Quaid e azam solar power park

What is Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Park?

Entrance to Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Park - Photo courtesy Zofeen T. Ebrahim. Some 400,000 solar panels, spread over 200 hectares of flat desert, glare defiantly at the sun at what is known as the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Park (QASP) in Cholistan Desert, Punjab, named after Pakistan’s founding father, Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

How many solar panels will QASP produce in 2017?

Once completed in 2017, the site could have capacity of 5.2 million PV cells producing as much as 1,000MW of electricity – enough to power about 320,000 households. Construction of the next stage is already underway, led by another Chinese company Zonergy. One of the main access roads inside QASP - Photo courtesy Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power (Pvt) Ltd.

Is the Cholistan Desert a good place for solar power?

Now a mini city has emerged in the middle of the desert, with over 2,000 workers accompanied by heavy machinery, power transmission lines, blocks of buildings, water pipes and pylons. The Cholistan desert is an ideal spot for solar power, said Muhammad Hassan Askari, operating manager of the solar park.

Is Pakistan's solar project too ambitious?

Some experts worry the project is too ambitious. Former director general of WWF-Pakistan Ali Hassan Habib, who now runs a company providing rooftop solar solutions, welcomed the project but was uneasy about the government “jumping into untested scale”.

Is QASP selling solar power to the grid?

QASP claims it is selling solar power to the grid at $0.14 per unit. Sources within the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) say they have signed a deal to buy electricity at $0.24 per unit, which will drop later to perhaps $0.17 per unit after a period of seven years when loans are paid off.

Could a 100MW solar plant produce 85MW at its peak?

But the project’s owners say the 100MW solar plant could produce near to capacity at 85MW at its peak. Second, solar energy is more expensive than other energy sources. QASP claims it is selling solar power to the grid at $0.14 per unit.