KP to launch work on nine solar energy projects

PESHAWAR: The Chief Executive Officer of Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO), Engineer Naeem Khan, has said that the natural resources of solar energy in the province are a precious gift, which helped the province save approximately Rs840 million annually in terms of electricity bills.

Additionally, efforts are underway on nine solar energy projects across the province, including the merged districts. He said the inaugural solar energy exhibition in Peshawar, dedicated to promoting and developing solar energy, is expected to contribute significantly to addressing the ongoing energy crisis in the country.

Engineer Naeem said this while talking to media representatives during his participation in the first two days of the solar energy exhibition in Peshawar.

He visited various stalls alongside Secretary Energy and Power, Nisar Ahmad Khan.Engr Naeem stated that the Energy and Power Department, along with its subsidiary PEDO, had converted the Civil Secretariat, Chief Minister’s House and Chief Minister’s Secretariat into solar energy-powered facilities.

He said 8,000 schools, 187 Basic Health Units , and 4,000 mosques had already been solarised. Similarly, 100 villages, including 300 mosques and other places of worship in the merged districts, had also gone solar.

Ongoing initiatives involve the solarisation of schools in the merged districts and 7,000 mosques and other places of worship in the settled districts.Also, 312 mini micro hydropower projects have been completed in phase one in underdeveloped districts, with work progressing on establishing 291 more mini micro hydropower projects under phase two.

The two-day solar exhibition in Peshawar garnered public interest, with those on the spot expressing enthusiasm for the production of solar electricity from renewable energy sources as a positive step for the development of the province.