Suntech proposes 100MW of solar projects in Pakistan

Jun 7, 2012 - Nilima Choudhury - pv-tech.org

Pakistan's slow economic growth and energy shortage could be coming to an end if proposals from Suntech to establish 100MW in the country are realized. Speaking at a meeting attended by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Minister for Water and Power, Naveed Qamar, secretaries of the ministries of EAD, Water and Power, chairman NEPRA, CEO AEDB, Pakistan's ambassador to China and senior officials of relevant ministries, Dr Shi Zhengrong, chairman of Suntech, announced plans for the phased installation of plants with a generating capacity of 20MW each.

Suntech has been instructed to construct plants for solar on-grid projects as well as solar water pumping in Balochistan and other areas of Punjab and Sindh to meet the irrigation needs of agricultural sector.

Addressing the delegation, Prime Minister Gilani said that it was necessary to exploit such a cheap and abundant renewable source of energy, with many investment opportunities available in this fast growing sector. Gilani also inaugurated the country's first on-grid solar power generation system, which would produce an electricity of 178MW.

In April, we reported that the World Bank recently allocated US$1.8 billion for Pakistan in order for the country to develop projects in the energy and water sectors. The announcement was made by Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh after a meeting with Isabel Guerrero, president of World Bank.

The company will be following in the footsteps of others, like Conergy, who earlier this month partnered with DPGCL to build a 50MW solar park in Bahawalpur, in the Cholistan region.

The chairman of Suntech insisted he would visit the areas of Pakistan which were most suitable for the solar projects the company would undertake in future.