Pakistan is tapping into solar power at an 'unprecedented' rate. Here's why

Solar panels connected nan rooftops of houses successful Islamabad. Pakistan is successful nan midst of a star roar that star analysts picture arsenic "unprecedented." Betsy Joles for NPR hide caption

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Betsy Joles for NPR

ISLAMABAD — Muhammad Zia ur Rahman sewage nan thought to instal star panels connected his location aft he saw immoderate going up connected a mosque successful his vicinity successful Islamabad, Pakistan's superior city. The mosque had been struggling to spend rising energy prices to support fans going successful nan country's longer and much predominant power waves, truthful organization members pooled money to bargain a rooftop star system. It brought monthly bills down to almost zero.

When Zia saw nan economical quality star power could make, installing panels astatine his ain location felt for illustration a no-brainer. So, successful mid-2021, he covered his rooftop plot successful shiny panels — hoping nan beardown Pakistani sun would alteration him to gain backmost his first finance and yet supply immoderate alleviation from rising energy costs. "We made a conscious decision," says Zia, 75, who is retired from a profession successful trading and proviso chain. "To prevention connected nan energy bill, we should spell for solar."

Over nan past 4 years, astir everyone connected his tree-lined thoroughfare successful Pakistan's superior has followed suit. Solar panels person popped up connected rooftops each astir him. "I person them successful beforehand of my house, correct and near — everywhere," Zia says.

Solar panels tin beryllium seen connected nan rooftops of houses successful Islamabad. Betsy Joles for NPR hide caption

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Betsy Joles for NPR

Pakistan is successful nan midst of a star roar that has quickly turned nan state into 1 of nan world's largest caller adopters of this renewable power source, according to information from nan world power deliberation vessel Ember. This star modulation is driven by request from disappointment Pakistani citizens who person seen energy prices skyrocket successful caller years.

The roar has materialized acknowledgment to an overabundance of star panels available from neighboring China, which has been steadily ramping up its accumulation of star technology.

The velocity of star take successful Pakistan has been unprecedented, says Jan Rosenow, leader of nan power program astatine nan Environmental Change Institute astatine nan University of Oxford. "The standard of star being deployed successful specified a short play of clip has not been seen, I think, anyplace ever before." 

This became evident past year, erstwhile star imports to Pakistan much than tripled from conscionable 1 twelvemonth earlier, approaching $2.1 billion, according to data from Renewables First, an power and situation deliberation vessel successful Islamabad. The roar looks group to continue, since Pakistan has already imported 80% of past year's milestone magnitude during nan first 9 months of 2025.

Affordable, reliable star fills a gap 

Pakistan's star roar grows retired of a decades-long powerfulness assemblage crisis, which has caused galore Pakistanis to suffer religion successful nan state's expertise to consistently supply reliable electricity.

The state has struggled to support its aging grid. And its outdated infrastructure and faulty distribution systems are blamed for powerfulness outages and moreover countrywide blackouts. These issues persist arsenic power waves intensify — sometimes complete 110 degrees Fahrenheit for days connected extremity — which scientists opportunity are apt nan consequence of human-caused ambiance change.

Pakistan besides has progressively unaffordable electricity, pinch powerfulness prices much than doubling successful nan past 3 years. The value hikes person stemmed from fluctuations successful world power prices, nan depreciation of Pakistan's rate and nan government's rollback of power subsidies, which antecedently made energy much affordable. Pakistan made these subsidy reforms successful caller years because of indebtedness requirements from nan International Monetary Fund, aliases IMF, which has lent Pakistan much than $10 cardinal successful nan past decade unsocial to support its system afloat.

Waqas Moosa, president of the Pakistan Solar Association, a waste and acquisition group advocating for nan take of star technology, says these conditions pushed Pakistanis to return matters into their ain hands. "Individuals person made this decision," he says. "So, it's for illustration a democratization of solar."

Workers instal star panels connected nan rooftop of a business connected June 30 successful Islamabad. Betsy Joles for NPR hide caption

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Betsy Joles for NPR

Pakistan's star roar started to return disconnected successful 2023 erstwhile nan value of star panels from China dropped by much than 40%, arsenic China ramped up its exports. Pakistani importers saw nan imaginable to make a profit and bought them up en masse, trading them crossed nan country. The star modulation further sped up successful 2024, arsenic nan value of Chinese star panels dropped moreover more, flooding nan marketplace pinch exertion that galore Pakistanis couldn't antecedently afford.

Adnan Shams, an electrician successful Islamabad, says he has knowledgeable nan roar firsthand arsenic much group telephone connected him for star installation. Earlier this summer, he attended a star training people astatine National Skills University Islamabad, wherever nan coach taught students really to instal panels. "[Solar] is beneficial successful nan agelong run, which is why nan activity is increasing," he says.

The proliferation of cheaper and much reliable batteries, utilized to shop star power and besides imported from China, now looks group to beforehand star take arsenic customers look for further ways to trim their bills and guarantee a dependable energy supply.

Solar take reveals cracks successful Pakistan's powerfulness system

But nan millions of caller star users — for illustration Zia and his neighbors — are having an effect connected nan financing of Pakistan's powerfulness sector.

That's because of reforms that day back  to nan 1990s. Pakistan was past struggling to nutrient capable energy for its increasing population. So nan state group up semipermanent contracts to salary independent companies to nutrient electricity, sloppy of really overmuch is used. 

These days, group are utilizing little powerfulness from nan Pakistani grid to debar precocious energy bills, says Rabia Babar, information head astatine Renewables First. "The energy costs successful nan state has accrued truthful group are successful conservation mode. They usage little energy to prevention [on] their energy bills," she says.

As much Pakistanis adhd solar, request for energy from nan grid has gone down, moreover though galore still trust connected nan grid, particularly astatine night.

As a consequence of this lessening request and nan government's continued responsibility to independent powerfulness producers, "the aforesaid number of payments needs to beryllium made by a lesser number of consumers," says Pakistan's power minister, Awais Leghari. 

He says nan authorities is troubleshooting really to bring much business customers onto nan grid to offset residential customers who are switching complete to solar, while readying targeted subsidies for low-income users. "Our situation is to get nan request to spell up," he says.

Pakistan's capacity to make energy has also increased, pinch immoderate residential and business star producers trading nan power they make backmost to nan grid by utilizing nett metering.

The Pakistani authorities has already taken respective steps to modulate nan residential star industry, including lowering nan complaint it pays for energy that family star setups produce.

In June, nan authorities besides announced a 10% taxation connected imported star panels into Pakistan — almost each of which travel from China.

Khalid Waleed, an power economist astatine nan Sustainable Development Policy Institute successful Islamabad, says immoderate taxation connected star panels could deter Pakistanis who are connected nan brink of being capable to spend this technology. He says nan group who mightiness get priced retired of buying star are nan aforesaid ones who will person to carnivore nan brunt of already rising energy costs. "Those who cannot spend [solar], for them, energy prices are going up and will spell up successful nan future," he says.

Solar panels are proliferating successful Pakistan. Betsy Joles for NPR hide caption

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Betsy Joles for NPR

Pakistanis astir nan state are already weighing nan benefits of investing successful solar. Dilawar Khan, who does mini jobs for a section business and whose woman useful arsenic a housekeeper, says he is redeeming to bargain a azygous star panel. That would thief tally nan aerial cooler that sits successful nan courtyard of his house. A cheaper replacement to aerial conditioning and wide utilized successful Pakistan, it's a bulky container filled pinch crystal aliases h2o and a instrumentality wrong to rustle that liquid retired arsenic cool air. Several neighbors successful nan colony wherever he lives connected nan separator of Islamabad person purchased star panels. They person group nan panels up connected nan crushed successful nan courtyard of their houses to support a instrumentality aliases ray moving during regular powerfulness cuts, which tin sometimes past for hours.

Khan says arsenic soon arsenic he tin stitchery nan funds, he will subordinate them. "Those who person solar, they are utilizing it, and they person electricity," he says. "It should beryllium successful each home."

As for Zia, who installed star panels connected his rooftop plot 4 years ago, he is now preparing to bargain a 2nd group for his location to boost his energy yield, on pinch batteries that tin shop nan power he produces. "Electricity costs person gone up truthful much," he says. "It will prevention maine money."

Betsy Joles is simply a journalist based successful Pakistan.