By Minahil
Makhdoom
Islamabad: Photovoltaic industry in Pakistan has huge potential under CPEC, as per the latest research report ‘Global solar PV market outlook’ released by Wood Mackenzie on Thursday.
According to the report, as global solar PV markets continue to weather the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, solar PV installations are expected to hit 115 GWdc this year.
This is up 5% from the total installed globally in 2019.
The report analysed that in Asia, the Chinese market is continuing its robust recovery and Wood Mackenzie now expects 39 GWdc of installations by the end of 2020. Of this total, 27 GWdc will be installed in the second half of the year.
The pipelines for both subsidy-free and auctioned projects have ballooned in 2020, and the Chinese market will grow by 30% year-on-year despite short-term supply chain disruption delaying module procurement for some developers.
In contrast, coronavirus cases in India are continuing to rise and social distancing measures are likely to slow installation activity for the rest of the year at the very least. Without policy enforcement, India’s 100 GW solar target is unlikely to be met.
According to Wood Mackenzie’s analysis, Indian PV installations will sit at just 4.9 GW in 2020, down 42% on 2019 and the lowest level since 2016.
In Pakistan, as the cost of PV power generation continues to fall, the market demand continues to soar.
The tender price for pv power in Pakistan is between $0.036/KWh and $0.038/ KWh, which is relatively low internationally. It means PV power as a new clean energy gaining more competitive in energy market.
Including EPC 30MW PV Project , QUAID-E-AZAM 100MW PV Project, China has invested and contracted to build most of PV power stations in Pakistan.
