Why doesn't Pakistan tap its solar power potential?

Pakistan's sunny climate makes it a perfect place to develop solar power. But it still depends on dirty fossil fuels, and is building more coal power plants.

Pakistan has immense potential for generating electricity through solar power. Almost all parts of the South Asian country are dry and hot, barring a few areas in the northwest.

However, the country currently only produces a meager 1.16% of its electricity through solar power and 64% with fossil fuels. Other electricity sources include hydropower at 27% and nuclear at 5%. Renewable energy sources count for only 4% of total electricity production.

Despite being located in a region severely affected by climate change, Pakistan continues to invest in environmentally unfriendly methods of power production.

Recently, the government approved seven Chinese-funded coal power projects, which will add up to 6,600 megawatts to the national grid in the coming years.

Political support needed for renewables

Last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan's government promised that Pakistan would produce 60% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. This would require Pakistan to install around 24,000 megawatts of solar and wind power capacity by 2030, up from just over 1,500 megawatts now.

Environmentalists have said that building solar power is well within the nation's capabilities, if there is enough political will to support development.

Hassan Abbas, an environmentalist, told DW that Pakistan could conceivably generate more than 2,900 gigawatts of solar power capacity. For reference, 1 gigawatt could power 110 million LED lights, according to the US Department of Energy.

"There are influential bureaucrats, policymakers and hydropower lobbies that are against solar energy," said Abbas.

"An outdated solar system installed in Punjab by China lent credence to the claims of skeptics who assert solar would not work in Pakistan," he added.

Abbas said that developing solar power would be cheaper than hydroelectric power, and claimed that a $10 billion (€8.3 billion) investment in solar power could generate 50 to 60 gigawatts of capacity. This would represent 10 times more than what is produced from the Tarbela and Mangla dams, two large hydropower projects.

What is holding solar power back?

Ghazala Reza, a Pakistani energy expert, told DW that many factors are keeping solar power from flourishing. These include complications in finding space for solar farms, procedural delays in construction approvals