Advances and significance of solar reflectors in solar energy technology in Pakistan

Abstract

Being located in the Sun Belt, Pakistan is rich in sunlight and receives a high mean irradiation. This condition is ideal for harnessing Sun’s power for solar energy applications by using solar reflectors. In spite of possessing such a rich solar irradiation area, Pakistan is facing energy crisis because most of the energy resources are still unexploited. This paper discusses the energy crisis of Pakistan and provides the solution by putting efforts into solar energy technology, as well as devising innovative ways to incorporate solar reflectors into a solar panel and get more power generation out of it by a diminutive modification. Reflectors are used in the solar technology to concentrate the sunlight onto the solar panels. They employ glass as a base material with a silver coating and a protective layer over it. They elevate the energy input of solar panels as the whole solar spectrum is reflected on them. Materials with more reflective properties are needed to be used to increase the reflectivity and efficiency of solar reflectors. In Pakistan, no significant work is done till now towards the development of solar reflectors. If solar reflectors are used with the solar panels, then their efficiency as well as production from the solar panels will be maximized.

Keywords

Clean energy fuel cell renewable energy solar cell solar reflector

Introduction

The chief sources for obtaining energy are oil, gas, and coal which are far and widely used. The use of oil is essential in industries, but the “oil-age” is drawing to a close. If the use of oil reserves in the industry and domestic household continues, it will last for only 35 years. As far as natural gas and coal are concerned, 37 years of natural gas and 107 years of coal’s age are remaining. It means that coal reserves will be the only fossil fuel enduring after 2042.¹ As for the fossil fuels,^2,3 they contribute to accomplish 85% of the world’s energy needs. This leads to the increased CO₂ emissions in the environment, hence increasing global warming.⁴

Non-renewable energy resources are less environment friendly and will deplete as the time ascends, so the need of the hour will be the sustainable development technology. Then why not this journey toward renewable technology be started today to meet the foreseen problems!

The best solution to resolve energy crisis is moving towards renewable energy. Renewable energy sources hoard 14% of the total world’s energy demand. Renewable energy sources are inexhaustible, sustainable, and surplus.⁵ These sources do not vanish as the time ascends. Hydroelectric energy, tidal energy, wind energy, solar energy, and biomass⁶ are the sources of sustainable energy.

Among these indigenous resources, solar energy is far more profuse and a clean source to get energy. The appraised power of 175,000 TW is irradiated on our planet by the sun,⁷ and it is four times more than the power we use in our peak energy demand.⁸

Renewable energy sources must be exploited in order to overcome the ever-rising energy demands. Not only they provide energy but are also environment friendly⁹ and do not cause any adverse effects. The production of clean energy will reduce CO₂ emissions, and as a result, the global warming effect will be lesser (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Schematic of solar reflector incorporation with solar panels.

Pakistan is richly blessed with renewable energy sources like solar,¹⁰ hydel,¹¹ biomass,¹² and wind.¹³ The solar energy is the most important and abundant type of renewable resource in Pakistan. The installation of solar power projects proves to be a quick and fast remedy for the electricity shortfall. Solar applications could be pursued in near future to meet the energy crisis. The future applications of solar energy include solar heating,¹⁴ solar cooking,⁷ solar desalination,¹⁵ drying¹⁶ of the fruits in food industry, and integration of solar technology for thermal-electric purpose in smart homes.

Solar reflectors (CSP) are currently used in many countries like Algeria, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

In Italy, the world’s first molten salt concentrating solar power plant “Archimede” was installed on 8 hectares which started production in July 2010. It is a parabolic trough solar plant operating in Sicily, Italy, with an electricity generation of 9200 MWh/year. It is owned by ENEL.¹⁷

Dacheng Dunhuang Molten Salt Fresnel project is being installed in China. It uses Linear Fresnel reflector technology with a generation capacity of 50 MW. It is owned by Lanzhou Dacheng Technology Co, Ltd.¹⁸

Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project is installed on 1600 acres in Tonopah, the United States. It is currently operational and using Solar Power Tower technology with a generation capacity of 110 MW. It is owned by Solar Reserve's Tonopah Solar Energy, LLC.¹⁹

Tooele Army Depot is installed on 17 acres in Utah, the United States. It is currently non-operational with a generation capacity of 1.5 MW. This project is using Dish/Engine Solar Technology and is owned by Tooele Army Depot.²⁰

Scenario of solar energy in Pakistan

Pakistan is situated 24° to 27° N latitude and 61° to 76° E longitude on the face of this globe.²¹ Pakistan possesses a high potential of solar energy applications.¹² Renewable energy systems must be installed in the country to meet the dire need of energy today by exploiting the available resources. The average solar global insolation of Pakistan over 95% of the area is 5–7 kWh/m²/day. In the north-eastern part of Sindh and south-western province of Baluchistan, sun shines for almost 2300–2700 h annually. Mostly photovoltaic (PV) systems of generation capacity 100–500 W/unit were used for generating electricity in a few rural areas. It must be noticed that more than 40,000 villages of Pakistan are not blessed with electricity.

Unfortunately, Pakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technology (PCRET) and Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) are no longer in operation since 1990s. AEDB provided electricity to approximately 3000 houses, hence covering all four provinces of Pakistan. A 200 kW PV power generation was provided in the districts of Kohat, D.G. Khan, Rawalpindi, Tharparkar, and Turbat/Kalat. They provided each household with an 80 W panel including lighting system. PCRET provided electricity through PV power (80 kW generation capability) to more than 500 mosques, schools, and houses. As far as the private sector is concerned PV installations in Pakistan are roughly of 500 kW.

In the near future, instead of instigating any macro project, more micro standalone projects are being scheduled. The total installation of PV seems to be much less than 1000 kW while the installation of 10,000 solar thermal units would be materialized.²²

Akhat Solar Limited produced almost 2 MW electricity from limited size solar panels. PCRET also generates 26.5 KW with the help of 13 solar panels installed, which is supplied to different schools and small houses in rural areas.²³

Renewable energy potential in Asian countries

Asiatic countries are fortunately rich in renewable energy resources. Most of the countries possess enough indigenous resources to move from conventional sources of energy towards the sustainable development options. Pakistan is situated in the continent of Asia, and it possesses enough indigenous potential to generate the power necessary for the consumption of its country. If these resources are exploited properly, then it will positively affect the economy of Pakistan ultimately reducing the energy imports. Asia could be a potential candidate for the sustainable energy development hub depending upon its plentiful renewable energy reserves. Table 1 depicts the presence of different types of renewable resources in some of the Asian countries.

Table 1.

Renewable energy potential in Asian countries.²⁴

From this comparison, it is revealed that approximately all countries are rich in the renewable resources. These countries are working on different projects to harness energy from these resources.

We can discuss the potential of each renewable source with respect to each legend. Several areas have solar irradiation above 1800 and 1200 KWh/m² per year which is listed for high and low solar potential areas, respectively. On other hand, in many areas, the average wind speed is above 7 m/s and 5 m/s for high and low potential areas, respectively, whereas no low potential area was identified with the average wind speed of 5 m/s. One or more sites can be equipped with a large (>10 MW), medium (1–10 MW), and small (<1 MW) scale hydro power facility. The ocean also has the wave power for high, medium, and low potential areas as 30 KW/m, between 10 and 30 KW/h, and below 10 KW/h, respectively. Similarly, in the case of geothermal, we can also equip one or more sites with high (>10 MW), medium (1–10 MW), and small (<1 MW) scale facility.²⁴

Table 1 shows the potential of all resources with respect to their abundancy. Mostly, all the countries possess a high solar irradiation, so it will prove to be very fruitful to work on harnessing the solar energy from sun.

Typically, the solar energy is harnessed by using the solar PV panels.²⁵ If these panels are slightly modified with the solar reflectors²⁶ on either side, then the incoming sunshine will be intensified resulting in more power generation in same amount of period.

Solar energy potential in Asian countries

In the previous section, we noticed that approximately all Asian countries are working on the solar energy technology.²⁷ Among them, only India is using the solar reflectors technology. India has added around 1100 MW of renewable energy to its electricity grid.²⁸

If these countries join hands with the countries already using the solar reflectors, then it would be a very fruitful activity. This work may lead to the setup of reflectors industry and many collaborations could be made. If Pakistan takes the initiative by developing solar reflectors industry, then collaboration from all interested countries are welcomed by heart. This will lead towards the cost-effective power generation and hence reduced carbon emissions. Environmental issues would also be reduced as these renewable resources are green in nature.

Pakistan’s energy crisis and its indigenous energy resources

Pakistan’s energy crisis²³ smidgens its roots in distinct causes. The overconsumption of the energy tends to raise the energy demands of population hence causing a significant increase in power shortfall. There is severe load shedding in Pakistan ranging from 8 to 12 h a day in urban areas and up to 18 h in rural areas. This is due to the shortage of 5–7 GW power supply.²⁹

The infrastructure available for the power generation is very much aged, having low efficiency as compared to the energy demands. Renewable resources are not properly utilized in Pakistan.

Pakistan is rich in coal reserves in the sense that 187 billion tons³⁰ of coal is present in the Thar and Makarwal fields. But these reserves are not used properly. They can be used in the industries by doing proper purification of carbon from the evolved gases. It will increase the economy as well as reduce the energy crisis. Hydropower³¹ is significant in Pakistan.

Figure 2 shows the energy mix scenario of the electricity production in fiscal years 2013–2014. Hydro resources in Pakistan possess the potential to generate 60,000 MW, but the exploitation for energy production is only limited to 11%. The remaining potential still remains intact and fallow. The share of hydropower in electricity production could be increased drastically up to 40%, whereas the contribution of indigenous energy resources could be made 80.7% for the production of energy in Pakistan by the year 2030. The current stake of oil and gas (>64%) can be abridged to 11.8%, hence more favorable for the country’s sustainable development.³²

Figure 2.

Current energy mix.³³

Figure 3 shows the fuel mix of fiscal year 2015. The power contribution of nuclear was limited to 2% in years 2013–2014, but in 2015, there is a generous increase of 5%. Hence the current generation capacity of 23,000 MW from nuclear power³⁴ would be raised to 9% by fiscal year 2021. The share of hydel also increased from 11% to 33%, and it is supposed to add 2500 MW to the system. More hydel projects are being chased and would contribute 3000 MW to the national grid.³⁵

Figure 3.

Pakistan’s energy mix 2015.³⁵

By observing the energy mix of 2015, it could be seen clearly that Pakistan is putting more efforts into the renewable energy resources for the electricity production. Figure 4 depicts that by the fiscal year 2021, a drastic increase in the electricity production from inexhaustible sources like wind, hydel, and solar energy would be observed. This is supposed to be a good step towards the future of clean and green energy usage in Pakistan. When renewable energy resources would be used for electricity generation, the energy crisis in Pakistan will consequently be vanished.

Figure 4.

Pakistan’s projected energy mix 2020–2021.³⁵

In Pakistan, there is a significant gap between the electricity demand and the supply.

Figure 5 shows that the energy demands are rising sequentially and disturbing the economic condition of Pakistan by more energy imports. The gap between electricity demand and supply would be decreased as the renewable energy usage is going to increase in the next few years.

Figure 5.

Electricity demand-supply gap in Pakistan.³⁶

Solar energy and solar reflectors

Solar energy is an abundant renewable source in Pakistan which can be used to produce electricity. Pakistan possesses the potential to generate more than 100,000 MW from solar energy. Indeed it is a benefit to Pakistan as being located in the Sunny Belt.³⁷ In Pakistan, Sind and Baluchistan provinces receive more than 440 cal/cm² day, whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Punjab provinces are receiving an irradiation of 400–440 cal/cm² day. The irradiation received by the northern areas and Kashmir is less than 400 cal/cm² day. In summation, average global irradiation subsiding daily is between 200 and 250 W/m² and this aggregates to almost 6840–8280 MJ/m² in a year.¹⁵

The annual mean daily Global Tilted Irradiation of world is 13 MJ/m² and the minimum annual mean daily Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) of Pakistan is16 MJ/m². The minimum annual mean daily GHI of Pakistan is higher than world annual mean daily GHI. This illustrates the brilliant solar energy potential of Pakistan.³⁸

For enhanced efficiency, solar reflectors are used on the sideways of solar panels to concentrate the sunlight on them. Solar reflectors are used to increase the efficiency and gain of the solar collectors³⁹ as well. Solar reflectors concentrate the incident solar radiation onto the receiver.

The energy is spread out so it does not rapidly heat things. But by concentrating the sun’s energy using solar reflectors can produce dramatic results. The most durable material for solar reflectors known to present is the silver/glass thick mirror whose reflectivity values reaches close to 94%.⁴⁰ A highly reflective thin film was reported by Xu et al., which possesses the self-cleaning properties. This thin film consisting of TiO₂–SiO₂–Ag was efficaciously prepared by magnetron sputtering for the solar front reflectors. This layer retains high reflectivity of 0.9578 after a 1200 h aging test.⁴¹

However, silver polymer solar reflectors are used mostly in dish concentrator applications. This increases the storage of solar energy and causes low solar losses.

Types of reflectors

Parabolic trough

The construction of parabolic trough includes a parabolic reflector that reflects and concentrates light onto a receiver positioned at the reflector's focal line. The receiver maybe a receiving tower or a tube filled with a working fluid. This reflector follows the sun by tracking along a single axis and reflects more sunshine, in result acting as an amplified source for power generation.⁴²

Fresnel reflectors

Fresnel reflectors^43,44 comprise many thin, flat mirror strips, which concentrate the sunlight onto the tubes filled with working fluid. Fresnel reflectors have flat mirrors, providing more reflective surface in the same amount of space as of a parabolic trough, thus capturing more of the accessible sunlight.⁴⁵

Dish Stirling

The construction of a Dish Stirling system has a standalone parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto the receiver positioned at the reflector's focal point. Dish Stirling reflector tracks the Sun along two axes.⁴⁶

Solar power tower

A solar power tower consists of an array of dual-axis tracking reflectors (heliostats) that concentrate sunlight on a central receiver at the top of the tower. That concentrated light is then used for the power generation using a working fluid inside the solar power tower system (Figure 6).⁴⁷

Figure 6.

Types of solar reflectors.^48–50

Purpose of reflectors

Reflectors are employed to augment the performance of the solar panels. These are fixated aside the solar panels at a maximum reflectance angle to maximize the intensity of incoming sunlight, hence increasing the power generation from the solar power plants.

Applications of reflectors

Harnessing more energy using reflectors in rural and urban areas

The solar power generation plants are feasible for the rural as well as urban areas. As far as the most rural areas of Pakistan are concerned, electricity is still found to be nowhere. Some small villages got electricity lines but with no electricity or for a few hours.

The actual problem is that these areas are far away from the main grid station and are very hilly or rough, hence complicating the electrification process. The result, simply no electricity!

This problem can be elucidated by using the solar panels with embedded solar reflectors in order to fulfill the needs of the particular area population. Solar reflectors facilitate the panels to get more intense sunshine, hence more energy harnessing in less time.

Solar energy is not only used for electricity generation but also for various energy applications like solar water heating⁵¹ or solar geysers, solar food cooking, food preservation/drying,⁵² etc.

Water heating can be done by using sunlight instead of the natural gas, hence becoming less dependent on the fossil fuels for energy needs. It is also cost-effective method of heating. You have to install the water heating system once; it is so much reliable that nearly no maintenance is required for years.

Solar food cookers⁵ are used to cook food when fossil fuels are not available in the far off areas. They are also an efficient way to transfer our priority from fossil fuels towards renewable sources of energy. Solar food cooking systems are being used efficiently in many regions of Asia.

Pakistan produces many export quality fruits, and dry fruits are also exported to various countries. Solar heating may be used to preserve or dry them, hence saving the cost of drying process.

These reflectors-facilitated solar panels can be equally useful for the urban areas owing to their intensifying properties. Their usage will double the power generation and allowing more energy generation in small time.

Significance of solar reflectors

The solar reflectors can be utilized for the baking, cooking or frying of food, as well as for the generation of steam for energy purposes. Mostly, the Scheffler reflectors⁵³ (also known as Dish Stirling) are used for these multi-purpose applications. Steel sections in the Scheffler dish are manufactured by using highly reflective aluminum. This reflector is powered by a sensor-controlled motor, which enables it to follow the path of sun and focus more irradiation at one point all through the year. Due to the keen focus of sun’s irradiation by the reflector, the temperature exceeds 1000°C. Contingent on seasons, the sun facing angle of reflector can be changed simply by hand and the whole system is transferrable.

The strenuous energy is multi-purpose and could be used for heating⁵⁴ an oven to 180–250°C in an hour while keeping the temperature constant. This focused energy from several combined reflectors could be utilized for the steam generation.

Comparison of reflective values of different materials on solar cells

An experiment was carried out to find out which material produces most energy output on solar cells (Table 2). The solar panel was placed such that it faces away from sun. Different materials were placed a foot from solar panel at 45° and their reflective properties were measured by using an amp-meter. It was repeated three times and the values were averaged. The silver photo reflector possesses the most reflective value.⁵⁵

Table 2.

Material wise reflectivity values.²⁶

S. no	Materials	Average reflective values (milli ampere)
1	Mirror	135.3
2	Aluminum	46.3
3	Silver photo reflector	140.3
4	White plastic	41.3
5	White ceramic tile	38.5
6	White foam board	65
7	Plywood	43.3
8	Cardboard	33.3
9	Black fabric	13

Silver-based reflector⁵⁶ can be used as an efficient solar reflector material.

Reserves/material analysis of Pakistan

Can reflectors be made using resources available in Pakistan?

The reflectors are made from the glass as well as aluminum⁵⁷ and silver.⁵⁸ More advanced reflectors use polymers and other highly reflective materials with more specular reflectance. If the mineral reserves of Pakistan are taken into account, then we produce enough aluminum and silver. There will not be any difficulty in setting up the industry for the solar reflectors once it is designed.

Statistics in Table 3 show that Pakistan is rich in bauxite, which is an ore of aluminum. Bulk quantities are present in the Punjab and KPK provinces, but less quantity in other areas of Pakistan.

Table 3.

Bauxite reserves in Pakistan.⁵⁹

YearsProvince	2010–2011	2011–2012	2012–2013	2013–2014	2014–2015
Punjab	9033	28,768	21,323	29,831	9991	Bauxite Reserves in Pakistan (Metric Ton)
KPK	0	1455	3965	1325	1585
Total	9033	30,223	25,288	31,156	11,576

Bauxite deposits occur in the district of Khushab and the Kala Chita range of Attock. High alumina clay is mined in the Kala Chita range of the Attock as well. They are investigated to contain about 30–50% alumina and their assessed reserves are of 96 million tons. In Ziarat Baluchistan, bauxite reserves also exist. So we can say there is plenty of room for the initialization of the reflectors industry.⁶⁰

Can reflector material be produced by using recycling/indigenous resources?

As far as the usage of glass is concerned, yes! The recycled glass can be used for the manufacturing of the solar reflectors. Fresnel mirror reflectors⁴⁵ use glass in its structure for the purpose of reflecting. It uses flat mirror strips which are best for reflecting the incoming sunshine and are also adjustable with the movement of the sun.

Once the industry is setup, the virgin glass as well as the recycled one can be used efficiently side by side to reduce the capital cost of whole manufacturing process. Aluminum is also recyclable from the junk.

It will be very profitable to use the reserves of our own country to produce such structures rather than importing them from the other countries. This industry if comes into a running condition will eventually generate the revenue to the country as well as providing the employments to the suffering laborers.

Research and development

Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park

The great project of Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Park (QASP)⁶¹ is installed in Bahawalpur, Punjab. It is a 1000 MW project which would be helpful to lower the energy shortage⁶² in Pakistan (Figure 7).

Figure 7.

Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, Bahawalpur, Pakistan (www.cpec.gov.pk).

The primary energy input of QASP is solar energy dependent. Conventional PV⁶³ silicon-based solar panels are installed in this Solar Park. The PV module is made up of silicon¹⁶ which converts sunlight directly into DC electricity. It is converted into AC-power by inverter and used for operating the electrical appliances.⁶⁴ The installation of this mega-project is done in three phases. Its 100 MW installation of Phase-I was completed and approximately 400,000 solar panels were installed over 200 hectares of flat desert area of Bahawalpur.⁶⁵ The installation capacity of QASP Phase-II is 300 MW and Phase-III is 600 MW. Phase-II is completed in August 2016. Annual output of 1530 GW·h is expected once the 1000 MW project is completed and operational (Figure 8).

Figure 8.

Aerial view of Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, Bahawalpur, Pakistan (www.cpec.gov.pk).

Once installed, the solar power system does not require much maintenance. It projects towards the low maintenance costs, hence requiring less personnel to operate it. Pakistan is ranked among top 15 countries for solar PVs, and it represents 1% of global PV use.⁶⁶ Many solar projects are ongoing in Pakistan in Punjab and Sindh provinces.⁶⁷

The estimated cost of whole project is US$1302 million. It was coordinated by the Ministry of Water and Power. Supervising agency was Punjab Power Development Board and AEDB.

In QASP, only silicone-based PV panels are used, but concentrated solar power¹⁰ (CSP) technology is not used. If CSP technology is used along with the solar panels, then the efficiency of the system would increase. The use of solar reflectors would add up more efficiency to the electricity grid.

Research and development for solar energy in government policy or not?

International Finance Corporation (IFC) Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Renewable Energy Development Support Advisory program published in its guide about the declining tariffs rate in Pakistan for the solar energy development. It appreciates the investors to invest more; hence, the industry is given a push to rise.

This is a very good initiative as it will attract more investors from around the world and the definite increase in the country’s revenue awaits with arms open.

Sustainable energy options for Pakistan

In 2008, Pakistan faced a breach of 4500 MW between the electricity demand and supply cataloging 40% shortfall. The indigenous resources of energy are diminishing with time, and there is a need to work upon the available sustainable sources of energy for power generation in Pakistan.

Solar energy is not considerably susceptible to variations in weather pattern of seasons. Solar thermal and PV routes could be followed for the useful exploitation of solar energy for innumerable applications. Pakistan boasts of circa 300 sunshine days per year hence a colossal global irradiance of 1900–2200 kWh/m²/year.

Solar PV is an adept technology for providing electricity in areas where grid connectivity is impracticable.

Solar water heating will be a prospective technology for Pakistan as almost 10% of the total energy is disbursed in water heating. Solar water heating system will payback for setup cost in less than three-year period under feasible climatic conditions of Pakistan.

Sustainable¹³ energy technology must be implied in Pakistan to meet energy crisis, and it will help to reduce the national reliance on energy imports.⁵²

Recommendations

Own remarks

Pakistan has the great potential for the solar energy applications. If the solar energy potential is a standalone project, then the rising energy demands of the country will be met by 2050. Currently, the government is taking much interest in exploiting the solar energy potential by setting up the solar power generation projects in the areas having more capability of this resource.

Categorization of the energy sector is absent in Pakistan. Education sector lacks the annexation of awareness about the renewable energy in the course material taught in schools and colleges. So, this exclusion results in public witlessness about the research and development. Villages are unlit as the electricity lines cannot go to these remote areas, so the need is to provide them with solar energy technology to meet their daily energy needs.

Privatization of the new technologies helps a lot to flourish the new industry. Solar projects must adopt the solar reflectors in order to setup an industry. If the private companies and organizations will adopt this, then there will be more chances of technology to become cost effective and easily available for the public. An advisory or consultancy board must be made to look after the solar reflector industry and provide with innovative ideas to commercialize the use of solar technology in our homes and governmental buildings.

PCRET is a R&D organization in our country, which manufactures the solar panels and does research on improving the performance of them. There is no organization, whether private or governmental, which is currently working on the solar reflectors. If this type of industry is set up in our own country, then we would be able to produce more electricity from the solar-reflector panel setup by exploiting our own reserves.

In the QASP project, simple PV solar panels are installed. If the design of this project is reconsidered, then the inclusion of solar reflectors along with the PV panels will generate a magnificent increase in the power output.

QASP is a magnificent project, and 100 MW power generation setup is installed by “Tebian Electric Apparatus” a subsidiary of “Xinjiang SunOasis” while the remaining 900 MW will be installed by “Zonergy” under China–Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) project till the end of the year 2016. A little modification in its setup design along with the panels consisting on solar reflectors can add more power generation in the designated amount of the output. It can be taken as an extension in the QASP, and the target of 1000 MW power generation can be met in relatively little time.

R&D organization and academic institutes

Our academic institutes, exclusively all universities, are salaried on different projects of non-renewable energy resources to encounter the ominous need of the hour. Need of the hour is to stride towards new direction of renewable energy technology which could be the solar reflectors. The projects should be delivered based upon solar reflectors to such academic institutes. By the alliance of academic institutes and private investors, we can inaugurate solar reflectors industry in our country to accomplish the augmented petition of energy and employment as well. It could be a productive initiative toward the success and would add up a fortune to the country’s revenue.

Baluchistan solar reserves

The resource potential of solar irradiation in Baluchistan ranks the highest in the country. Circa 40% of the Baluchistan land area receives unswerving solar insolation of 6 kWh/m²/day. The rest of the provinces receive direct solar radiation of 4.5 kWh/m²/day. Surmise from these values yield an aggregate power generation potential of 1.2 million MW.

Most of Baluchistan’s area is not connected to the transmission grid and its demand for electricity is scattered over very large geographic areas. Therefore, a crucial concern to exploit Baluchistan’s solar resources for power generation is how to transmit that power to load centers. Developing the solar potential on a large scale will also require significant amounts of financial resources because solar power projects are also capital intensive. In view of the fiscal situation of the federal and provincial governments, the private sector would need to be attracted for developing the province’s solar resource potential.⁶⁸

China is instigating a mega project of US$45+ billion in Pakistan through the CPEC. The economic corridor is about 3000 km long comprising railways, highways, and pipelines. It will provide shortest possible route to connect China’s Xinjiang province with rest of the world through Pakistan’s Gwadar port.⁶⁹ It will bring prosperity to Pakistan and enable China to import goods from other countries. Pakistan will act like a hinge between China and Iran import–export route.

CPEC is a major infrastructure initiative between China and Pakistan which could spur R&D in Baluchistan by introducing the projects for exploiting the solar energy potential. It would be a milestone for the development of Baluchistan which will stir the need for development in it.

Figure 9 illustrates the solar irradiation map of Baluchistan. It depicts the maximum potential of electricity generation for the reflector-based solar panel system. Solar potential could be very useful to fulfill the energy demands of the Baluchistan,⁶¹ and this setup would be a standalone one, hence providing more output but less maintenance cost.

Figure 9.

Pakistan’s solar irradiation map.⁷⁰

Socio-economic influence

Despite the increasing energy projects in recent years, Pakistan is facing a range of socio-economic challenges such as poverty, unemployment, etc. Energy is an indispensable product that enables socio-economic development of a country. However, the current energy situation in Pakistan is characterized by rapid increase in energy demand but relatively low energy efficiency.

These socio-economic challenges could be overcome by the new industrial setup of solar reflectors. Following are the influences of solar reflectors usage along with solar technology.

Renewable and cost-effective energy source

Solar reflector technology is a truly substantial stride towards renewable energy source, i.e., solar energy. Solar energy is accessible to us around the globe all year as well as it is sustainable, giving the sun a plus point to be used in sustainable development.

Cost effectiveness and performance efficiency are two main factors governing the energy source. As far as the sun is concerned, it possesses both abilities. It is a free source of energy, so it is also economic and easily reachable to all the urban or rural population.

Reduction in electricity bills

Since the energy needs will be fulfilled by the electricity from the installed solar system with reflectors, there will be no worries about the big bills you receive at the end of every month.

The power efficiency will be maximized and energy imports will definitely decrease, thus causing a healthy growth in the economy of Pakistan. More revenue and less energy imports correspond to the increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of our country.

Power access to remote areas

Solar reflectors could be used for assorted tenacities. Either electricity can be generated by using PVs or heat by using solar thermal approach.

Electricity would reach the remote areas which are off the main power grid. Hence, no need for the high costs of laying the energy wirings for these areas. People would be provided with electricity in their household and country will have extra credit in state bank to use on research and development for future plans.

Low upkeep costs

Solar reflector panel systems usually do not necessitate a lot of maintenance. Once installed, they are totally free afterwards. A few personnel are enough for the maintenance of these systems. Significantly, little spending on repair work makes these systems more ideal for use.

Local people could get a lot of benefit if this cost effectiveness is taken into account. So, these systems provide people with social as well as economic benefits.

Technological development and reduced unemployment

Technological advances in the solar power industry will intensify in the future due to its sustainability. More a country is advanced in the methods of cost effective power generation, more it flourishes.

The initial setup of reflectors industry will require a lot of devotion and hard work. Once completed, it will not only double the power generation but will also provide the employments to the people, and the unemployment rate of Pakistan will eventually decline.

Summary

Energy deficiency and rising prices of fossil fuels in Pakistan limit the access of the population to the electrically driven appliances. This situation drives to the deficit of energy and hence stops the work of industries, which affect the economy of Pakistan. To overcome this shortage, the need of the hour is to develop indigenous energy technology like solar reflectors as the sunlight is surplus in our country. Focusing on the solar reflectors, they are used to concentrate the light to increase the power generation from solar energy. Materials which have high reflective properties could be used to increase the reflectivity and efficiency of solar reflectors.

Pakistan is situated on the Sun Belt and is one of the best highly irradiated countries in this world. Unfortunately, no step till now is taken to utilize such package of energy for the country’s progress. Solar reflectors could be a blessing in disguise for harvesting the solar energy efficiently from the sunlight.

Baluchistan is rich in solar irradiation but this asset is still virgin and unexploited. It is the biggest of all provinces area wise and still unemployment is on its peak in there. The vast unused land of Baluchistan must be focused for setting up a reflector-solar PV industry. It will provide the province with necessary electricity and will also reduce the cost of the PV panels. The economy of this province will boost up and due to the setup of an industry, more people will become interested to invest in it. This will also benefit their generations who will study for the competency to survive in the technological world.

CPEC must not be just a route in Pakistan, but if the solar reflector industry is installed by its collaboration then it will be fruitful for both countries. We have vast lands for the solar harvesting but what we lack is ‘industries’. If any country wants to collaborate with Pakistan, then it will be a honor to start a magnificent industry for energy harvesting.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Sophia Akhtar completed her MS Physics specializing in Single Layer Fuel Cell Technology from COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore. She attended NanoSET International conference on Energy Technology. Her team qualified for the semifinals of United Nation Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) based on the idea of Energy Storage using Single Layer Fuel Cells instead of conventional Fuel Cells. Until now, she is the co-author of a journal article and a book chapter. She is commencing her PhD studies in Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Korea in Energy Science field.

M Khurram Hashmi completed his Bachelor degree in pure physics from COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore in 2015. During Bachelor degree, he did his research work on Quantum Light Emitting Diodes. Khurram Hashmi also completed MS (Physics) from COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore in 2017. The area of research was Energy Technology with specialization in Fuel Cell Technology. This was the future generation of Fuel cells named as Electrolyte Free Fuel Cells. During his Bachelor and Masters, Khurram has 2 years experience of research. He also co-authored a book chapter and a journal article.

Ishaq Ahmad did PhD from Hamburg University of Technology, Germany in December 2011. Currently, he is working as assistant professor in the Department of Mining Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar. He has won HEC scholarship award of PhD in 2007. Currently, he is working on the processing of placer gold and its flow sheeting. The major research area is the processing of minerals for the development of energy efficient processes. He has more than 15 ISI research papers.

Rizwan Raza completed PhD in Energy Technology with specialization in Fuel Cell Technology from the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Sweden. Dr. Raza has 12 years of experience in Energy research and teaching. He has published more than 100 international journal papers, delivered 30 Invited Talks and presented 30 conference papers with total impact factor 400, h-Index-23 and total number of citations about 1500 (source: Google Scholar).

After completion of PhD work, Dr. Raza has also worked under the Swedish Research Council project, known as Energy researcher, He has been working on several multidisciplinary projects regarding “Energy conversion & Energy storage devices (Fuel cells, Solar cells, Batteries, Supercapacitor)”. He was the key member of the team who invented “New Energy Conversion Device” which is a simpler and more cost-effective replacement of traditional fuel cells. This mega achievement was reported in the world acclaimed journal “Nature Nanotechnology” in addition to many other scientific journals/media including Advanced Functional Materials and Swedish Magazine. Currently, he is an assistant professor and head of Clean Energy Research Group at COMSATS Institute with 10 members. At this moment, Dr Raza is supervising 4 PhD projects including one joint PhD in KTH, Sweden. Moreover, Raza has supervised 10 MS/BS international students and 25 MS/BS students for national level projects. He received many remarkable awards world over; for example, Idea to Product “I2P ® Stockholm-2011”, NANOSMAT 2009 Rome, Italy, Best “Elevator Pitch”, CIIT and PCST research productivity award-2011, 2012,2013,2014,2015 and Best Performance Award from the “GETT Fuel cells AB and nevertheless the most prestigious, Young Productive Scientist of Pakistan for 2017.

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