Inside Pakistan’s Solar Revolution: Growth, Drivers and Obstacles

Pakistan is undergoing an extraordinary surge in solar energy adoption. According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), the rapid installation of solar power systems across homes and businesses is projected to supply 20% of the country’s total energy demand by 2026.

CleanTechnica further reports that by the end of 2024 alone, Pakistan will have imported 22 gigawatts’ worth of solar panels—more than Canada or the United Kingdom have installed in the last five years combined. This unprecedented momentum has captured the attention of experts and policy analysts worldwide.

What is driving Pakistan’s solar expansion?

Pakistani households were among the earliest adopters of solar technology, motivated by several interconnected challenges. Electricity tariffs increased by 155% over three years, pushing energy costs beyond the reach of many. The withdrawal of government subsidies further raised prices for both industries and households. Alongside this, the grid’s frequent outages and unreliable supply made alternatives more attractive.

On the supply side, the cost of imported solar panels from China fell by nearly 50%, and exemptions from duties and sales taxes on photovoltaic panels made installation significantly more affordable.

Pakistan’s volume-based pricing structure, in which electricity becomes more expensive the more a household consumes, also incentivised wealthier users to transition to solar as a long-term cost-saving measure.

In the agricultural sector, the removal of diesel subsidies led to a spike in fuel prices, prompting farmers to adopt solar-powered tube wells and pumps. Experts estimate that half of all tube wells in Pakistan could eventually switch to solar power, reducing dependence on costly imported diesel.

Pakistan’s solar boom is particularly notable because neither climate policies, international climate finance, nor a green industrial strategy has driven it. Instead, it is a market-driven, people-led transition, born out of necessity and economic survival.

This combination of supply- and demand-side pressures has turned solar power into an infrastructure of necessity, providing cheaper, more reliable, and immediate energy relief than the national grid.

Locally, the boom has also created a growing workforce of solar technicians and installers. New skills have emerged organically through community knowledge-sharing—often passed along via YouTube tutorials and WhatsApp groups—enabling rapid learning in installation and maintenance.

Challenges and risks in Pakistan’s solar growth

Despite its benefits, Pakistan’s solar expansion presents significant challenges. Between 2019 and 2025, only a small share of installed solar capacity—0.7 GW—was utility-scale and connected to the national grid.

This indicates rapid but uncoordinated distributed growth, with insufficient system-level planning or integration. Such fragmentation poses long-term challenges for the grid’s stability and financial health.

Many households still cannot afford rooftop solar systems or the required battery storage. As wealthier consumers defect from the grid, utilities face a collapse in revenue, while still bearing the fixed costs of generation and transmission. These costs will likely be passed on to the remaining grid-dependent customers.

The 20% reduction in demand for grid electricity has also left several large fossil fuel power plants—financed through the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)—underutilised. Yet, debt repayment obligations remain unchanged.

Without regulatory reforms—such as restructured tariffs, flexible grid management, and coordinated planning—Pakistan risks widening its energy divide. A growing class of solar adopters will enjoy cleaner, cheaper, more reliable power, while poorer households remain tied to a grid that is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain.

Learn more about Pakistan’s Solar Growth: The Perfect Storm Fueling Pakistan’s Solar Boom and how the government can tackle the challenges that come with it: How Pakistan’s energy revolution can power affordable, reliable electricity for all