Federal Secretary Ministry of Energy (Power Division) Irfan Ali has said that the Saudi power producing company ACWA Power is all set to start operations in Pakistan starting with a solar power project in the province of Balochistan. The company, which develops power and desalinated water plants, signed a $2 billion deal with Pakistan to invest in solar projects during the crown prince’s visit. The company will start operations after the month of Ramzan.
Riyadh-based ACWA Power, partly owned by Saudi’s Public Investment Fund, has a presence in 11 countries including Oman, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Morocco, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam, Mozambique, and Egypt with regional offices in Dubai, Istanbul, Cairo, Rabat, Johannesburg, Hanoi, and Beijing.
High quality solar maps, essential to securing financing for major solar projects, show that Pakistan is one of the world’s best countries for producing solar energy because of its arid climate and latitude. The maps were developed by the Alternative Energy Development Board and the World Bank, drawing on data from nine solar data stations and 12 wind masts installed across the country. Pakistan’s data has been made public as part of the Global Solar Atlas website, giving commercial scale projects ready-to-use seasonal and monthly data
Balochistan, a desert area with little cloud cover or air pollution, has the country’s largest solar potential. Sindh is another prime location. Transmission losses in Balochistan were also very high owing to far-flung areas making solar energy the only viable option.
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