Alternative Energy Development Board

Completed Projects

Solar Home Systems SHS:

The Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) had initiated this project to provide villagers comforts of lighting, cooking and water disinfection through solar energy technologies. This project demonstrates PV utility for small power requirements and remote area applications. During the previous financial years, the Board has electrified 11 villages in all the provinces in the country.

Table 1: Villages Electrified through Solar Photovoltaic in FY 2004-05

Village Name	District	Province	No. of Houses
Narian	Rawalpindi	Punjab	53
Korian	Rawalpindi	Punjab	57
Allah Baksh Bazar Dandar	Turbat	Balochistan	121
Lakhi bhair	D.G.Khan	Punjab	135
Bharomal	Chachro	Sindh	115
Jhanak	Gujrat	NWFP	120
		Total	601

Table 2: Villages Electrified through Solar Photovoltaic in FY 2005-06

Village Name	District	Province	No. of Houses
Takht	Kalat	Balochistan	100
Killi Mama Macherzai	Killa Saifulla	Balochistan	100
Basti Bugha	D.G.Khan	Punjab	100
Pinpario	Chachro	Sindh	100
Shnow Garri	Kohat	NWFP	100
		Total	400

*Total No. of Houses that were electrified are 1001

Lighting:

Each individual house has been given its own Solar Home System (SHS) and has been made responsible to operate and maintain it. Each household in each village has been provided with 80 Watt Solar Panel, Charge Controller, Battery, 4 CFL Lamps, 2 LED lights, a 12 Volt DC fan and a TV socket. The Solar panel charges battery during daylight hours and the stored energy is being used to provide light to homes/streets and operate fans/TV during day and night. The user is only required to switch on / off the lighting system as is done in normal home lighting systems. Figures below show villages electrified using solar energy in different provinces.

SHS installed in Janak, NWFP

SHS installed in Shnow Garri,NWFP

SHS installed in Bharomal, Sindh

SHS installed in Bugha Basti, Punjab

SHS installed in Takht, Balochistan

Energy Savor installed in a house

Solar Concentrating Cooking:

Utilizing direct solar heat, the Solar Concentrating Cookers as shown below can cook food for 10-15 persons in the same time as done with gas cooking. These have been given to the users to reduce dependency over fossil fuel and to reduce deforestation by as much as 80% in each village annually. The Solar Concentrating Cookers have been indigenously developed by the local manufacturers of each province of Pakistan.

Solar Water Disinfector:

Solar Water Disinfectors are used for disinfecting the brackish water. The Solar Water Disinfector has been given to users to provide clean drinking water. These units can meet the daily water requirements of a 10-member household as shown below. The Solar Water Disinfectors have also been indigenously developed by the local manufacturers of each province of Pakistan.

Solar Cooker

Solar Disinfector

Current Status of Solar Photovoltaic Project

Based on success of this program, the government had approved replication of this project in 400 villages in Balochistan & Sindh. Overall objective of this program is to develop technological and strategically implementation plan to electrify 6968 villages in Balochistan and 906 villages in Sindh through Renewable Energy sources that are outside the 20 km radius of the national grid. It is planned to implement this program with a phase wise and clustered approach. In these project 100 villages selected in Sindh province and 100 villages each in Balochistan Province i.e. Southern Balochistan, Central Balochistan and Northern Balochistan will be electrified through SHS technology. The project is currently in the implementation phase and transportation/ installation of the equipment in the homes of the selected villages is underway. People inhabiting these remote villages will have access to not only the basic amenity of electricity, but clean potable solar pumped water as well, thus elevating their standard of living.

Advantages of the Technology:

PV cells are modular and light, have no moving parts, have no direct impact on the environment and require minimal maintenance. In theory, they are available anywhere in the world, can be installed and operated in areas of difficult access and are an easy route to a power source for the developing world. In addition, they have a long life and durability as well as low operating costs.
Photovoltaic electricity generation has a low energy density per hectare and its efficiency does not depend on the size of a photovoltaic plant. This makes it extremely suitable for a wide range of applications. Photovoltaic systems can be used in small, decentralised plants as well as in larger, central power plants; they can be built in sizes from cm2 up to km2 and can be used in many different types of locations.

Project Benefits:

Rural people have been trained as technicians for working with the solar companies involved in the programme and provide installation and maintenance services. The ability to operate radios and TVs has increased access to information for rural households. The programme has contributed toward significant improvements in health through reductions to indoor pollution. A World Bank study has revealed that a house with kerosene as the lighting source results in indoor air pollution equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day for exposed occupants. The indoor pollution problem resulting of the burning of firewood for cooking and heating purposes is reduced. Awareness to public and community through media campaigns, workshops and direct meetings had ensured participation of end users. Also, training to the users resulted in proper operation and maintenance of the system, thus making it a sustainable project. The project benefits are poverty reduction, job provision, education, provision of clean drinking water and community uplift. Provision of light has not only provided comfort to the masses, it has also helped students to study at night. The system provides light as well as fans that are a necessity in all parts of Pakistan. Light has enhanced the working hours of local business and increased the capacity of small manufacturers. Local telephone operators, Internet cafe, maintenance shops and local fabricators have grown considerably with the help of these technologies.

Click here to view Technical Specifications of Solar Home Systems