A Pakistan northern provincial government will power 5,800 off-grid homes with a 200-watt solar panel for each family.

While non-technical people may believe that renewables have no future, some countries are moving forward with projects that demonstrate the potential and present of clean energy. 
An excellent example from Pakistan where 5,800 homes will be Powered by Solar Energy.

A Pakistan northern provincial government will power 5,800 off-grid homes with a 200-watt solar panel for each family.

The homes are located in 200 villages of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The government is paying 4 million rupees, or $3.94 million, to install solar panels in up to 29 homes in each village. It will take the government nine months to equip each household.

 Cricket player Imran Khan helped execute this plan as part of the Green Growth Initiative (GGI) he started in 2014. Mr. Khan, who leads the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, launched GGI in an effort to use natural resources to stimulate Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s socio-economic growth. His objective is for the province to use its natural resources in the best possible manner without wasting them, so they can still be used by future generations.

 For instance, GGI is working on having buses run on compressed natural gas, rechargeable electric batteries, and renewable sources of energy, like hydropower. Micro-hydro plants that harness running water are being built to power 10 percent of the 40 percent of the province that is off the grid. Within the next three years hydroelectric plants will power the mountainous northern part of the province. Homes that are off the grid in the southern part of the province will be powered by solar energy.

Under the plan each household will be given the following solar equipment:

 A 200-watt solar panel
Two Batteries
Accessories to run two mobile phone charging slots, a pedestal and ceiling fan, and three LED lights

The government is going to fund 90 percent of cost for the solar supplies. Each family will have to pay for the rest of the cost. The first phase of this program is going to generate 1.2 megawatts (MW) of power. 

The ultimate objective is to power all homes in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with solar energy. The whole province needs 2,500 MW; however, Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, only delivers 1,600 MW. Mr. Khan is eager is to make the province sustainable to stimulate its development. “We will exploit renewable energy resources and produce our own electricity, after which we will not need to beg from the center,” Mr. Khan said. Speaking at a worker’s convention in Islamabad last month he promised that he would work to end Khyber Pakhtunkhwa energy shortfall. Blackouts plague Pakistan in the summer; its short 8,000 MW of power.

As a result, urban areas lose power for 10 hours a day. Rural areas lose electricity for more than 14 hours a day. Rural areas make up more than 80 percent of the 44 percent of the off-grid homes in Pakistan.

And more than 30 percent of families who live in rural areas have to light their homes using kerosene or candles. Senator Zahid Khan of the Awami National Party argues that distributing solar panels in this off-grid area is a mistake. “The off-grid projects are a waste of time and money,” Senator Khan said. “These are temporary measures and are not sustainable.”

 He contends that most recipients of the solar equipment will sell it for cash or let it deteriorate because they are too poor to maintain it. “The government should start building small dams in the province as this would not only help generate enough electricity but also provide water for irrigation and drinking,” Senator Khan said.

The president of the Renewable and Alternative Energy Association of Pakistan, Naseer Ahmad said, nonetheless, that such solutions require recurring costs whereas only a one-time investment is necessary to fund solar energy. “Investing in (solar) energy is much better than investing in the construction of dams and exploration for fossil fuels,” Mr. Ahmad said.

Mr. Ahmad, however, wants families to pay for half of the cost of the solar equipment, so the government pays less per home and and use the remaining funds to help power more homes with solar energy. He also wants to educate people on how solar energy avoids greenhouse gas emissions, how it supplies homes with a power source that’s more dependable, and other advantages it affords. He argues this information will urge people to install solar equipment themselves.

Source: Webandtechs