The pandemic may have slowed the world in 2020, but Pakistan is recovering rapidly. For about a year, the four provinces have been working diligently to address a series of issues. For example, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has given the green light to billions of interest-free loans to increase employment, Punjab has introduced a series of measures to make Ramzan more accessible to all, and Sindh is investing more resources in the digitization of real estate to make the more efficient transactions. Another major effort worth mentioning here is Punjab’s new plan to solarize new hospitals and universities.
According to one of the country’s renowned newspapers, 70% of the electricity produced in Pakistan is consumed by the province of Punjab, which, in terms of population, is also the largest province in the country. The province’s electricity demand is expected to increase further by 2027/28 and, to manage it effectively, the government of Punjab has approved, in principle, the solarization of new hospitals and universities. This is in an attempt to reduce the burden on the government and the national grid and produce as much energy as a facility can use solar panels.
INITIATIVE TO SOLARIZE NEW HOSPITALS AND UNIVERSITIES
Currently, Pakistan’s total electricity production is 33,961 MW, of which Punjab produces 16,322 MW. The province’s electricity consumption is around 16,915 MW and is expected to increase by 7,123 MW by 2027/28. Under the motto ” Make electricity for yourself and the nation” the province is moving towards promoting the conservation and generation of electricity through sustainable means.
The Punjab government is taking steps to reduce its dependence on the national grid by generating its own electricity through solar panels and hydroelectric projects. The recently approved project to move all new hospitals and universities to solar energy will save up to 45% of energy. This was discussed at a meeting of the standing committee of the finance and development cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister of Punjab.#islamabad
PUNJAB’S POTENTIAL TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY
Earlier this year, in February, the Punjab Energy Minister had a conversation with one of the prestigious Pakistani newspapers in which he revealed how the province’s energy demand was met through renewable energy resources. The province has numerous ways to generate electricity through various resources and is promoting the use of all of them.
To use the canals and dams in Punjab, the government is interested in exploring the province’s hydroelectric potential. In order to use abundantly available resources, such as solar, wind, waste, and biomass energy, the provincial government is interested in seeking waste-to-energy projects in urban areas, solar power plants and hybrid solutions in rural areas, and energy plants from biomass in agricultural areas.
Punjab is also looking for a number of installations and upgrades on established energy projects. Pakistan naturally has various ways of generating electricity, some of which even include harnessing energy from natural phenomena. One project that should be installed is the development of a 1,000 MW windmill corridor in Rajanpur and the one to be improved includes the construction of the capacity of a 600 MW Quaid-e-Azam solar park for 300 MW.
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ACTION PLANS IN DRAFTING BY PUNJAB ENERGY DEPARTMENT
Punjab Energy Department is working on devising three different kinds of action plans depending on the number of years it will take to build a project. These action plans are:
- Short-term (0-2 years)
- Medium-term (2-5 years)
- Long-term (5-10 years)
SHORT-TERM PLANS
The short-term plan consists of projects to be completed between 0 and 2 years. Under this, the government plans to create a grid company for the transmission of electricity and the establishment of an energy-saving agency.
MEDIUM-TERM PLANS
Medium-term projects will be completed over a period of between 2 and 5 years. Some projects that fall into this category include the construction of a 250 MW hydroelectric wind power plant in Rajanpur, the development of four waste-to-energy projects, each of which has the capacity to generate 120 MW, a 135 MW Taunsa hydroelectric power plant project. , 18 mini-hydro projects of 170 MW and Solarize 1000 cities to generate 15 MW of energy.
LONG-TERM PLANS
The long-term plans will be completed over a period of 5 to 10 years in which a 750 MW wind project in Rojhan is underway. There are solar energy projects and each of them has a capacity to generate 400 MW in Rahim Yar Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan. It also includes the solarization of 5,000 villages to increase energy production by 150 MW.
The solarization of several hospitals is already underway. This includes the solarization of Lahore General Hospital (more than 3 MW), basic health units (7.24 MW), 12 DHQ hospitals (5 MW). This also includes the solarization of 4,200 schools with a capacity of 6.8 MW in the north and south of Punjab.
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We shall now wrap up our overview of Punjab’s initiative to solarize new hospitals and universities. You can provide us with your feedback at hello@landster.pk and follow Landster Blogs for updates on the real estate sector of Pakistan.
