Pakistan Approves Net Metering to Incentivize Rooftop Solar Panels

[RiazHaq]

Haq's Musings: Pakistan Approves Net Metering and Feed-in Tariffs for Solar and Wind

Pakistan Approves Net Metering and Feed-in Tariffs for Solar and Wind

Pakistani power regulators have approved a regulatory framework for solar and wind energy for both commercial and residential installations. The framework includes feed-in tariffs for commercial power producers and net metering for residential applications of up to 1 MW.




Under the new Net Metering Law, NEPRA, the Pakistani power regulator, will grant power generation licenses to solar and wind system owners. The owners will need to register the critical equipment used, particularly the make and model of inverter and generator used. Among other technical considerations, the generator must also install a manual disconnect device to take the system off the network if necessary, according to details published by PV Tech publication.

Net metering is a billing mechanism that pays solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the grid. It allows a residential customers with rooftop solar panels to generate more electricity than the home uses during daylight hours and sell it to the power supply company. It will require a bi-directional meter (or two separate meters) for implementation.

Pakistan has already introduced feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for larger renewable power systems to supply electricity to the national grid on a commercial scale. It paved the way for a 1000 MW Quaid-e-Azam solar park being built in Bahawalpur.

Pakistan's renewable power policy and regulatory frameworks have drawn praise from international law firm Eversheds which has described the country as “one of the most exciting renewables markets globally, with an abundance of potential”. Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) of Pakistan's CEO, Amjad Ali Awan has said that "Pakistan’s renewable market is relatively new but it provides an attractive investment opportunity with compelling structures which make it bankable as well as marketable."

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Haq's Musings: Pakistan Approves Net Metering and Feed-in Tariffs for Solar and Wind

 

[Dubious]

Took them awhile where are the people who were claiming this is costly and Pakistan shouldnt walk this line only to take back their words when india started!

 

[Shot-Caller]

Step in the right direction.

 

[Pakistanisage]

The good news about Solar energy is that with each passing day the cost of producing electricity from Solar is going down. Hopefully, that day is not far when the solar energy will become efficient and the cheapest form of producing electricity.

I cannot wait for the day when home owners will be able to produce so much energy during the day that they can store it in batteries which is enough for many days and nights. when that happens, Electricity Utility companies will become passe and outdated as Telephone land lines did with the advent of mobile phones.

 

[Sipahi]

Need to promote solar energy in cities like Karachi and Lahore... I visited relative a year ago in village near Narowal and they had a roof top solar panels installed and they were not crying for load shedding at all.

 

[RazorMC]

How much would a set-up like this cost an average home-owner? Is it affordable enough for most people or still a novelty?

 

[Muhammad Omar]

How much would a set-up like this cost an average home-owner? Is it affordable enough for most people or still a novelty?

this might help you

Welcome to Paksolar

Solar Panels, Solar Energy, Canadian Solar, Yingli, Suntech, Solar Panel, Price in Pakistan at Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad at Nizam Energy

Hybrid Solar Systems for Homes Offices Schools - Energy Potential Solar Systems, Pakistan

Solar System, Solar Kit, Solar Energy, Solar Home System in Pakistan for Sale at Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad by Nizam Energy

Solar System Pakistan Private Limited.

Residential Solar Systems in Pakistan, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad by Nizam Energy

 

[RazorMC]

this might help you

Welcome to Paksolar

Solar Panels, Solar Energy, Canadian Solar, Yingli, Suntech, Solar Panel, Price in Pakistan at Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad at Nizam Energy

Hybrid Solar Systems for Homes Offices Schools - Energy Potential Solar Systems, Pakistan

Solar System, Solar Kit, Solar Energy, Solar Home System in Pakistan for Sale at Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad by Nizam Energy

Solar System Pakistan Private Limited.

Residential Solar Systems in Pakistan, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad by Nizam Energy

So it requires an investment of almost PKR 100 for every solar Watt?

Kind of expensive in the beginning, but reducing dependency on the grid for in-house lighting will prove dead cheap in the long run.

 

[[Bregs]]

These type of solar plants as a starter are useful if started in offices/colleges/schools roof top buildings who consume bulk of electricity during day time and solar produces most of energy that time, later on they can be spread to bigger apartments having flats

 

[Muhammad Omar]

So it requires an investment of almost PKR 100 for every solar Watt?

Kind of expensive in the beginning, but reducing dependency on the grid for in-house lighting will prove dead cheap in the long run.

that's it's just felt expensive in the beginning but one can look for long run Plus these have warranty of 25 years all you need to do is change the Battery....

Or you can just charge you UPS batteries with solar panels install Solar Geysers and and even solar AC's to it can reduce you bills quiet down

I visited Karachi in June and saw many many Solar Panels on Offices and Building specially in Tower Port Area and Near Lyari

 

[pak avatar]

Sadly without govt sudsides or incentives solar is still not viable in karachi
It is viable in Punjab bcuz of the crazy amount of loadshedding that takes place.
An effective strategy would be to solarize villages on the national grid so that they r self sufficent, as a result there would be no need to transmit from the national grid reducing the transmission losses which r a major reason for loadshedding

 

[jupiter2007]

Government should setup Solar panel manufacturing plant in Pakistan and offer Solar Energy to Commercial and residential customers on installment basis. It will greatly reduce the dependency on national grid.

Invest in R & D in renewable energy.

http://hmsbturk.com/doc/hmsb-katalog.pdf

 

[Bouncer]

How much would a set-up like this cost an average home-owner? Is it affordable enough for most people or still a novelty?

You can go for a smaller setup or solar powered devices like fans, lights etc. For bigger systems, it really depends on your consumption.

I did some research few months back. My goal was to get a hassle free, high quality system that will be running two ACs, one TV, one fridge, couple of fans and lights. The consumption requirement was around 10 KW. And the end to end cost (equipment, installation, maintenance by a renowned company which will not close shop after a few months, gel based batteries, hybrid invertor) was around 25 lac. Needless to say it was too costly and would have taken me around 10 years to recover its cost compared to same load on Wapda. And remember, the often touted 25 years life is for panels only (and they too loose their efficiency). Batteries and invertors are just as important and they do NOT have this much life.

Even Americans (with WAY higher spending power) than Pakistanis are struggling to adopt solar without government subsidies, tax rebates etc, net metering etc. So IMO, residential solar power generation at a significant rate will fail to happen any time soon in Pakistan.

 

[RazorMC]

You can go for a smaller setup or solar powered devices like fans, lights etc. For bigger systems, it really depends on your consumption.

I did some research few months back. My goal was to get a hassle free, high quality system that will be running two ACs, one TV, one fridge, couple of fans and lights. The consumption requirement was around 10 KW. And the end to end cost (equipment, installation, maintenance by a renowned company which will not close shop after a few months, gel based batteries, hybrid invertor) was around 25 lac. Needless to say it was too costly and would have taken me around 10 years to recover its cost compared to same load on Wapda. And remember, the often touted 25 years life is for panels only (and they too loose their efficiency). Batteries and invertors are just as important and they do NOT have this much life.

Even Americans (with WAY higher spending power) than Pakistanis are struggling to adopt solar without government subsidies, tax rebates etc, net metering etc. So IMO, residential solar power generation at a significant rate will fail to happen any time soon in Pakistan.

That's right. But the costs isn't too high if we were to use solar just for lighting. The LED bulbs use way less energy even when compared to energy-savers. A 5watt LED produces the same light as a 12watt saver.

 

[Muhammad Omar]

That's right. But the costs isn't too high if we were to use solar just for lighting. The LED bulbs use way less energy even when compared to energy-savers. A 5watt LED produces the same light as a 12watt saver.

you can Replace your home lights ( energy Savers) with LED lights Or Even SMD