Pakistan
is an energy deficient country, where a large fraction of
the population still does not have access to modern day
energy services such as electricity. This is due to very
limited fossil fuel resources and poor economy, which restrains
the import of fossil fuels on a large scale. To overcome
energy shortage, Pakistan needs to develop its indigenous
energy resources like hydropower, solar and wind. Pakistan
lies in an area of one of the highest solar insolation in
the world. This vast potential can be exploited to produce
electricity, which could be provided to off-grid communities
in the northern hilly areas and the southern and western
deserts. Applications other than electricity production
such as solar water heaters and solar cookers also have
vast applications. All this will help in both reducing the
import of fossil fuels and dependency of people on fuel
wood, which in turn will provide some respite for the dwindling
forest reserves of Pakistan. |
