When listing the leading countries of the solar revolution, you might not think to include Pakistan. But the South Asian country has imported over 21 gigawatts of solar panels since mid-2023, enough to supply over a quarter of the country’s current electricity use.1,2
This solar boom hasn’t come out of nowhere. Back in 2015, the Pakistani government started paying solar panel owners for any electricity they sent back into the grid. Problems with failing grid infrastructure and blackouts provided another key incentive. But things really started to accelerate in recent years, thanks to a combination of rocketing electricity prices and a cheap supply of solar panels from neighbouring China.
