Governor calls for policy to boost local solar manufacturing

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan has emphasized the need for a policy framework to foster domestic solar system manufacturing in Pakistan, highlighting the potential for millions of jobs, clean and affordable energy, and foreign exchange earnings. At the third International Solar Power Conclave & Solar Technology Excellence Awards 2026, the governor expressed disappointment that solar system manufacturing lacked a government policy.

He argued that the high cost of electricity had made solar energy increasingly crucial for ordinary Pakistanis, likening sunlight to "Allah's gift" that should be harnessed to alleviate electricity bills and protect the environment. Punjab Minister for Energy Faisal Ayub recounted Pakistan's previous electricity load-shedding crisis from 2009-10, which was resolved during the PML-N government's 2013-18 period.

He noted that Punjab's chief minister Shehbaz Sharif had installed power plants to tackle the electricity shortage, but now the country faces the challenge of high electricity costs. Naeem Qureshi, Managing Editor of Energy Update, highlighted the organization's 20-year history of promoting renewable energy in Pakistan, through around 180 seminars, training workshops, policy discussions, and international conferences.

A panel discussion covered energy storage and Pakistan's evolving renewable energy landscape, with experts discussing distributed storage, microgrids, vertical power plants, AI and data analytics, energy efficiency, and circularity as key aspects of Pakistan's energy transition by 2035.