In the last few decades, energy demand has
surged as a function of industrialisation, population growth, inhabitant
density amplification, commercial activity intensification, enhanced space
mobility, de-forestation, etc.
Member
states working on renewable energy around the world are allotted year-on-year
Green House Gas (GHG) emission mitigation targets for reducing the impact of
global warming. These communal gatherings for emission consensus are a result
of 0.2-degree Celsius projected rise in temperature per decade globally due to
emissions in the next two decades.
Even
so, if the concentrations of GHGs were not to change, rise in sea level and
anthropogenic warming would occur for centuries.
Whereas
Pakistan is concerned, it’s current energy mix includes fossil fuels (furnace
oil, natural gas and coal) and renewables (hydroelectric power, wind and solar)
across its geographical vertices. The country stands at 169th place in the
Environmental Performance Index (EPI) out of the 180 countries included in the
study, and this is quite alarming.
With
several policies being passed, frameworks introduced and consultancies being
sought over the last 10+ years, we as a nation have not been able to fully
maximise this energy source as a value addition to the national grid.
Although,
past and present governments consistently claim supply-demand parity, what
remained unanswered is the lack of:
·
Rural electrification due
to a low transmission/distribution network spread or grid proximity (70% of
Pakistan is rural and overall grid connectivity stands at 42% to date)
·
High cost of
well-to-consumer for a multitude of reasons (dilapidated development
infrastructure, shortage of investment, lack of intrinsic resources, security,
etc)
·
Rising fuel import bill
·
Under-utilisation of existing
power plant capacities
·
Shortage of fuel
transport civil linkages
All of
these sources of energy generation are dirty, especially coal, and except
solar.
Solar
is one such clean energy resource that has made strong headway in recent years.
For a country like Pakistan, solar energy is particularly suitable due to its
optimal geographical location. In comparison with many European countries, most
cities in Pakistan receive about 1,500-2,500 hours of sun annually, which is
twice more than that of Europe. Baluchistan is particularly rich in solar
energy with annual mean sunshine duration of 8-8.5 hours per day and these
values are one of the highest in the world.
Unfortunately,
with the technology being clean, cheap and abundant and climate platform ideal,
it is a surprise that solar adoption to this day remains low in Pakistan. It is
pertinent to mention here that solar energy is by far the most popular
renewable energy resource relative to its peers due to its low
operational/maintenance cost, ease of installation/use and zero GHG emissions.
One of
the main challenges comes not from government regulations, theft or
mismanagement, but from the technology itself. Solar has the good fortune and a
bad omen of being relatively easy to set up, compared to other renewables (such
as biogas, hydro, wind, etc).
From
street vendors in Rawalpindi to SMEs all are equally to blame for the muddle in
the solar energy price control, incomplete installations, workforce misuse,
misappropriation of public wealth, indecisive policymaking and unaccountable
billing. The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park is one prime example of such public-private
partnership conundrum, which was hailed as a symbolic beacon of clean energy in
the country.
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