South Korea to Build Balochistan's 1,000-Megawatt Solar Plant to Meet Energy Shortfall

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The launch of a major solar power project is also a major step in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province by area. The world-class installation will have the capacity to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW), which will cover the province's current power shortfall of 900 MW. The developer and builder of the project is The Korean Solar Energy Company (Seoul, South Korea).

"The Korean government has agreed to invest in the power sector of Balochistan, and has signed a memorandum of understanding for building a 300-MW solar power plant with the provincial government and to start work on the remaining 700 MW of the project," said Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Aslam Shakir Baloch.

Balochistan officials held three result-oriented sessions with their Korean counterparts covering investments in the energy sector. Land has been earmarked for the project, which will take three years to complete from the start of construction.

The official said that the province was moving ahead on the $9.1 million Solar Energy Home Project, in which about 300 villages in areas of the province will receive electricity. He added that the government was working on the conversion of agri-tube wells to run on solar energy. Under a federal government directive, the provincial government has to give supporting subsidies to about 15,600 tube wells in the agriculture sector. All government buildings (including Balochistan Governor House) will be linked to the solar energy system.

Work on power-generating alternatives, such as solar, wind and geothermal, are also in progress along the Balochistan coast, and the Balochistan Energy Company has been set up to meet the challenge of the power sector. The new solar energy project will add nearly $100 million to the provincial exchequer.

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