'REVOLUTION SOLAR ROOFTOPS'

PAKISTAN : There is a silent revolution going on : the rooftop solar energy revolution : giving power to the consumer.

As per official report numbers, Pakistan imported more than 950 megawatts [MW] of solar power capacity in the last financial year, more than in the last four years combined.

Since the contribution of solar energy to the grid is still scaling up, the bulk of the imported solar panels have been installed on rooftops.

If the trend continues, the country might add up to 5,000 MW of rooftop solar panels by 2022 - a no mean achievement.

The chief reason for this sudden increase in solar rooftop installation is the extraordinary poor performance of  power distribution companies [Discos] coupled with a drastic reduction in solar panel prices.

With the country still suffering blackouts  of six hours or more a day, rooftop solar power now provides a viable solution to become entirely independent of the national grid to both urban and semi-urban consumers.

The drop in prices is another reason :

Five years ago, the cost of the same rooftop solar was five times more than it is today. Plus, the marginal efficiencies of solar panels  have also improved, so that more output can now be generated thus reducing costs per unit.

A positive role has been played by the government, which is now pushing for more  solar energy  with friendlier net metering rules and improved regulatory regime.

The connection and regulatory approvals by net metering previously required six months to complete but now only takes a maximum of one month - giving solar installations more agility to close in on new connections and save time and operational costs.

Today, it is estimated that most of the growth in the rooftop segment is driven by commercial and industrial users, largely because the economics has started favouring them.

!WOW! thanks author and researcher Khurram Lalani.