More companies are looking to develop solar power projects in
Pakistan, as the Asian country struggles to meet the rising power
demand, and struggles with an extreme heat wave. Norwegian company Scatec Solar entered an agreement
with the government of Pakistan to set up large-scale solar power
projects. The company will set up this capacity through three projects,
the locations of which have not yet been revealed.
The agreement was signed between representatives of Scatec Solar and
the government of Pakistan during the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif to Oslo. Pakistan is looking to develop large-scale renewable energy projects
to boost power generation. The country has been facing acute power
shortage for several years now, and the Pakistan government has often
been criticised for falling to meet the power demand across the country.
Pakistan is already working on the 1 GW Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, the first phase of which was recently commissioned,
with its 100 MW capacity connected to the power grid on 20 April. Work
on the second phase in the solar power project has already started,
with an additional 300 MW capacity expected to be added by the end of
this year. The third and final phase of the project will add 600 MW
capacity by the end of 2016.
Pakistan has been facing power grid failures for past several weeks. A
number of power plants frequently trip due to transmission imbalances
leading to blackouts in large parts of the country. The power supply situation in the country is so extremely dire that Iran has offered to sell 3,000 MW electricity at lower rates.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/09/scatec-solar-set-150-mw-solar-power-pakistan/