Surprise Solar Boom in Pakistan Helps Millions, But Harms Grid
There’s a shiny new addition to Pakistan’s dusty agricultural heartland: rows upon rows of solar panels.



Bloomberg News

Fasih Mangi



https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/surprise-solar-boom-in-p....



The flood of solar panels from China started in 2023, and turned into a deluge after Pakistan removed import curbs late last year, making it the third-largest destination for Chinese panels, according to BNEF. Now they’re being advertised on billboards in major cities and during cricket matches.

The frenzy wasn’t restricted to the energy sector: real estate companies and electronics firms started flipping panels, with the biggest traders bringing in up to 250 megawatts’ worth every month, according to Usman Ahmad, chief executive officer at solar distributor Nizam Energy Pvt.

Driving the demand were households and factories producing everything from cement to apparel, who have suffered frequent blackouts in the past due to the unreliable grid.

Speculation that the grid will collapse is “extreme,” but the reduction in demand is indeed a concern, Pakistan’s Power Minister Awais Leghari said in an interview. Utilities “have to be a little more sensitive to the demands of customers in terms of reliability and tariffs,” he said. “We all realize that the status quo can’t prevail.”



For Murtaza, the decision to switch to solar on his farm near Lahore was an easy one. It will take him less than a year to recover the cost of installing the panels, and his electricity bill has plunged by 80%, he said. With the savings, he’s able to plant three crops a year instead of two.

“I have never seen such a big change in farming. Ninety-five percent of farmland has switched to solar in this area,” he said, pointing to his photovoltaic array towering over piles of harvested corn cobs. The panels are now cheaper than the frames they’re supposed to be mounted on, so some farmers just lay them on the ground, he said.

Despite the hubbub, it’s hard to tell how much of the imported equipment has actually been installed due to a paucity of official data. A satellite data analysis carried out in April by Norwegian firm Atlas revealed around 400 solar plants across the country, clustered mostly in industrial hubs. But many more installations went undetected, the geospatial analysis firm said. Most panels have been deployed almost equally across homes, factories, and farms, solar distributors say.



The growth of solar in Pakistan has been interesting because it happened so fast and without any subsidies, said Jenny Chase, an analyst at BNEF. However, the boom is likely to be followed by a bust, she said.

For Pakistan’s government, dealing with the consequences of the solar frenzy and its aftermath, and maintaining the health of the grid and traditional power companies will be essential. For the country’s economy and the millions of people who can’t afford to install solar panels, a failing electricity network would be disastrous.

“The solar onslaught is happening in a very unsafe, very unregulated way,” said Amin Sukhera, chief executive officer of Sky Electric, a Pakistani solar firm. “The people who are running the grid, they do not know what kind of imbalance it’s creating when other people attach solar connections. I think it’s already a pretty sick grid. I fear it may get more sick.”

Solar cells transform agriculture in Pakistan

https://www.warpnews.org/green-tech/solar-cells-transform-agricultu...

Pakistani farmers reduce their energy costs by up to 80 percent by installing solar panels for irrigation.
Pakistan's imports of solar panels in the first nine months exceed the entire 2023 import, equivalent to 17 gigawatts of capacity.
95 percent of farmland in the Lahore area has switched to solar power.
Sharp reduction in energy costs for farmers
Mohammad Murtaza, a corn farmer in Pakistan, has reduced his energy costs by 80 percent by replacing diesel and grid power with solar panels for his irrigation pumps. The investment in solar panels pays for itself in less than a year. The reduced costs mean he can now grow three crops per year instead of two, reports Bloomberg.

Imports of solar energy products during the first nine months correspond to 17 gigawatts of capacity - more than a third of Pakistan's total energy capacity if everything is installed. Solar panels are now being advertised on billboards in major cities and during cricket matches.

Widespread use across the country
A satellite analysis by Norwegian Atlas showed around 400 solar power installations in Pakistan, mainly concentrated in industrial areas. According to solar panel distributors, the installations are evenly distributed between households, factories, and farms.

The solar panels provide financial relief for consumers and businesses who can afford to install them. For the country, it means reduced fuel costs for imports. Pakistan aims to double the share of renewable energy to 60 percent of the energy mix by the end of the decade.

Rapid development without subsidies
The development of solar energy in Pakistan stands out through its rapid growth without government subsidies, according to Jenny Chase, analyst at BloombergNEF. The price of solar panels has dropped so much that some farmers place them directly on the ground as the mounting frames now cost more than the panels themselves.

South Asia Index
@SouthAsiaIndex
🚨 Pakistan becomes fastest growing solar energy nation — now ranking at number 4 in annual solar capacity.

▪️Pakistan added 17 GW solar power in a single year, much ahead of Japan, Germany, France and Brazil.

https://x.com/SouthAsiaIndex/status/1990795227180028360?s=20

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Pakistan’s rooftop solar output doubles as net metering expands, data shows

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2622248/pakistan

Net metering generation has surged as households and businesses add rooftop solar
Growth reflects consumer shift away from rising grid tariffs and unreliable supply
KARACHI: Electricity fed back into Pakistan’s power grid by rooftop solar users has more than doubled over the past year, according to new sector data reviewed by Arab News on Tuesday, as households and businesses increasingly turn to solar panels to reduce bills and avoid frequent power cuts.

Net metering allows consumers with solar panels to sell excess electricity back to the national grid, offsetting their monthly utility charges. When their panels produce more power than they use, the surplus flows into the grid. When production falls short, they draw electricity back from the utility. The system is designed to encourage small-scale renewable generation and reduce pressure on the national power network.

New figures from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), compiled by AHL Research, show that net metering units (excluding Karachi) rose from around 80 gigawatt-hour (GWh) per month in late 2024 to an average of about 174 GWh per month in mid-2025, with output peaking above 300 GWh in April during high summer sunlight. Net metering’s share of Pakistan’s total electricity generation also climbed, rising from about 0.6 percent to roughly 2–3 percent at peak periods.

The surge comes as Pakistan faces rising electricity tariffs, driven in part by fuel costs and capacity payments, and recurring grid instability. In major cities, rooftop solar adoption has accelerated among middle-income households, factories, retailers and small office buildings seeking to manage costs and avoid outages.

Analysts say the growth in rooftop solar is now material enough to affect the daytime load profile on the national grid, particularly during summer afternoons.

The expansion has also revived debate over the future of Pakistan’s Net Metering Regulations. Power distribution companies argue that increasing solar feed-in reduces their ability to recover fixed network costs, while consumer and industry groups warn that cutting net metering incentives could slow renewable adoption and push more users toward off-grid and battery-based solutions.

Pakistan’s experience mirrors trends in India, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Brazil, where high electricity prices and falling solar panel costs have driven rapid domestic and commercial rooftop generation. Some countries have adjusted tariff structures to balance grid stability with the need to encourage renewable energy.

Government agencies in Pakistan are now evaluating options to integrate higher levels of decentralized solar into the grid, including distribution network upgrades, time-of-day pricing and reforms to capacity charging models.