 gigawatts should be approved within a month, he said.
The shift to a clean generation comes after Pakistan almost filled its energy gap by adding a capacity of 10 gigawatts over the past six years, to address the long-term and unannounced power outages in major cities. Most of this capacity consisted of coal and natural gas power plants funded by China under its Belt and Road initiative.
"The general policy is to put more emphasis on renewable energy over the next 10 years," Babar said during a phone interview this month. Hydroelectric generation is not included in renewable energy figures and is expected to account for 35% of the country's capacity by 2025.
While Pakistan has increased its electricity production, its grid is under increasing pressure and many transmission lines are already operating at full capacity. In order to reduce congestion, the country is working with the World Bank to identify the best locations for the installation of new renewable energies.
Pakistan plans to auction the right to build renewable capacity every year starting in December. It will also deregulate clean energy for companies that want to build a wind farm or use solar panels to power private companies, said Babar.
Renewable energy production is also expected to reduce the country's costs related to the import of fuels for energy production such as coal and natural gas. Imports of petroleum products from Pakistan, which feed both power plants and vehicles, accounted for about $ 13 billion of the country's total imports, which amounted to $ 50 billion in the eleven months ended may.
In addition, a $ 3.5 billion joint venture with China to extract coal from the Thar Desert in Pakistan generates electricity for the first time this month.
"Last year, 41% of production was based on imported fuels," said Babar. "It's just too high."
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