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"Supporting
Local Industries To Develop Renewable Energy Technologies with a focus on
SOLAR CELLS MANUFACTURING industry "
The cost of the
solar systems can be brought down if we go for the manufacture of solar
panels within country.
Solar panels
basically utilize solar cells in their manufacture.
In one panel,
approximately, 80 or more solar cells are used, depending upon the power
required and the electric gadgets you want to run utilizing these panels.
Each solar cell
costs approximately Rs. 1000 if imported from abroad.
These cells
would be required in millions or may be in billions if requirement of the
whole country is to be met.
In short as per
discussion with the concerned agencies in Pakistan if Solar Cells could be
produced from local raw material then it will cost 2.5 US Dollars per Watt as
against 9-10 US Dollars per watt if imported.
As we have
sufficient Raw material in Pakistan we can export it to the
neighbouring countries. Only China is manufacturing in solar cells
in our region.
We cannot
import such a huge quantity of solar cells from other countries due to
financial constraints. So, naturally, there would be no other option but to
resort to manufacturing these cells in our own country.
Once it has
been decided in principle to manufacture solar cells in Pakistan, then we would look for three basic requirements
i.e. raw material, trained manpower and necessary infrastructure.
The basic raw
material (quartz) is available in abundance in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) in our
country.
But, this raw material is useless for us as far
as its purification and development to a stage where this raw material
could be converted into solar cells is concerned.
This equipment
will have to be imported; but it would be a one-time investment. One would be surprised to know that this raw material is being
utilized by the local population of GB for raising the walls of their
houses in place of bricks as the locals do not know its value. Some of them
take it for marble as well!
The other raw
material required to manufacture solar cells is silica (sand) which is in
inexhaustible quantity in River Sindh as water these days is otherwise in
less quantity in our rivers. At least we chould make use of
silica in the manufacture of solar cells.
So, to venture into manufacturing
of solar panels, both the raw materials are available.
The other
requirement is that of manpower. I have no qualms in making a statement
here that we have the finest and the most hard-working, skilled manpower
available in country.
The expertise
of such workers is not less than any worker deployed in the western
countries for such jobs. The only difference is that a European worker of
such caliber gets US $ 45 per hour whereas a Pakistani worker, if he is
paid $5 per hour (or even less) in his own country would be the happiest
man around.
While starting
manufacturing of solar cells, it would be advisable if we do it in
collaboration with a world-renowned company as India has done in the wind
energy sector. It had a joint venture for the
manufacture of wind turbines with a company that has 26000 wind turbines to
its credit! This company has a name in wind industry and its wind turbines
are being used the world over!
This way,
we would lay our hands on the best and the latest technology in the field
of solar energy and our manpower would also be trained through short
orientation courses as they already possess sound knowledge and strong
technical base. By adopting this strategy, the cost of the solar cells is
bound to reduce drastically.
Presently, there is only one
factory manufacturing solar panels in Pakistan which is located at Hattar Industrial Area near Taxila, 1-1/2 hours drive
from Islamabad. But, due to various compulsions, its
importing these costly cells from abroad at an exorbitant price.
In a solar system, apart from solar panels
(which include solar cells), tampered glass sheets, batteries and inverters
(to convert DC electricity into AC) are also used. We have innumerable
factories producing good batteries in our country; so there is no problem
in their manufacture! Rather, we can go for maintenance-free batteries!
Just augmentation of the manufacturing facilities of the existing factories
is required.
Regarding
tampered glass, we have many glass manufacturing factories in Pakistan. In
this case as well, we all have to augment their existing facilities to
produce tampered glass of required specifications. Again, I may mention
here that its a tampered glass sheet on which
solar cells are pasted; this glass sheet with solar cells pasted on it is
called a solar panel. Tampered glass is after all glass and nothing else.
Required machinery could be imported and installed in our existing glass
manufacturing factories. There is no need to set up separate, dedicated
factories for each item. Let's make best use of our existing facilities
with a bit of augmentation. This approach would be highly cost-effective!
As far as converter is concerned, we âre already manufacturing thousands of them for our UPS
which are installed in each and every house now, thanks to load shedding!
A misconception: Its generally perceived and is true also that the cost
of using solar energy is prohibitively high. If the cost is that high then
why the entire Europe is still making use of this form of energy while the
sunshine is very scarce in the European countries. We have to adopt
measures to bring this cost down so that an ordinary Pakistani could
purchase this system. And to do that, all the points are in our favour.
Win-Win-Situation:
Investing in a solar electric system has many benefits. It allows you to
produce your own electricity with no noise, no air pollution, and no moving
parts. Moreover, this system would
never run out of fuel (sun light), and it will help reduce the amount of
greenhouse gasses emitted by coal and natural gas-fired power plants. Due
to these unique characteristics, solar electric technology has been called
the ultimate energy source for the 21st century.
There are countries where people using solar energy have covered the
entire roof tops of their houses with solar panels. They âre
generating electricity which is meeting, if not full, at least a part of
their electricity requirements. As the cost of electricity provided by
utility companies rises, they would be compelled to resort to solar energy
in a big way.
In some countries, solar systems have become so popular that
senior citizens are investing their pension money in solar parks. The solar panels in these parks
are connected to tracking devices that generate up to 40% more energy than
fixed systems. One solar park is owned by as many as 700 to 800 individual
investors, each of whom owns one or two large solar panels in that park. The income received from these panels adds to their pension amount
and is guaranteed to be paid by the utility companies for 25 years. The
cost of such panels is substantially reduced with a tax concession from the
government. As the annual income is guaranteed, there is a long waiting
list of willing investors. In Pakistan Feed in Tariff have to be introduced.
Another use of solar energy could be in the form of solar cookers.
A solar cooker is nothing but a concave mirror fixed on a metallic stand. The mirror converges
sun's rays at a focal point through reflection where a utensil is placed
that gets heated. I have myself taken tea prepared on a solar cooker! Just
imagine! Six thousand refugee families in Sudan are making use of these
cookers successfully. Earlier, the women folk used to go out and bring
thorny bushes as fuel for cooking purposes.
With the
arrival of the solar cookers, this practice has ceased and the forests are
also saved. The people
living in our hilly areas can emulate their example and use these cookers
which might not be costing more than Rs. 1000 each! I may mention here that
a solar cooker doesn't utilize solar cells. It utilizes just the reflection
of sun rays, and the sun rays are free!
To conclude, it
can be said that solar energy is one of the most viable options for
Pakistan. Even
countries with less sun light are making the best use of this free resource
(sun light). We, in Pakistan, aren't short of sun light as sun shines on
the entire length and breadth of the country throughout the year. We can
make use of this inexhaustible resource and contribute towards meeting the
shortfall of electricity.
If we don't do
it now, then it would be just a matter of time when oil would be touching $
200 a barrel and the World Bank/IMF would be
pressing us hard to increase the electricity price by 100 %. Then, we would be left with no
option but to grab every opportunity to generate electricity from any
available source, what-so-ever! We should opt for the manufacture of solar
panels including solar cells in-country.
For this
purpose, we should establish not one but several factories for the
manufacture of solar panels and cells in Pakistan. We have unimaginable quantities
of raw material at our disposal and our manpower is second to none. With
the availability of abundant raw material at throw-away price and the
cheapest yet highly skilled technical manpower, the profits that would be
accrued is mind boggling!,
It's said that if enough solar panels
using indigenous solar cell are installed and energy efficiencies are
ensured, the home owners can receive a zero power bill!
Think of the
Environment before printing!
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