Pakistan and China are building the world’s largest solar project, known as the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Park (QUASP).The solar farm is built in an ideal location in the desert and gets 13 hours of sunlight every day.
This is the first solar power plant ever built in Pakistan. The first phase of this mega solar power project was recently completed in August and was constructed by the Chinese company SunOasis in just three months. The first phase cost around $130 million and is presently selling power to Pakistan’s national power grid.
When the project is completed in 2017, there will be about 5.2 million photovoltaic cells and it will generate about 1,000 megawatts of electricity, which will be enough to power about 320,000 homes.
The solar plant will shrink Pakistan’s carbon footprint
As per QUASP, this project will help in displacing about 57,500 tons of coal burnt each year and will reduce carbon emissions by 90,750 tons annually.
As per experts, the project has some negative impacts as well
Solar power production consumes lots of water. Not only that, solar panels need to be kept clean. Water needed to clean 5.2 million panels would be massive. Moreover, the construction of the project is sure to negatively impact biodiversity in the area.
