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Bahawalpur to have $1.5bn world’s largest solar power plant
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has awarded $1.5 billion contract for its largest solar power project of 900MW in Bahawalpur to a Chinese company which has the biggest solar power plant of only 170MW back home.
After concluding a final round of meetings with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Water and Power Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif on Wednesday, Zonergy Company Ltd President Yu Yong told journalists that his company had a total portfolio of 1,200MW of solar plants in China and the largest one was 170MW plant in Xinjiang.
He said the company had an association of over 17 years with Pakistan. Previously, it had been engaged in telecommunication sector through another company ZTE since 1998.
Read: Pakistan plans huge desert solar park to fight energy crisis
He explained that Zonergy was not a subsidiary of the ZTE, but one of the largest shareholders in the ZTE was also the largest shareholder in Zonergy.
Mr Yong said there was a need to address concerns regarding Pakistan’s national grid’s conversion system to accommodate fluctuating renewable energy sources.
“The 900MW solar project launched in Quaid-i-Azam Solar Power Park in Bahawalpur is the largest solar power project in the world,” he said.
Najeed Sadiq, a Zonergy director, said the first 50MW unit would be brought into production on Aug 14 this year, to be followed by another 250MW on Dec 25, to coincide with the anniversary of the father of the nation, and then 100MW would be added every month. He said the full 900MW capacity would be available by the end of next year.
He said the China Exim Bank and China Development Bank had provided funds for the project.
Mr Yong said solar power generation has become a global focus because “it is clean, renewable and safe”.
Around 1.271bn KWh of electricity is expected to be generated annually from the solar power station, which would cover a total area of 4,500 acres. It is also expected to create at least 3,300 jobs.
Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2015
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Comments (118) Closed
Good luck Pakistan, we wish you success.
But didn't the PM just scrap all renewable energy projects in favor of LNG???
"Around 1.271bn KWh of electricity is expected" only the energy of the sun could match that!
Welcome to the new era of Development
Best wishes for my country, from America.
Well done Pakistan! News like this rejuvenates my optimism about the bright future of my country in days to come, Inshallah.
A great initiative and hope it will serve the purpose it is built for and will be operated professionally to give nation a long term solution of Pakistan energy crisis
Laughable to say the least!.
dont just contract or hire foreigners but also produce these equipments within country.
Oh my god, cant believe it, Pakistan is the world leader in renewable energy.
Come on Pakistan. 900 MW at a cost of 1.5 Billion USD? India is getting 750 MW for 643 Million USD and energy cost would be INR 5 per unit. You would end up paying more than double for extra 150 MW. No one disclosed the cost of the power generated by it.Why don't you guys shop around before purchasing the stuff? Be smart when dealing with Chinese. Good friendship does not mean license to loot , does it?
Not to mention that Indian solar plant would use 1500 Hectare while Bhawalpur would use 4500 Hectares. That is 3 times more land for extra 150 MW.
Wow! A very good news! More such steps are required!
This is wonderful news. I hope the project completes on time and the government decides to lower electricity prices too.
Well done PML-N. Thats the way to go for developed, vibrant and modern Pakistan. Please go for solar power system in Thar and adjoining Sindh rural area also as there is abundant sunlight avaialble almost whole year.
Good step Pakistan. But bit skeptical on capacity of the company.
Will only believe when the project will be done and inuagarated.
it should silence those who are never happy with Pakistan's progress.
It will not be the biggest Project in Pakistan but biggest scam in Pakistan, How Govt can award a Big Project without judging the performance of the Company. A Company having biggest installed capacity of 170 MW Project at home can be awarded 900 MW Project??
It seems that this government is serious about bringing reforms in power sector.....Pakitan Zindabad
An excellent news from Bahawalpur. Bahawalpur is a natural choice to produce solar energy. The weather of Bahawalpur is known for its warmth. In winter it is warm and in summer it is very very hot. I sincerely wish the solar power project reaches completion at the earliest possible time and places Bahawalpur on world map for being the largest solar power producer in the world.
Good on you, Bahawalpur, you are the right choice for the right product. You have a great history and will have a great future. My best wishes for Bahawalpur.
Excellent work! I hope Pakistani engineers are fully integrated into the Chinese work force so that we can learn to be self reliant in future and not behave like lazy absentee landlords just renting out our land to seths. What is the ecological impact of covering 4,500 acres of land?
@harmony dude lol
Our country is improving day by day. Even if solar is not cheap enough to be used all over pakistan, trophy projects like this inspire confidence in a developing country.
Good beginning. In the future, solar energy may well be the primary form of energy.
Very happy to see Pakistan heading in right direction.
putting up a coal fired of 1000MW capacity would cost the same but will generate 3 times more electricity at 9 cents compared to 16 cents from solar.
I would rather have smaller units spread all over the country to keep the transmission costs low. on a second note solar energy is not all that eco-friendly. It is bad news for birds of that region. solar plants incinerate birds at the rate of naughts.
This is great news. Solar energy the cleanest and most environmentally friendly form of energy, and the project will generate spillover economic benefits for the Bahawalpur region. To have this in Pakistan is simply amazing, and Chinese endaevors for this have to be genuinely appreciated. The Indian interest -- and envy -- as reflected in the comments above is beyond rational understanding and reflects an unbalaced mindset, similar to Saudi behavior in Yemen.
@someone I know very well the quality of Indian projects. It is durable and that is why more expensive.
The proposed amount will be derived from the AID provided by China and that amount will go back to Chinese firm who got this order.. not sure about Pakistan, but a win win situation for China.
@saad s Surely we are happy for paying almost double what India spending for same amount of power generation , btw who will install and maintain ,Pakistan or China?
@Hermann Hesse :) it could b a typo error
@someone Its a matter between iron brothers, don't try to meddle in.
@someone it is 4500 Acres not Hectares , and in Hectares the area is 1821
How many company were there in the tender? Why the tender went in favor of the inexperienced Chinese co. Is this the best offer we could get? What would be price per unit for the household?
from comments, our neighbors care too much for us looks like they normally have sleepless nights due to such emotional attachment and always there to advise us.
An Excellent decision for clean Energy. We should have more of solar Parks.
@someone And besides the cost of land, indian government hasnt even given out the tender yet for installation of solar park. So how do you know the cost? Can you explain your facts?
1.27bn kwh?it seems sun rises and sets in pakistan
@Samar anand Its calculated on base of 25 years useful life. 25 Into 365 into 24 into 900 MW
Shining Pakistan. Rising Pakistan. Thanks to Indian friends for their best wishes.
@someone the energy cost in pakistan is higher than in India due to the higher risks in Pakistan. India has a much more stable government, transparent policies and booming business environment than in Pakistan. When a country has higher risks the equity investor demands a higher return, the banks demand a higher spread on their loans and the insurance (SINOSURE) cost is higher. This is the reason why you will see the solar tariff in Pakistan to be around 14 cents whereas the tariff in India is around 8 cents.
great news. impressed.
now this is what we should be focusing on. three cheers for the people
@harmony with pakistan...!!! power for chinese...!!
@someone time to ponder. Not knowing the technical details, perhaps we are being offered low efficiency solar cells which may not find place in the competitive world. Hence the extra area required, however cost needs to be justified/looked into. Solar farms require a lot of water for optimum generation. I am sure the concerned parties are fully aware of this factor.
@someone http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/At-750MW-Madhya-Pradesh-to-get-worlds-largest-solar-power-plant/articleshow/46257281.cms The cost of acquisition of land in India for this project is INR 4000 crore. If you account that into its far more expensive. In pakistan, the project is on Government land. No land acquisition cost.
One thing is interesting in my country. We don't have a solar park that can produce 100MW of energy and now hopefully by the end of next year we will have the World's largest solar park. Either nowhere, else Everywhere.
BTW, besides Electricity what other forms of energies do we benefited from this project?
Something almost sounds fishy right away ! I m not a solar plant expert, but common 4500 acres ??? That's 1 cr 80 Lakh square yards !!!
There is no mention of any PPA rate in terms of per unit cost . Worldwide, the best solar plants are handing over power to distribution companies at around 6 cents per unit now. Seems like your purchase rate itself will come to about 20 Pak rupees per unit !!
I know China is a great friend of Pak, but are you sure the country is not being taken for a ride by these businessmen ?
@Malik from Australia It's not a matter of how warm the weather remains in a particular place. The important factor is the amount of Sunshine received in the region.
There are many places in South America and Pacific Asia which remains warm throughout the year but due to lesser amount of Sunshine these places are ineffective for establishing Solar Parks.
As somebody pointed out, it isn't the best idea to have a large solar PV plant at on election. Much better is to have smaller 50 MW plants 20 different locations, 20 different small partners and may be one foreign expert handling agency. As it is , PV based solar plants aren't the best solution for large capacity projects. For that you have to look at CSP, like Solar One Project.
@someone
If is that so, then I as a Pakistani Welcome your comment. But Please provide us link of your stats regarding India's solar power project with that above mentioned "efficiency"!
MY HEARTY CONGRADULTIONS TO PAKISTAN POWER GRID , for Launching such a huge SOLAR POWER PLANT
wow great, India should also follow.My best wishes to power starved Pakistan
@Muhammad Rafiq Malik Solar energy is the right answer to the power crises in Pakistan as this source will not deplete ever, what is needed is the transfer of technology so the country could produce the solar panels by itself and then the whole country could go solar.
Just for Information.
The new project announced under India’s ultra mega solar power policy is in the state that originated the concept of solar parks – Gujarat. The central government has announced plans to set up 5 GW wind-solar energy park in the state.
The solar power capacity at the project will be about the same as in other large solar parks planned across the states. The integrated wind and solar energy park will include about 800 MW of wind energy capacity and 4.2 GW solar power capacity.
Gujarat is already home to the largest solar park on Asia – Charanka solar park in Patan district.
stay Nawaz Stay
@someone BTW It is 4500 Acres Not "Hectares" Actually 1821 Hectares for 900MW
@someone Please my friend. GO EASY! 643mn$ for 750MW? Really? The estimated cost for that project is $1.3Bn. You guys should focus on dealing with Americans before Advising.
@someone - If this is the case then may be it is another scam
Its a good initiative. A typical 1MW Solar Power plant requires 5Acres of Land & would cost approximately USD.1.2 to 1.3 per Watt for a German parts & around USD 0.9 to 1 for Chinese. The higher cost can be attributed to Interest rates charged for borrowing Capital from financial institutions, maintenance & security concerns. However the important thing is the tariff that the Government needs to pay to the Solar Company for each Unit pumped into the Grid. Overall i appreciate the Chinese government for taking such initiative.
I don't understand why India is so much bothered with this . Whatever happens inside Pakistan , Indians have to contribute their two cents' worth comments about it !
All Funds will go in the pockets of our ruling class. Nothing will happen as usual. These Fantasy solar power plant projects are well known to us.
I am happy that people are using renewable energy.
Be careful, Chinese equipment is generally faulty.I know of companies which announced plants with big fanfare, but failed to produce.Now many are moving to American equipments.
y bhawalpur y not tharparker?
So much of power i don't believe it with the facts and figures of this report.
LOL at Indian trolls :) , on fire just like their media. And we are loving it.
Solar panel sales went up skyrocketing when germany began paying homeowners and small investors 35 cents per unit of electricity that they fed back into the grid. Most of the solar panels that Germans bought came from China. Then the German govt drastically reduced the subsidies and the Chinese were left with factory capacity that was not being used and costing them money because they had to pay off the loans that they had taken from the banks. Now the Chinese have found two gullible victims: India and Pakistan. India is also building the largest solar panel plant in the world with solar panels coming from guess where. CHINA. We will never learn, will we?
@Taimoor Khan everyone know who is who
@someone well theres a lot of difference between boasting and doing things in practical.Truth is Gujrat Solar project since the commissioning date of 21 jan 2011 ,till date is able to produce only(0.4%) 2 MW out of 500 MW plan and the cost you are well aware of. that means almost 4.5 years and the output is 2 MW whereas the Bahawalpur project is far quicker and have started giving dividends.
@someone Can you share a link regarding to this news (750 MW for 643 million USD) because I've tried to Google it and I've literally found nothing. Thanks
Great job!
@Khurram Great suggestion and comment.
@Khan For your information it is not a Federal Government project. It is a provincial government's project and the Punjab government is mainly contributing in this project. Your's Mr Khattak can start a project like that if he wants to. So the decision of the federal government will not effect the provincial projects.
@someone , the amount of 1,5 billion includes a 68 km transmission line and other related installations.
Seems like a big scam. A company that has no experience installing such a big plant has been awarded the contract.
It might have been more economic to subsidize solar panels and introduce measure to buy back surplus production from home owners. This would crowd-source maintenance and upkeep, ensure distributed supply (no one point of failure), avoid shady corporations and save lots of money.
Pakistan should become world leader in the production of solar energy, the climate in most of the pakistan is very very sunny for the most part of the year which makes pakistan an ideal place for the generation of solar energy.
Solar energy is not for everyone before 2020. Instead of solar parks, solar energy should be encouraged by subsidy to direct consumers. Solar energy may be good if it is not transmitted and not stored, else cost increases to even higher.
I m very concerned, still hoping it turns out well. No one conveniently mentioned the tariff. If its the same as other solar projects in Pak, then 22c/Unit is extremely high & electricity will become even more expensive. Secondly integrating fluctuating sources of energy is a big challenge for even developed countries, therefore solar projects are hardly ever for more than 100MW. So how r we gonna integrate 1000MW with the grid with our crumbling energy transmission lines. Another issue, how will be balance 1000MW of day time only production at night hrs?
Dont worry about the money my fellow country men, first, re-schedule the loan, then get it all written off. :) @Anon Mouse
I think chines tecnalogy not relay able and Zte also working in telenor its creat hurdles . in system it would be reconsider
@Red Dawn Boss read carefully.It says "Acquisition of 1,500 hectares of land for the Rs 4000 crore project is close to completion " not that the land cost is 4Kc
How expensive the power will be for the consumer? It better not break peoples back.
Firs of all China and India are building Giga (not Mega) Watt Hour plants. Secondly, the Chinese solar panel technology is not rated as good and like all Chinese products it does not last long. We must tell the chinese to invest but we will buy German solar panels. Then it will be worth it.
@Red Dawn Sun is shining during the night in Pakistan ??? It is news to the world. People with no or limited knowledge commenting like an expert in Solar generation. $ 1.6 million per 1 MW is too high cost per USA standard also. I am approving solar project in US under my company's territory. Investment returns in 25 years is too fishy proposition. Second thing Why China company and not Pak company awarded the contract ?? If China company will bring their skilled labor and engineers then what is the benefits for Pak technician and engineers ? I think Pakistan should re visit their contract with China company. Up gradation in transmission system will be costly to accommodate this big solar power. When cloud come over solar panel, generation drops like a stone falling from the building within no time it would be in tens of MW. Transmission system should be so adequate to absorb those drop in no time .
This is not good value for money. The cost is almost twice what it ought to be compared to other similar projects around the world. Secondly it would be better if China traded technology so that these panels could be produced and constructed in Pakistan so improving the balance of trade.
As far as I can see Pakistan will be paying a higher price for a technology produced overseas and a plant constructed by overseas workers.
So much for friendship!!!
The link for Indian Solar power plant.
http://rt.com/news/232675-india-largest-solar-plant/
The cost is indeed 643 Million USD.
My mistake about the area.The plant would acquire 1500 Hectares that about 3700 Acres.
Wind power should also be harnessed. Plains of Sindh is most suited for such a project.
@Einstein Babar Well Mr. Babar, if you are a regular user of Chinese products, then you must be aware of their durability. Didn't you guys burnt your hands with Chinese rail engines few months back? All 4 engines are pretty much dead. Lets hope this plant has better life than those rail engines.
Excellent news. Good clean energy for the masses. I hope the tariffs would be reasonable.
@Shahid Are you saying a 68 KM transmission line would cost extra 700 Million USD?
@Concerned Pakistani Point noted. However the financing for this project is coming from Chinese banks and not IMF. Considering the intensity of friendship between the two countries, should not the banks have gone easy on insurances or interests? Or are you saying that despite the higher than mountain and deeper than ocean and sweeter than honey friendship, Chinese still do not trust Pakistani government?
@Taimoor Khan Well Mr. Khan, may be you are liking it now but wait till you start paying back the Chinese.
There is saying in the modern world....The first impression is the last impression..rest is Chinese.. As everyone knows how China copies everything and makes cheap and degraded product. Anyways Pakistanis seem to be very happy with low graded stuff and are being thoughtless about the future... Best of luck though...
I am 52 years old now, and have been reading these kind of news since a long time. We have this and that, we will do this and that, we have done this and that, we are progressing here and there, we won't beg from him or her, justice will be provided to you and me, education for he and she, medical facilities for infant to the senior most citizen on par. We hear and read so many great and good news of development but on the ground reality we see nothing happening, and would never see it happening in my life time. Good luck to the future generation, but it won't come easy. The youth of today can do wonders go out their demand your right to self survival. Sorry I could not do anything for you'll in my life time.
good news, and hopefully this project will be done as it says in article..
Pakistan needs lot of solar energy projects, but please not Chinese as the equipment they supply to Pakistan is of low quality, like the Railway engines,scanners they have provided earlier is all junk now. Have a look at Nandipur power project, which is not worked at all.Let China build roads only, and may be railroad, but not trains and engines.
@shezad Nandipur power project was inaugurated, than what happened ? we all know.
But, "Thermal Tower Turbine" generators were thought to be the most economical and viable projects for Pakistan. The beauty of such projects is the real Green Houses that are the essential part due to their storage of heat during day and release during the night, with free associated green-house cultivation.
@Altaf : All those failures were due to the courtesy of corruption-index cuts and resulting castrated products. Let us hope this time around we have China-like corruption control with iron hands.
Well, the current largest plant is: the 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight solar project in the town of Desert Center, Calif., near Joshua Tree National Park. Built by First Solar, the project generates enough electricity to power 160,000 average California homes.
Now, in 3 years there will be several other projects world wide. The key is to see thye success of delivery / completion - not just rejoice on the announcement.
@Zeezoo I think you missed my point of argument. All I am saying is that Pakistan is being taken for a ride for this plant. Pakistan is asked to pay more than double for more or less same amount of money. A poor country like Pakistan should be offered discounted projects and ballooned cost projects. How much of the power generated by this plant would be added to your national grid, that remains to be seen.
@All Many people are curious and interested about whether it will see the light of the day. I was following development projects, including this one, the block 1 of 100 MW is in fact completed, the Zonergy contract is for the remaining 900 MW project. There are forums where one can see the development projects in different stages of completion. Below is the link with pictures.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1685017&page=11
If I know the Pakistani bureaucracy who will oversee this project, and I do know them well; then be assured they will steal 70% of the solar panels and sell them in the open market and perhaps mount a few atop their own properties....what can one do but laugh.
@Taimoor Khan FYI India will have 100GW of Installed capacity by 2022 :D.
Lets hope everything works out fine in the end.
Finally a step in the right direction
@someone You must be kidding, Chinese , like good bankers will finance the project and build it . They will make money as interest and profits by using their own companies. I remember about a year ago Chinese gave an aid of $ 50,000 to pakistan for IDP while U S gave about $ 10 million. The problem will arise when banker ( Chinese) will come to collect their money and Pakistan will end up mortgaging some thing else like Karachi seaport. Dear friend, the joke is on you.
@Hermann Hesse . Wow, this energy comes from Sun (solar energy). The energy that sun produces in one second is more lot more than we need on earth in a year. The only difference is that sun does not charge for its energy while Pakistan government will charge lot for this solar energy.
@Hermann Hesse Please do some homework first rather than misguiding the readers. A 900 MW plant would in fact produce energy in the range of 1.27-1.37 billion kWh per annum. First year calculation based on an estimated irradiance level in Bahawalpur is as follows: (9004200365 = 1,379,700,000 kW hours)
Can we have some different names in this country ? There are other heroes who help in many ways that should be acknowledged as well.
A country of 5 big rivers producing 900 MW by solar energy! Its not cheap and its not long term! The money could be well spent on small hydro projects in the KPK and GB. But bottom line is "politics"!
@someone Inviting tenders and actual cost are 2 different things, INR 4000 crore =$630million, or $840,ooo /MW.it is better to make statements after the project is awarded ,
The contract is such that the chinese company will only get the money for electricity they are producing at the rate of Rs 18 per kw/hr for first ten years and then Rs 8 per kw/hrs for next 15 years. The project is on BOT basis, so government money is not being used. In this case why we are bothered about efficiency of chinese technology or cost of maintaining it.
@Bombay Dude I don't understand this why are Indains so much worried about Pakistan's bad planning and deals they should be happy
@salim mastan Well buddy, so far this bhawalpur plant is on the paper too.