VATIS UPDATE Article

The World Bank (WB), in partnership with the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), has launched a series of new solar maps for Pakistan in support of the efforts to increase the deployment of renewable energy in Pakistan. This will help in expanding access to sustainable and affordable sources of indigenous energy in the country. With these efforts, Pakistan will become the first country to benefit from validated solar maps.

The global initiative on renewable energy resource mapping is led by the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP), a multi-donor trust fund administered by the WB. Pakistan joins a small group of mainly developed countries, having access to duly validated and high quality solar energy maps available for planning and prospecting purposes. This initiative will facilitate investors in making more informed project decisions.

The WB project on solar mapping in Pakistan included field data, which is being generated by nine solar measurement stations installed two years ago throughout the country. The project supports AEDB’s efforts to harness renewable energy in all the provinces by improving access to bankable data. The solar maps used the latest solar resource modelling techniques, based on 18 years of satellite and global atmospheric data from 1999-2016.