Pakistan’s Solar Growth Could Save More Than $100 Billion in Fuel Costs

Pakistan’s solar boom is quietly reshaping the country’s energy landscape and could save the economy more than $100 billion in future fuel imports, according to a new study.

A policy analysis titled ‘Electrons In, Hydrocarbons Out: Pakistan’s Quest for Economic and Resource Efficiency’  by think tank Renewables First, shows that by June 2025, Pakistan had already imported about 48 gigawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity, mostly rooftop systems installed by households, farms and businesses, creating a parallel energy system that the official energy data does not fully capture. This solar capacity could help the country avoid around $100 billion to $120 billion in future fossil fuel imports over its lifetime.

The research shows a stark shift in Pakistan’s energy use: instead of buying expensive imported oil, gas and coal for electricity generation, consumers are increasingly turning to distributed solar power. Solar panels imported during the last decade represent long-term energy assets that will continue producing electricity for decades, reducing dependence on volatile global fuel markets.

According to the study, in fiscal year 2023-24 alone, distributed solar systems could have generated an estimated 19 terawatt hours of electricity, nearly one-fifth of the country’s entire grid supply for that year, displacing roughly five million tonnes of oil equivalent in fossil fuels.

Analysts describe this rapid uptake as a structural change in Pakistan’s energy economy, driven by high electricity prices, unreliable grid supply and cheaper solar panel imports. As a result, many consumers and businesses are installing solar panels to cut costs and hedge against power interruptions.

This surge in solar adoption has made Pakistan one of the fastest growing solar markets globally, with distributed solar now contributing a growing share to the nation’s overall electricity generation mix.