KARACHI: Pakistan-based conglomerate ACT Group plans to set up 1.0GW of solar PV module assembly capacity in Pakistan by the summer of 2021, starting with a 250MW first phase by July next year, PV-Tech reported.
ACT has acquired the necessary land in Karachi and is ready for construction, pending the securing of financing.
The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) has underlined the compelling need for local manufacturing of renewable energy technologies for rapid deployment of renewable energy in Pakistan.
“Local production would not only trigger reduction of costs but would also speed up local industrial development. Domestic production facilities will create new job opportunities in the sector resulting in a larger local supply chain,” WWEA notes in a report.
The World Wind Energy Association suggests that the provincial governments should diligently support domestic manufacturing and provide an enabling environment for production hubs for renewable technologies.
It is imperative to note that local manufacturing might be costly in the beginning as cost reduction through learning-by-doing is higher when technologies are still in infancy. But strengthening domestic production will aid long-term targets of scaling up renewable energy development.
The provincial governments would do well to incentivize the private sector for local manufacturing by having a stable policy mechanism that entices the private sector and foreign direct investment.
It is worth mentioning that Pakistan spends around $2.3 billion annually on things ranging from kerosene lamps and candles to torches powered by batteries as about 144 million people in the country lack reliable access to the grid.
Much of the solar equipment used in Pakistani solar projects to date has been imported from China and Europe, but ACT group, which is already an active solar EPC player, has started a shift to buying both cables and mounting structures domestically. As part of this change, it also plans to set up what will be the country’s first ever module manufacturing facility, but under a different brand name that is still under discussion.
It has signed a deal with Italian firm Ecoprogetti to supply machinery and is currently going through the funding phase and is in talks with multiple banks.
ACT also intends to source the cells and other components for the modules from China and other parts of the Far East. It is also talking to a couple of Chinese manufacturers who are looking outside China that might consider ACT Group as an OEM partner.
Under the company’s timelines, financing should be secured by the end of this month and the first 250MW phase should be built by July 2018, followed by another 250MW by July 2020 and 1GW by the summer of 2021.