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Thursday March 28, 2024

Three solar power projects awarded generation licences

KARACHI: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has awarded generation licences to three solar power projects with a cumulative capacity of 300MW, a statement said. These projects having capacity of 100MW each include Apollo Solar Development Pakistan, Crest Energy Pakistan and Best Green Energy Pakistan. The government of Punjab

By our correspondents
July 04, 2015
KARACHI: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has awarded generation licences to three solar power projects with a cumulative capacity of 300MW, a statement said.
These projects having capacity of 100MW each include Apollo Solar Development Pakistan, Crest Energy Pakistan and Best Green Energy Pakistan.
The government of Punjab through Punjab Power Development Board (PPDB) issued a letter of intent (Lol) to Zonergy Company Limited of the Peoples Republic of China - the sponsors for setting up a 900MW Photo Voltaic (PV) Power Generation Project - to be located at Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, it said.
In order to implement the project, the sponsors incorporated different Special Purpose Vehicles in Pakistan under the Companies Ordinance 1984, including Best Green Energy Pakistan Limited, Apollo Solar Development Pakistan Limited and Crest Energy Pakistan Limited.
The electric power sector of the country is experiencing a supply demand gap. In order to bridge the deficit, all efforts are being made to set up generation facilities using indigenous resources. The efforts include projects by the federal, as well as provincial governments.
Nepra in its determination notes that energy is a fundamental input to economic activity and, thus, to human welfare and progress.
The importance of electricity in the development of the economy of any country is beyond any doubt.
The economic growth of any country is directly linked with the availability of safe, secure, reliable and cheaper supply of electricity.
In view of the said reasons, the authority is of the view that for sustainable development all indigenous resources of power generation must be developed on a priority basis in the public and private sector, including coal, hydel, wind and solar.
The existing energy mix of the country is heavily skewed towards the thermal power plants, mainly operating on imported fuel.
The import of fuel for electric power generation not only creates a pressure on the precious foreign exchange reserves of the country, but is also an environmental concern.
Therefore, in order to achieve sustainable development it is imperative that indigenous renewable resources are given priority for power generation and their development is encouraged, Nepra says in notes attached to the generation licences.