Islamabad, Oct 1: Pakistan Becomes Second-Largest Market for Chinese Solar Products Amid Energy Transition. For Chinese photovoltaic (PV) producers, Pakistan has become a major new market that fits with its path toward energy transformation. As per the data provided by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), Asia surpassed Europe to become the primary destination for PV product exports in the first half of 2024, with Pakistan emerging as the second largest market for module exports, following Europe.
Pakistan Becomes Second-Largest Market and China shipped inverters to Pakistan for a total of RMB 1.714 billion over that same time period. The overall value of inverter shipments to Pakistan in August alone was 326 million yuan, representing a 429.04% increase in value from the previous year. And today, a dizzying array of factories, residences, medical facilities, and mosques are covered in sparkling blue panels.
China Economic Net said on Tuesday that Pakistan must quickly switch to new energy power generation, as evidenced by the sharp increase in photovoltaic and related product exports. During the Investment and Trade Forum for Cooperation between East and West China, Pakistani trader Abbas stated, “People are trying to find their own way out because electricity prices continue to rise.”
There is a lot of space for improvement: as of June 2023, Pakistan Becomes Second-Largest Market and now Pakistan’s installed solar power capacity was 630 megawatts, or 1.4% of the country’s total installed electricity capacity.The World Bank’s Global Solar Atlas data indicates that, in terms of natural conditions, a 1KW household photovoltaic system can achieve an average annual total photovoltaic output power of 1990kWh (or roughly 1990 hours of sunlight).
Which is approximately 41% and 59% higher than in New Delhi, India, and Shandong Province, China, respectively. Similarly, the Global Tilted Irradiance (GTI) can reach 2536.5KWh/square meter, which is approximately 36% and 61% higher than in New Delhi, India, and Shandong Province, China, respectively.
Policy-wise, the Pakistani government has been actively promoting the growth of renewable energy for the past several years. Establishing a strategic objective to raise the proportion of alternative and renewable energy in Pakistan’s electrical market to 30% by 2030 and 20% by 2025.
The IGCEP2047 released by NEPRA shows that Pakistan’s PV installed capacity will exhibit leapfrog growth in the next few years. It is anticipated that the installed PV capacity would reach 12.8 GW by 2030 and 26.9 GW by 2047. Calculations indicate that the average yearly new PV installed capacity needs to reach 1.65/1.07GW, respectively, in order to meet the 2030/2047 goals.
Companies in Pakistan are rushing to install affordable Chinese solar panels on the roofs of their factories. “I want to cover every square inch of space I have, even if it’s just a few feet, with solar panels,” declared Khawaja Masood Akhtar, CEO of Forward Sports, one of the biggest football manufacturers in the world.
In just the last two years, his company has increased the percentage of solar energy to 50% of its whole energy mix. In order to increase the percentage of solar supply to 80% for his activities by April of next year, Akhtar is currently investing a portion of the revenues from last year in the importation of more panels from China.
