r/technology • u/yogthos • 19h ago
Energy How Pakistan pulled off one of the fastest solar revolutions in the world
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/01/climate/pakistan-solar-boom424
u/RoundTableMaker 18h ago
Let me guess they bought a lot of solar panels.
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u/fmfame 16h ago
Yes because our power bills cost more than our salaries. Our politicians sold us to highest bidder.
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u/Kaam4 15h ago
I have doubt. Some one commented below powere cuts are also a reason
But on grid dont produce electricity during power cuts
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u/Lay-Z24 8h ago
yeah you’re still going to have power cuts even if you have solar. The truth is the cost of electricity made it a no brainer. you’d save as much as it cost in bills in about 3 years
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u/Kaam4 6h ago
how much 1 unit costs (domestic, urban household with 3-4 KW connection)
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u/Lay-Z24 6h ago
ranging from rs 22-rs 33 per unit based on consumption, i.e the first 100 units will be charged at lower price and then increase for every 100 units. Each area has different rates. you can do the conversion in local currency but do remember people don’t earn in dollars so an average house with just 1 AC running could get a bill of 30,000 rs. A bigger household with 3-4 rooms and 2 ACs could be like 70,000 rs whereas you could get good solar connection for 1 million back when everybody got solar. you can still get it around 1.5 million these days. At a 1 million price point, a household getting a bill of 50k could make their money back in less than 2 years!
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u/yogthos 18h ago
The most interesting part is that it's a grassroots movement of regular people buying them instead of a large state initiative.
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u/DynamicNostalgia 18h ago
This kind of thing can be expected all across the world as well. Panels will just get cheaper and the incentive will just continue to grow.
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u/yogthos 17h ago
The other huge benefit is that using solar panels ensures energy sovereignty. It's safer to produce energy domestically than to import it.
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u/UnrequitedRespect 17h ago
In some places
I live in a rain forest in the mountains, it would be nice this week and last but honestly we get cloud coverage like 330/365 a year
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u/Jabes 17h ago
Even on cloud covered days solar generates power. Not as much as direct sunshine but difused light works. You just need more panels.
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u/angrathias 4h ago
I’ve got a 6.6KW system. On some cloudy days I might get 0.5kwh for the entire day, and the next day I might get 15kwh when there is no clouds
There is no economically feasible way of dealing with that disparity. To get the same 15kwh on the cloudy day I’d need to install a 300+ kw system which is probably like 100 or more panels. On a sunny day where I might get 40+kwh I’d be generating enough power to create a death ray
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u/EverettWAPerson 4h ago
To get the same 15kwh on the cloudy day I’d need to install a 300+ kw system which is probably like 100 or more panels.
A bigger battery bank can also even out the power supply (depending on how many low solar days in a row).
Or just use your solar to supplement whatever other power supply you have.
Or both.
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u/Prior_Coyote_4376 17h ago
If Trump made one good point that Dems didn’t answer well, it’s how we account for a supply chain if we get absorbed into deals with madmen.
Trump made the point by blowing up the markets right at home, so I’m not a fan of the implementation but it is a good point.
Federalism and Unions.
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u/ghost_of_erdogan 14h ago
What?
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u/Prior_Coyote_4376 13h ago
I’m saying that being able to make something at home has value, and Dems haven’t really responded to that point after 08, which hit home for too many people who value regional supply chains for more security. It cost us very easy elections.
If some guy goes crazy, I don’t want my eggs in his basket. It’s a folksy rhetorical way of conveying it, but I do think Dems need a harder answer to it. Federalism and unions are ways to go about it.
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u/CormoranNeoTropical 7h ago
Mexico as part of a North American free trade zone is how it was being solved.
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u/Prior_Coyote_4376 7h ago
Yes but what does that actually mean to someone who is not going to Google NATO
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u/Jayhawx2 16h ago
And the US will continue to make it more difficult to own individual solar so the big power companies keep bilking us.
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u/cocoagiant 16h ago
Also the state is starting to push back as it is starting to negatively impact their ability to maintain their power grid.
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u/Electrical_Top656 17h ago
it's literally free money falling from the sky you'd have to be dumb to not catch it
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u/CandyFromABaby91 15h ago
People keep saying that.
But in the US I tried installing solar multiple times. Payback time is not yet good enough unless you live extreme areas like CA with lots of sunlight and super expensive electricity.
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u/musty_mage 15h ago
Yeah but in the US it's insanely expensive because a million middlemen all want their own maximum cut
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u/kontor97 14h ago
It’s because so many corporations hate that the people aren’t paying that much for electricity that they decided to lobby against solar
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u/UnifiedBruh 13h ago
So how much does it cost for a solar setup in the US? In Pakistan it's ~$3500USD for a solar setup with a 10kVA inverter. Batteries are not included in this price as you are still connected to the grid.
I don't have one myself but the few relatives who got it said that they were in net positive in ~2-3 years.
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u/CandyFromABaby91 12h ago
Wow for its $50k for solar and $10k for batteries. Minus a 30% tax credit that is ending this year
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u/im-ba 12h ago
$45,000USD for my system of equivalent power, before tax credits. $31,500USD after tax credits.
They just killed the tax credits prematurely. I will get an additional $5,000USD over the next 10 years from my power company due to state laws.
But my electricity bill just surged in the last 2 months to $300USD per month, so even if there was no inflation it's a payback period of 8.75 years. However, electricity costs are expected to increase double digit percentages in the next few years, inflation is increasing substantially, etc. so when factoring that in it's about 6 years. Factor in the $5,000USD the power company gives me over 10 years and my break even happens in a little under 6 years.
It's not great, but I already know that I can't move for at least the next 10 years as it is. When I sell, the warranty on my system will still have an additional 15 years by that point, which is transferrable. I'll make a little money on it and have the peace of mind that my finances have been stabilized for as long as I remain in this home.
I'm fortunate that I didn't have to finance any of this system, otherwise the return on investment would be substantially lower. Interest rates are extremely high for such loans right now.
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u/angrathias 4h ago
All these figures are crazy. I’m in Australia, even without rebates a 10kw system is probably < USD$6k throw another 2k for a 10kwh battery.
And your power prices are nuts too
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u/im-ba 4h ago
Yeah, the US has been having some difficulties lately
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u/angrathias 3h ago
Go back 5-10 years ago I used to be surprised how cheap things were in the US, which was a double benefit because your dollar was also stronger.
Whilst your dollar is still strong today, somehow your prices went nuts 😬
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u/shiroboi 4h ago
Solar makes more and more sense the closer to the equator you get. Especially in countries with unstable power grids that go out frequently.
I’m currently installing a 22kw system in my house in Thailand
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u/Prior_Coyote_4376 18h ago
The country has become a huge new market for solar as super-cheap Chinese solar panels flood in. It imported 17 gigawatts of solar panels in 2024, more than double the previous year, making it the world’s third-biggest importer, according to data from the climate think tank Ember.
Man this trade war with China seems incredibly dumb and the sign of a declining empire going through an extinction burst to preserve itself without actually changing anything about the economics of this country that caused us to make a supply chain that fucked over workers for bosses.
I sure wish we could just, like, not do that while we’re run by CEOs coming up with weird sex schemes in their K-holes and calling it “eccentric genius” to fire people for discussing unionization.
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u/slashtab 14h ago edited 12h ago
It is not good for any country to get flooded with cheap product which leaves no room for domestic growth.
edit: lol downvoting me won't prove it otherwise
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u/Furyburner 10h ago
In some categories yes. In others no.
Being able to generate electricity for him frees up existing infrastructure for industrialization. So not a bad gig.
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u/SpitefulBrains 17h ago
because of a lot of loadshedding (scheduled power cuts) and expensive electricity
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u/Kaam4 15h ago
These are on grid or off grid.
On grid isnt a good choice if lots of power cuts
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u/ahsanshaikh04 13h ago
Most of them use a hybrid inverter that can be set up for different priorities. Upper middle class people living in better neighbourhoods mostly opted for an on-grid system because they can afford it and there are no power cuts in those areas because losses (read theft) is almost zero, so it's less of a hassle and the government is offering a pretty good rate for excess units generated.
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u/LateralEntry 17h ago
The problem in the US is that it’s incredibly expensive to set up a solar array.
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u/Jabes 17h ago
why? what is the cause of that?
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u/ComputerSong 14h ago
Scammy middlemen wanting to make profits. Installing solar is much cheaper than it once was, but unless you do it yourself in the US, you will be paying the same as what people 20 years ago were paying to install.
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u/bigred1978 16h ago
Labour costs, regulations, insurance, legal liabilities, equipment bought from US or European manufacturers vs Chinese manufacturers.
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u/Jabes 16h ago
It's cheap enough for me in Europe. Must be something local holding you back.
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u/Ok_Kaleidoscope8693 16h ago edited 14h ago
Energy is incredibly cheap in US compared to Europe. That’s why the incentives are higher in Europe, and not much in US.
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u/Jabes 15h ago
Ah yes I forgot all the subsidies you have for fossil fuels
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u/Ok_Kaleidoscope8693 15h ago
Mehh, America is the largest oil producer in the world thanks to shale revolution. We have abundant everything. US navy controls oceans and protect petrostate in Gulf. That’s why US has the cheapest energy among developed economies. There is not much commercial incentive to go green different than Europe that lacks natural resources or shale technology. You guys in Europe can continue regulating everything in your museum continent that produces zero innovation. America will continue to innovate and rule. You gotta deal with it. 🦅 🇺🇸 f
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u/LateralEntry 15h ago
Probably the biggest difference is labor cost
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u/Peter_deT 4h ago
These prices are about the same as in Australia (where labour is not cheap). It's Chinese panels plus the usual unit cost falling as volume and experience increase.
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u/db_newer 18h ago
"Pulled off" more like accidental financial incentive created by a corrupt government
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u/Prior_Coyote_4376 18h ago
One of the things I’ve come to like is the idea that there will always be a market as the sum of people’s individual desires. When a group of humans faces a situation too complex for them to handle through centralized solutions, decentralized ones will emerge.
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u/spicyketchup2024 17h ago
This is actually great news and should be copied elsewhere. We need to utilise what nature gives us to the extent possible.
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u/hinterstoisser 12h ago
Good for them. China has been dumping them panels supposedly at or below production prices.
Whatever benefits the masses and helps the environment
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u/Strong-Raccoon-7088 17h ago
North Korea’s solar power is just solar big panels with people under them on stationary bikes.
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u/Helixdust 17h ago
It's because of expensive electricity and lots of loadshedding there