Pakistan crosses historic milestone in solar power use
Business
Pakistan has achieved a historic milestone in renewable energy as the use of solar power has now surpassed electricity drawn from the national grid during the summer season, according to a new report
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan has hit a major turning point in its energy journey as solar power use has overtaken the national grid supply for the first time in history.
According to a report by the Policy Research Institute for Equitable Development, electricity generation from the national grid stood between 28 to 30 gigawatts during the summer, while consumers utilized up to 33 gigawatts of solar energy.
The report noted that solar panels worth 50 gigawatts have been imported into Pakistan, while the total installed capacity of the national grid stands at about 46 gigawatts.
Among provinces, Punjab took the lead in solar adoption, followed by Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.
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The residential sector topped the list with 16.66 gigawatts of solar energy use, followed by the industrial sector (7.91 GW), agricultural sector (5.04 GW), and commercial sector (3.73 GW).
The report also highlighted that 77% of electricity consumers now rely on solar systems, while only 23% still depend on the national grid.
