Pakistan Solar Association (PSA) NEWSLETTER SPECIAL EDITION MAY JUNE 2015 1
Pakistan Solar Association (PSA) Executive Committee: Engr. Faiz Bhutta, Chairman Mr. Nauman Khan,Vice Chairman Mr. Usman Ahmed,Vice Chairman Mr. Waleed Elahi, Vice Chairman Mr. Mian Sultan Mehmood, Member Mr. Muhammad Rizwan, Member Engr. Muhammad Ishaq Bhatti, Member Lt. Col. Ahmed Fawad Farooq, Member Mr. Haseeb Saadat, Member Mr. Khurram Jan Ch., Member Mr. Muhammad Farhan, Member Mr. Gulsher Khan, Member Mr. Inam ur Rehman, Member Mr. Main Ahmed Irfan, Patron 2
INDEX PSA Inside: Pages EGO Conference Agenda 2015 Final in Expo.4-5 2. International Renewable Energy & Power Exhibition & Conference Expo Center Lahore 2015 4-5 1. National: Pakistan s first Solar Power Plant unveiled...6-7 2. Bahawalpur to have $1.5bn world largest solar power plant... 8-9 1. Regional: Indian Railways trails solar powered trains to help cut pollution 10-11 2. India s solar power punt... 11-12 1. Global: 1. Solar power to become the most cheapest source of energy in many region s by 2025, German expert says 13 Solar investment in MENA could reach approx. $50bn by end of decade.14 2. 3
PSA INSIDE Solar Quality & Performance Issues in Pakistan (EGO Conference Agenda 2015 Final in Expo Lahore) Solar System Component Quality Issue Solar Design Quality Issue Installation Quality Issue Solar System Protection Quality Assurance Solar System Performance Issue 1. Way found only TUV Certified panel as per ICE 61215 & 61730 should be allowed to input. 2. Undertaking by manufacturer if documents at import found incorrect importer / exporter both should be black listed for future import / export. 3. Solar deep cylinder gel battery should be allowed as duty free for sola use. 4. Solar Quality Standard & Solar Insulation Standards should be implemented. 5. Only certified solar techniques should be allowed to install the system. 6. Solar System Design must be wetted by certified solar designer or consultant. 7. Solar Business must have Government License to do Solar Business. 4
PSA INSIDE 5
NATIONAL Pakistan s First Solar Power Plant Unveiled BAHAWALPUR: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday inaugurated the country s first solar power plant, the latest fruit of increasingly close cooperation with China and a step towards an electoral promise to end chronic power shortages. The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in Bahawalpur produces 100MW of power, which will be increased by next year. 6
NATIONAL BAHALWALPUR: After inaugurating the first & largest unit of the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in Bahawalpur of $1.5bn, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised on Tuesday that load-shedding is expected to end by 2018, Express News reported. Load-shedding will end by 2017-2018, the prime minister said while addressing the inauguration ceremony of 100 megawatt solar project. PM Nawaz said China and Pakistan will constitute a special committee to ensure the timely completion of the projects, worth $46 billion, launched by the two countries. He said the world is acknowledging the progress made by Pakistan. These power projects spread a positive message to the investors, who were unable to invest to electricity shortage previously, the prime minister said. PM Nawaz said the solar park is not just the biggest solar project of Pakistan but of the world. Energy crisis is the second most important issue and now there is a hope that we will soon tackle the energy crisis through this solar project, coal project and other energy projects, he added. The prime minister said around 1000 megawatt electricity will be produced under the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in its later phase while the Thar Coal Power project as well as other projects will collectively add 10400 megawatt of electricity to the national grid in the future. 7
NATIONAL Democracy is witnessed delivering tangible results for the first time, he said. Speaking about the cost of electricity, PM Nawaz said it has decreased significantly by 5.79 rupees per unit. It is a huge achievement, he added. Earlier, while addressing the inauguration ceremony Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif said the project is yet another milestone in Pakistan and China s all weather friendship. Shahbaz said the project was completed with the cooperation of China. 8
NATIONAL The Solar Park is an investment made by China but much more than that it is China s unwavering support lent to Pakistan, he added. Shahbaz said the project has been completed in a very short period of time because of the hard work of the workers. Speaking about the quality of the project, CM Punjab said each and every aspect of it was checked and approved by German consultants before any payments were made. The project was inducted into the national transmission grid as soon as it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today (May 5). Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong was also in attendance and addressed the ceremony. The first unit was completed at a cost of $131 million in one year. 9
REGIONAL Indian Railways trials solar-powered trains to help cut pollution Indian Railways is soon going to materialise its ambitious plan of harnessing solar energy to run trains. The prototype of the solar power-enabled coach is undergoing trials, and soon the entire train will be fitted with solar panels, officials said. They said that while solar power will significantly bring down diesel consumption, it will also prove to be cost-effective. At present, nearly 17 units of electricity are being generated from the solar power enabled coach. As the pilot project, one non-ac coach has been fitted with solar panels on the rooftop. The trial has been successful so far with the coach generating nearly 17 units of electricity every day. Depending on its success, decision will be taken to convert the entire train into a solar power-enabled one, said Divisional Railway Manager, Arun Arora. Officials said that by harnessing solar power, the railways will be able to save Rs 1.24 lakh per coach year. 10
REGIONAL Solar energy will be used to meet the electricity needs in moving trains, and reduce diesel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, Arora said. According to studies, a train using solar power can reduce diesel consumption by up to 90,000 litres per year and also bring down the carbon dioxide emission by over 200 tonnes. As per the plan, the train would be pulled by conventional diesel-run engines while solar panels will provide all the internal electricity needs for lights and fans on both AC and non-ac coaches. 11
REGIONAL India s solar power punt In June 2014, Ashok Agarwal thought he was home and dry. Agarwal, the CEO of Essel Infraprojects, was on the verge of delivering the $5 billion Essel Group s first solar power project a 20 MW plant in Osmanabad, Maharashtra within deadline. All that was left was putting up the last 10 km of transmission lines that would connect the Rs 200 croreplant to the state electric grid. 12
GLOBAL Solar Power To Become Cheapest Source Of Energy In Many Regions By 2025, German Experts Say Solar power still amounts for a small share of net electricity generation around the world. In the USA, for instance, as of December 2014 it was responsible for just 0.45% of the total electricity produced. Things are changing quite quickly, however, and if the German think tank Agora Energiewende is right, faster than expected. The main obstacle to a more widespread adoption of photovoltaic so far, has been cost: solar used to be very expensive compared to coal or gas, but, according to Agora that recently commissioned a study on the subject to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems this is no longer true. Solar power researchers say thanks to technological advancements, is already costeffective in some sunny regions: in Dubai, a long-term power purchase contract was signed recently for 5 cents per kilowatt hour. Projects under construction in Brazil, Uruguay and other countries are reported to produce at costs below 7 ct/kwh. 13
GLOBAL By comparison, electricity from new coal and gas-fired plants costs between 5 and 10 cents per kilowatt hour. And in Germany, right now, large solar plants deliver power for less than 9 cents, compared to as much as 11 cents from nuclear. By 2025, the report says, the cost of producing power in central and southerneurope will have declined to between 4 and 6 cents per kilowatt hour, and by 2050 to as low as 2 to 4 cents, making it the cheapest source of energy in many parts of the world. These forecasts seem to contradict several other studies which maintain that solar will give only a small contribution of solar power to future national, regional or global power systems, something that researchers believe can easily be explained by the use of outdated cost estimates for solar photovoltaics. In this Feb. 26, 2015 photo, solar panels that are part of the Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association s community gardens are shown in Rockford, Minn. Community solar gardens are a new concept in renewable energy, allowing customers who cannot put up solar panels to buy into the green energy boom anyway. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) 14
GET PSA MEMBERSHIP AND BECOME ACTIVE MEMBER OF SOLAR BUSINESS COMMUNITY Lahore: Suite # 10, First Floor, Al-Hafeez Suites, 69-B/II, Gulberg III, Lahore, Pakistan. Ph +92-42- 35772097 Karachi: Islamabad: First Floor, Building No 11, Sanitary Ware, Sector I-11/3, 38-F, Block 6, P.E.C.H.S, Karachi- 754 Near Metro ISB, Islamabad Email: sg@pakistansolarassociation.org Face book: https://www.facebook.com/pakistansolarassociation PSA SECRETARIAT Imran Hashmi Secretary General Pakistan Solar Association 15