Status and outlook of Solar Photovoltaic Energy utilization in Pakistan – A review

To overcome the shortage of energy, Pakistan must develop its own indigenous energy resources, such as hydropower, solar and wind energy. Pakistan is in an area of one of the highest solar streams in the world. This great potential can be exploited to produce electricity, which can be presented to cold communities in the hilly areas of the north, south, and western deserts. Consequently, this paper discusses the situation and prospects for the use of photovoltaic energy in Pakistan. In this energy scenario, the PV energy shares are in the range of a fraction of a percentage compared to total conventional energy supplies. Main emphasis in this study has been given on presentation of data about photovoltaic energy (PV) installations in the country, the on-going activities, development projects, PV planning and accomplishments of public sector PV institutions and organizations. Fortunately, Pakistan is among those regions where sunlight warms the surface throughout the year and therefore has a strong force of generating solar energy