In several developing countries there has always been a need for creating backup electricity since their electricity demand exceeds the supply for electricity. These nations usually have high populations, rank low in human development index and have low gross domestic product ratio. Such developing countries are also slow in economic growth and also rank lower in foreign direct investment. As a result, they usually do not cater the requirements of electricity for domestic, residential and commercial requirements.
The governments in such countries experience great pressure of providing electricity and filling up the gap between demand and supply. One method through which they try to fill in the gap between the supply of electricity and the demand of electricity is to initiate and create projects that generate electricity. These projects are not very easy and simple to start or initiate but takes several years for planning alone. These projects are reduced to blue prints and financial analysis where the projects are evaluated to identify whether they are feasible to take or not. This feasibility exercise is conducted today for short, medium or long term tenure ahead. The short term period consists of a period of one to three years, the medium term consists of a period of three to five years while the long term consists a period of over five years. It is advised that the projections should not exceed ideally the period over ten years because predicting the results after ten years would be a complete guess work and inaccurate. So, the period of five years is usually undertaken and cash inflows and out flows is calculated for this period. If the cash inflows are greater than the outflows and it is considered with high reliability that he project to be undertaken would be beneficial for the people of the country then it is immediately undertaken.
For acquiring Solar Panel Power System in Pakistan is importing solar panel and related accessories. Since the cost of production in importing countries is reduced remarkably due to many industry players and lower raw material and production costs, it in turns affect cost of acquisition in Pakistan.
Such projects require high costs and thus require huge sums of money. As state earlier that these projects are not the simple ones and must be tacked with great expertise, the arrangement of finance is one of the greatest challenges for starting these projects. Remember, these projects are for the purpose of creating additional electricity that will help consumers to meet their demand of electricity. If these projects are smoothly run for a medium term period (which is 3-5 years) then they are expected to meet the excessive electricity requirements of masses. The residential and commercial usage both needs equal attention by the government in general and by the ministry of power management in particular. The electricity requirement for residential purposes serves the needs of common households. Usually the public pressure is from students who need electricity to study, elderly people because most of them suffer from diseases and women who work at home from dawn to dusk.
Countries that have hot and humid climate are usually poor with the exception of few like Australia etc. Asia, including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are estimated to have a combined population of 1.5 billion and counting has high mercury. Their temperature is between ten to twenty degree Celsius on average to thirty five to forty five degree Celsius in winter and summer respectively. Due to this high temperature and exposure to sun almost throughout the year, these countries are especially likely to be a market for consumption of solar panel systems.
Due to an increase in demand of electricity in these countries where the gap between the demand and supply of electricity is increasing, the backup plan for electricity is of utmost importance. In rural as well as urban areas, the electricity is not available for few hours to several hours. The electricity generating equipment in case when the electricity goes out are generators and uninterrupted power supply equipment. Usually every house hold has this form of back-up electricity generating machines or equipment installed at their home. They cost a consumer two hundred dollars to 500 dollars for an average household. In case of generators they have a useful life of over ten years but they require fuel consumption, maintenance and other related expenses for operating. Although they have been reduced in terms of costs in the recent years, they have yet to provide consistent quality. Several producers who were ranked high are now replaced with producers who give an average or below average products but with lower costs. All these problems soon started creating a market for an alternative. Later, this increasing gap of unmet demand for electricity was targeted by producers of solar panels.
A solar panel is simply a slab that is kept on roof or a place that is fully exposed to sun. The slab is connected with wires to batteries. As the sun rises and its rays reaches the slab the process of creating electricity starts. It converts the heat generated from sun to electricity which is stored in the batteries. The higher the mercury the more easily and fully the batteries are charged. Now, when the sun finally sets in the west the process of electricity creation and storage finally stops. If the electricity goes out the electricity created from solar sources comes into play and used for operating bulbs, lights, fans and other electricity appliances.
For Solar Panel Pakistan is one of the most untapped markets in the world. This is the part of the world where sun gives scorching heat in summers and also there is adequate sun light during winters. Solar panels have low operational cost. They do not require petrol for operation and its daily usage costs are low. However, they have high costs of purchase and installation. They are useful for homes where residents would live on a permanent basis because solar panel system gives benefits only on a long term basis. Their high cost would be recovered after several years of operation.
Power generation is controlled centrally by the government because it ensures that the power generated from its resources is provided to every person in country and revenue is generated in turn. There are many projects that currently provide us the power required however all these resources combined are not enough for meeting the demand completely. The government is aiming at installing and initiating new projects that can produce power while at the same time they have allowed individuals, corporates and companies to acquire their own sources of power generating facilities. One of such facilities are solar power which is imported from various countries. Initially the government imposed a hundred percent tax in order to discourage the independent or private generation of power. However, later when the demand and supply gap started to appear as deficit and the needs and wants of power were not met, the government immediately removed the extra tax imposition on solar panels. In some provinces especially in central and northern region the government promotes the usage of items used to capture the sun energy and then converting it to power for usage.
For using Solar Power Panel Pakistan companies provide several customized solutions for their customers. Let us first talk about the requirements for individuals. The household requirements for power usually are in the bracket of 1.5 KVA to 3 KVA and for this purpose the solution offered by the companies in Pakistan cost around six thousand dollars to twelve thousand united states dollars. The initial cost currently seems high but you see the costs that were imposed five years back when the solar energy system was first introduced, the current cost is very low. The cost is expected to reduce further as more and more industry players are jumping in the industry. Since the current and expected future demand for solar system power generation is high in the country, the solar power industry looks highly profitable. However, in southern part of the country, the awareness is not that efficient and people are yet to understand the term and even convinced with the idea.
The use of generators or other form of back-up power generation systems is used only when the state provided electricity is dysfunctional. But with the introduction of solar power generation solution, now you can completely cut out from using the state provided electricity. However, the initial cost for purchasing and operation the system still bothers and deters many to use this power generation equipment. If a house-hold implements a six thousand dollar solar power solution then it would take at least 5 years for it to recover the cost. But after five years the solar power solution is extremely cost efficient. For this purpose the person should own the house and also willing to stay there for long term. For commercial purposes the costs are very high and large investment is required. Also, the large machines requiring huge power consumption are not run on solar power. With the advancement of technology, we can see small solar panel slabs conserving large amount of power.
In countries marked as tropical, the sun is usually seen majority of the year. On the other hand, the country where the weather is usually cloudy, the sun is seldom seen and therefore the benefits of using solar power energy system are lower. However, if you see the other side of the picture, the consumption in countries where mercury levels are high throughout the year is also high. With the usage of air conditioners the electricity consumption increases many times.
The provision of electricity is through state provided power systems. Nowadays, governments are taking projects that produce power. One of such project is wind mill projects in which several wind mills are installed or erected at places where the winds are high and strong and forces the wind mills to produce energy in high units. Wind mills are also a good alternative in countries that have mild or cold temperature and thus are not viable or feasible to produce energy through sun induced power facilities like solar power etc.
Windmill projects were started off in Pakistan earlier in this century. In India these projects were introduced in the last two decades of the previous century. The main difference between power generation from windmill and solar panels is not reduced only to the temperature of the countries. There are several other difference including the convenience and acceptability. The windmill projects are owned and operated by state in almost every country. It is very difficult and almost uncertain that the project can be undertaken by individuals. This is very imperative because the windmills are large in size and requires high form of expertise and technical knowledge to install. Solar panels on the other hand can be placed on the roof of the house and is now increasingly being used throughout the country. The windmills are very large in size and cannot be placed at a house since they are installed at windy locations. Also, the solar panels are now becoming cost convenient and the initial investment required for their acquisition and installation are more and more inside the budget of an individual. Some corporations who are involved in manufacturing may have windmills if they operated in factories located at suburbs of the city.
For producing Solar Energy Pakistan government is deliberating to have large areas dedicated for producing power through solar panels. Engineers from foreign countries including China and Japan are invited to take part in the bid and provide solutions for solar power generation on a large basis. The government provides a large area of land where hundreds and thousands of large sized solar panel sheets or slabs are installed. They are regulated initially by the foreign consultants and engineers and their operational work is delegated to local engineers and experts slowly. The contract or agreement is entered into between Pakistan government and a foreign company. The contract not only states the number of solar panels required but also state the level of services required. For few years the operation and maintenance is wholly performed by the foreign consultants.
For manufacturing corporations, commercial activities may come to a halt and thereby create huge losses in the event when the electricity goes off. In several cases, the raw material in the machines that originally has a solid form and later melted inside the machines for mixing with other material or producing finished goods may get frozen. This material may lose its original strength and become unfit for usage if melted inside machine and not used for finished goods forthwith. Due to this reason and many other reasons combined, the use of generators in factories and companies has become quite inevitable.
Companies usually prioritize work and therefore allocate machines that are of utmost necessity in the event of power breakdown. Usually companies have two generators, the first is the larger one that cater the entire need of the factory or building and the second one is a bit smaller one. The larger one is used during peak hours when the requirement for electricity is highest. The smaller one is used during non-peak hours and especially during nights when the load is low. The generators can be acquired and purchased by companies who have good money and cash sources. Alternatively they can be rented by entering into agreements with companies. Usually it is advised that generators must be purchased because renting out won’t serve the purpose in the long term. A company who is facing cash shortage and is unable to buy or purchase its own generator may take loan from a bank equal to the cash amount of the generator. The loan is then disbursed and it is better to pay off the bank loan and get the generator in your ownership rather than paying rentals for that period of time.
For buying Diesel Generators Pakistan has a complete market in its three large cities. For other cities it is advised that the companies come to the large cities to purchase and transport it back to the cities. The demand for diesel generators has increased in the last five years because electricity shortage is seen several times and also the electricity costs are on an increasing trend. The rise in electricity cost affects the companies especially those that are dependent on electricity for producing their goods. Due to tight competition, such companies provide their items to consumers at a low margin. Any increase in the cost of production directly affects the margin of the product. The company in such cases is left with no option than to pass the increase on to the consumers. The generators require service and overhauling after some hours of operation. The generators that are brand new usually require less service and in turn the maintenance costs are lower. However, when old generators are purchased it is advised that such generators must be imported and a complete verification of the item is performed before striking a deal. The inspection of a generator is a bit difficult in case the vendor and the generator reside in some other country. An option in this case is to send a team of engineers and experts to that country for a couple of days for inspection and reporting back.