Pakistan’s solar firsts

For a country so abundant in sun, Pakistan has been slow to foray into the ever-expanding group of nations adopting solar energy. Yet, for a country so recently initiated, Pakistan appears to harbor some pretty big solar aspirations. It already boasts its first solar-powered base station (Base Transceiver Station, or BTS site) for mobile phone networks, the product of a joint effort between multinational telecommunications corporation Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. and Pakistani telecom operator Warid. Karachi’s Hamdard University has also recently laid the stone foundation for the university’s—and perhaps Pakistan’s, although the article doesn’t clarify—first solar energy laboratory. Add to that former Pakistan Engineering Council chairman Jameel Ahmed Khan’s statement that solar energy is the country’s only solution to meeting increasing energy demands, and it’s quite possible that we will witness the emergence of another voracious consumer—or maybe prolific producer—of solar technology over the next decade.

The causes for this newfound interest in solar energy are nothing we haven’t seen before, particularly in developing nations. Pakistan, with its sun-baked wide expanses of land and mountains, is well-suited to the widespread adoption of photovoltaic systems. It’s also anxious to decrease dependence on oil and natural gas, and to develop a renewable energy source to the point where the technology becomes affordable to a broader base of its citizenry. The country’s growing numbers of cell phone subscribers highlight the problem of poor telecommunication links outside of the city, where electricity is scarce and access to a grid is not guaranteed, a dilemma Huawei and Warid hope to solve by turning to the self-sufficiency of solar power.

It’s still a bit early to tell, but do you think Pakistan looks like an up-and-coming heavyweight in the world of solar? Granted, the Pakistani solar industry still has a bit of a ways to go, in terms of technological and economic capital, and is still in the giddy stages of its nascence. But a lot can happen with the right initiatives, enthusiasm and intelligent investment.