Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park

Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park
Country Pakistan
Location Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan
Status First 100 MW completed
Construction began End 2014
Commission date 2015
Owner(s) Financing =Bank of Punjab
Operator(s) Tebian Electric Apparatus / TBEA Xinjiang SunOasis Co Ltd
Solar field
Type Poly Crystalline PV
Site area 6,500 acres[1]
Power generation
Nameplate capacity 100 MW
1,000 MW (planned)[2][3]
Website
qasolar.com

The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park is a photovoltaic power station under construction in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan, named in honor of Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan. Once fully completed by the end of 2016 it will have the capacity to generate 1,000 MW.

The first 100 MW were commissioned in May 2015,[4] and were completed by Tebian Electric Apparatus, a subsidiary of Xinjiang SunOasis.[5] The remaining 900 MW capacity will be installed by Zonergy under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.[6] Carbon emissions are expected to be 90,750 tons less than if the 1,000 MW of electricity were generated by conventional fossil fuel sources.[7]

Details

The first 100 MW project is owned 100% by the Quaid e Azam Solar Power Pvt. Ltd., a for profit company 100% owned by the Government of Punjab. The project is purely in IPP mode and the financing is obtained from a local bank the Bank of Punjab. The turnkey contractor for the project is TBEA Xinjiang SunOasis Co. Ltd.[2][3] The installation of the plant was completed within a record time of 3 months (Nov 2014 to Jan 2015), and it is currently under testing and commissioning.

The 100 MW solar power plant consists of the PV area and a 100 MVA substation. The electrical output is being connected to a 132kV transmission line that runs through the Solar Park. Currently the transmission line has a capacity of up to 400 MW and the utility company is in the process of upgrading its capacity to 1,000 MW.

The project started generating 100 MW of power in April 2015 and 1,000 MW by the end of 2016. The project comprises 400,000 solar panels and was built for a cost of about $131 million.[8] Once completed, the project will generate more than the current 550 MW installed capacity in the Topaz Solar Farm and the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm in California. The project's expected completion in 2016 would make it the largest photovoltaic power station.[4]

The government has invited investors to invest here for the balance 900 megawatts, in which several local and international companies will establish projects.[9][10] Several domestic and international investors have been granted LOIs to start the process of establishment of solar plants on IPP (independent power producer) basis.

The Government of Pakistan announced a new upfront feed in tariff for solar power plants in January 2015, where the investors will be able to sell electricity to the national grid at between 14 to 15 US cents per kWh. The announcement of this tariff and the completion of the first 100 MW at Bahawalpur has caused a great interest on the part of investors. Despite all the claims by the government, it has been revealed that the project is not suitable in the climate of Bahawalpur and instead of 100 MW it is producing only 18 MW (max) electricity. Furthermore, it has been constructed on a wildlife park, which has disturbed the bio-diversity of the area. Due to the enormous loss, now the government is thinking of privatising the solar park. [11]

Corruption

Contractors hired by a foreign company for the Quaid-i-Azam Solar Park (QASP) project allegedly made a fast buck by disposing of trees worth millions of rupees from the vast area. It is learnt that these contractors have sold these ‘keekar’ trees in the open market. Cholistan’s thousands of acre land having countless trees had been transferred under Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s directive by the Cholistan Development Authority (CDA) Bahawalpur to the Punjab Energy Department at the launch of the 1,000 megawatt QASP in 2013. Sources said the contractors had removed trees from the park area and sold many of these in the market rather than their auction by the energy department. They loaded trees onto tractor-trolleys at night and after seeking gate passes from the exit points managed to dispose of these, earning millions.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park: Solar energy’s 100MW to arrive in April". Tribune. 27 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Alternate energy: Pakistan’s first solar park rolled out". The Express Tribune. 10 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park approved". The Nation.
  4. 1 2 "Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park: Solar energy’s 100MW to arrive in April". The Express Tribune. 27 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "World's largest solar park to light up Pakistan's future" (8 September 2015). Dawn. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "World's largest solar park to light up Pakistan's future" (8 September 2015). Dawn. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "World's largest solar park to light up Pakistan's future" (8 September 2015). Dawn. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "World's largest solar park to light up Pakistan's future" (8 September 2015). Dawn. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "100mw Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park to be role model in energy sector: CM". The News International, Pakistan. 14 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Pakistan plans huge desert solar park to fight energy crisis". The Express Tribune. 20 April 2014.
  11. ↑ Khawaja, Nuddarat (6 Decemeber 2015). "Why is the govt privatising the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park?". Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ↑ Gill, Majeed (10th Oct, 2015). "Solar Park project: Cholistan’s precious trees being illegally sold". DAWN. Check date values in: |date= (help)

Coordinates: 29°19′08″N 71°49′25″E / 29.3190°N 71.8237°E / 29.3190; 71.8237

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, May 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.