Feb 24 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai)
Pak parliament is world's first to run only on solar power
Omer Farooq Khan
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Islamabad:
TNN
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Energy-starved Pakistan's parliament has become the world's first solarpowered legislative body .Officials said solar panels installed on the parliament's roof in Islamabad would generate 80 MW electricity , 62 MW of which the national assembly would consume, while the rest would be passed to the national grid. “The parliament's solar plant will not only meet its own energy requirements but will add surplus electricity to the national grid,“ said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after inaugurating the solar plant at the parliament complex here on Tuesday .
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Sharif had launched the $55 million China-funded solar project last year. “This project is another good example of Pakistan-China friendship,“ Sharif said.
“This the first time since independence (1947) that parliament has become self-sufficient in electricity through solar power. Other institutions in private and public sector need to follow it,“ he said Officials said the solarpower plant would help save around Rs 20 lakh annually .
Pakistan expects to replicate the success of this plan in its efforts to overcome power crisis it has been facing for past many years. Rural areas face up to 18 hours of electricity load shedding daily .
Ending power crisis was one of Sharif 's promises before he returned to power in 2013. He has vowed to end the energy crisis in Pakistan by the end of his term in 2018.
Knesset, the Israeli parliament, is reportedly the only other legislative body in the world that generates its own power but only 10% of its energy needs are met through solar electricity.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Sharif had launched the $55 million China-funded solar project last year. “This project is another good example of Pakistan-China friendship,“ Sharif said.
“This the first time since independence (1947) that parliament has become self-sufficient in electricity through solar power. Other institutions in private and public sector need to follow it,“ he said Officials said the solarpower plant would help save around Rs 20 lakh annually .
Pakistan expects to replicate the success of this plan in its efforts to overcome power crisis it has been facing for past many years. Rural areas face up to 18 hours of electricity load shedding daily .
Ending power crisis was one of Sharif 's promises before he returned to power in 2013. He has vowed to end the energy crisis in Pakistan by the end of his term in 2018.
Knesset, the Israeli parliament, is reportedly the only other legislative body in the world that generates its own power but only 10% of its energy needs are met through solar electricity.
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