Amid a worsening energy crisis, Pakistan has approved the use of grid-connected solar energy, rooftop solar installations and mortgage financing for home solar panels to boost uptake of clean energy in the country.
The government has also reversed course and eliminated a 32.5% tax imposed on imported solar equipment in the country’s 2014-2015 budget. The reversal aims to bring down the spiraling cost of installing solar panels.
The approval of net-metering – which allows solar panel purchasers to sell power they produce to the national grid – is a major breakthrough that could spur the use of solar energy and help Pakistan’s government cut power shortages in the long run, said Asjad Imtiaz Ali, chief executive officer of the Alternative Energy Development Board which is a public organisation.
Ali said the government decided to cut newly imposed taxes on the import of solar panels following pressure from business owners, the public and media.
And the decision to allow solar generators to sell their excess generating capacity means “consumers can now install rooftop solar systems and sell the extra energy to the national grid,” he said.
The State Bank of Pakistan and the Alternative Energy Development Board have recently allowed the banking sector for the first time to finance rooftop solar installation with home mortgages as well.
