Converting 30,000 Tube Wells to Solar Energy May Cost Rs. 300 Billion

A government-funded project to convert 30,000 tube wells in Balochistan to solar energy at an estimated cost of Rs. 300 billion is under consideration.

This was revealed in a meeting of the Energy Task Force that was presided over by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad today.

The provision of solar power generation plants to citizens, including a net metering facility, was also discussed in the meeting.

The premier remarked that solar energy is a clean, cheap, and environment-friendly way of generating electricity. He added using solar energy will help to prevent distribution losses, power thefts, and revolving loans.

PM Sharif underscored that electricity generated from solar energy will be cheaper and will lessen the burden of inflation on the people.

“With this in mind, we are launching Pakistan’s first comprehensive solar energy policy,” he said.

The premier mentioned that the policy will be implemented in consultation with the provinces and added that the government is trying to make the country self-sufficient in the energy sector.

The attendees of the meeting were given a detailed briefing on the steps being taken for the promotion of solar energy in the country. They were informed that a proposal to convert fuel-powered powerhouses in the country to solar energy is under consideration besides a proposal for generating solar energy via 2,000 feeders at 11 kV.

Additionally, a detailed review of the proposal to convert government buildings across the country to solar energy was taken up in the meeting. The attendees were told that solar power plants of up to 1,000 MW will be installed on government buildings on a BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, Transfer) basis.

Furthermore, suggestions for B2B solar wheeling and mini solar grids were also considered.

PM Sharif commended the Solar Energy Task Force points and called for all the provinces to be intimated about the ideas.

He also asked why it was thought that all the provinces could cooperate on alternative energy projects.

The meeting concluded on the note that the National Solar Energy Policy will be announced on 1 August but its implementation will be subject to the approval of the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

The attendees also decided that the buildings of the PM House and the PM Office will be converted to solar energy on an emergency basis, and orders were issued to the concerned authorities in this regard.

The meeting was attended by the Federal Minister for Energy, Engineer Khurram Dastgir; the Federal Minister for Finance, Miftah Ismail; the Federal Minister for Planning, Ahsan Iqbal; the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Maryam Aurangzeb; the Minister of State for Petroleum, Musaddiq Malik; and concerned senior officials. The Chief Secretaries of the four provinces attended the meeting via video link.