Latest news with #netmetering
Arab News
15-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan mulls over 60 percent cut in solar buyback tariffs to save $15 billion in 10 years
KARACHI: Pakistan's government plans to more than halve the buyback tariffs for net-metered solar power to save Rs4.3 trillion ($15.1 billion) over the next ten years, according to people privy to the matter. Authorities at Pakistan's energy ministry are working on a new solar policy that looks to change the current net-metering regime under which the cash-strapped government is buying back solar-generated electricity from domestic, commercial and industrial producers at Rs27 per kilowatt hour (kWh). The buyback rates for large scale grid-connected solar plants like Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power (Pvt.) Limited, Pakistan's first 100-megawatt solar utility set up by Punjab government, ranges between Rs9 and Rs11. 'The government is proposing to remove this anomaly and offer almost a uniform buyback rate for net-metered solar power in line with global standard practice,' said a Pakistani energy ministry official who is privy to the policymaking discussions but cannot share them with media. He said officials at the ministry's power division will present a revised solar policy to the federal cabinet 'within a month,' proposing to reduce the buyback price for net-metered solar power by more than 60 percent to Rs10 per kWh. The government plans to link the buyback rates with the national base tariff. 'The government is encouraging these domestic and other distributed solar producers and has allocated a quantum for them in the IGCEP (Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan),' the official said. 'What this new net-metering policy will define is the question that at what rate the government should buy power from these distributed producers. We are working this out.' The move would help the government save Rs4.3 trillion ($15.1 billion) in the decade to come, he added. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government is currently trying to revive Pakistan's debt-ridden economy by introducing energy and economic reforms, backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that approved a $7 billion loan for the South Asian nation in Sept., last year. Promoting renewable energy sources like solar and wind has been part of the government's plan to avoid costly oil imports that shrank five percent to $15 billion from July 2024 till May 2025, according to latest official figures. The South Asian country has boosted solar electricity generation by over three times the global average so far this year, fueled by a more than fivefold rise in solar capacity imports since 2022, Reuters reported last month, citing data from global energy think tank Ember. The combination of rapidly rising capacity and generation has propelled solar power from Pakistan's fifth-largest electricity source in 2023 to its largest in 2025, Reuters said. However, the country still relies heavily on fossil fuels and generates 56 percent electricity from thermal, 24.4 percent from hydel, 8 percent from nuclear and 12.2 percent from renewable energy sources. According to Pakistan's latest economic survey, the nation's total installed electricity generation capacity stood at 46,605 megawatts from July 2024 till March 2025, showing 2 percent increase from 45,888 megawatts during the same period in the previous year. 'The increase can be attributed with the installed capacity of 2,813 MW from net-metering,' the survey said. Shankar Talreja, head of research at Karachi-based brokerage firm Topline Securities, said Pakistan had been spending billions of dollars on the import of solar panels from China, thus pushing the country's inflation-hit consumers from grid-based energy to solar photovoltaic plants many of them have now installed at their rooftops to ensure smooth and cheaper supply of electricity. 'The benefit of net-metering was quite attractive, [so] people started installing solar at their rooftops and they were also selling excess electricity to government at a price of over Rs20 per kwh,' Talreja said. 'Pakistan imports over $2 billion of solar [panels] every year and it was increasing at a higher rate, resulting in further reduction in utilization of grid energy.' Pakistan has so far imported solar panels of 48,000 megawatts capacity, mostly from China, of which, the country is generating close to 6,000 megawatts power due to low efficiency (up to 21 percent) of these panels, according to officials. 'People are installing as many solar plants as possible and selling their surplus power to the government at a higher rate,' the energy ministry official said, adding the government is also considering 8,500 megawatts power generation quota for the distributed net-metering solar electricity that comes from domestic, agriculture, commercial and industrial producers. 'The buyback rate the power division is proposing stands equivalent to the tariff we are using to buy power from large-scale solar plants,' he said, adding that even K-Electric, Pakistan's largest private utility that powers the country's commercial capital of Karachi, had agreed to sell its solar power to the government at as much as Rs10 per kilowatt. Last month, K-Electric signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China's Huawei Digital Power Pakistan to strategically collaborate for 300 MWh battery energy storage systems and electric vehicles charging infrastructure to accelerate Pakistan's smart energy transition. The off-grid solar solution was one of the major reasons for 4 percent decrease in Pakistan's total electricity consumption that dropped to 80,111 gigawatt hours from July 2024 till March 2025, according to the economic survey. Talreja said the government, sensing the costly nature of net-metering, has started discouraging and insisting people to stay on the national grid, and proposed to slash and link the buyback tariff with national base tariff, i.e. 33 percent. 'The government is trying its best to increase share of renewables in overall energy mix, however, its implementation gets tougher due to idle capacity of expensive thermal assets,' the economist said.
CNET
11-06-2025
- Business
- CNET
Buying a Solar Battery? Don't Miss These Smart Tips
As electricity costs continue to rise, solar panels are a smart way to tap into efficient and clean energy from the sun. A recent CNET survey found that 78% of US adults are worried about rising home energy bills, and 70% are actively taking steps toward energy efficiency. If you're thinking along the same lines, now might be the right time to explore solar power. Installing solar panels and connecting them to the grid can help reduce your monthly bills and cushion costs when the sun isn't shining. But if you want real energy independence, you'll need to get a solar battery. Without one, even a roof full of solar panels won't help during a grid outage -- you'll still be left in the dark. "Something that people don't consider is that if they're on natural gas, and the power goes out in the winter, they think their heater is going to work, but most have an electric fan, so if the power goes out you still need something," said Mike Murphy, owner of Utah-based PrepSOS, which sells solar batteries, generators and other emergency-preparedness equipment. Plenty of folks, including those in a recent Reddit thread, often wonder if solar batteries are worth the investment. The short answer is absolutely. A battery completes your solar setup, giving you access to stored solar energy day or night and can keep your lights on and essential devices powered during emergencies. Plus, if your area supports net metering, you could knock extra money off of your electric bill by selling surplus energy back to the grid when it's most valuable. Can solar panels save you money? Interested in understanding the impact solar can have on your home? Enter some basic information below, and we'll instantly provide a free estimate of your energy savings. No lenders found matching this criteria It looks like we couldn't find any lenders that matched the provided criteria. Please try again at a later time. Close Solar batteries come with a price tag, and choosing the right one can feel overwhelming. That's where we come in. This guide breaks down everything you need to know to shop smart and find the right solar battery for your home. How solar batteries work The simplest way to think of batteries is to imagine that the electricity in your house flows through wires in much the same way as water through plumbing. Batteries fill the role of a storage tank, making electricity readily available when it's needed, just as indoor pressure tanks and water heaters do with water. When batteries are tapped for energy, their reserve of stored electricity is depleted, but in a properly wired system, they can be automatically replenished by "catching" any excess electricity flowing through the system from sources like solar panels or the grid. Depending on your goals for installing batteries, your system might look a bit different. 1. Connect just to solar panels: Batteries connected only to solar panels will fill when the sun shines and will discharge when you use electricity and the sun is down or behind clouds. It's one option if you are off-grid and away from electrical utilities. 2. Connect to solar panels and to the grid: If you have a solar inverter that can temporarily disconnect you from the grid, you have what's known as a hybrid solar system. In such a system, you can charge your battery with your solar panels or the grid and use the energy stored there in your home or send it back to the grid and save some money via rate arbitrage (if you have time-of-use rates). A hybrid system can also keep your house powered during a power outage. 3. Connect just to the grid: While we wouldn't call them solar batteries, you can install batteries without solar panels at all. They would charge from the grid and would be useful for backup power or for enrolling in a virtual power plant. Pros and cons of solar batteries The pros and cons of buying a battery largely boil down to savings (and backup power) versus cost. The extra solar electricity you store in your solar batteries can be used in place of electricity you'd normally have to buy from your utility, or sold back to the grid when it's most valuable. This can save you some money and relieve some pressure on the grid when there's peak demand. (Whether this is a viable money-saving option for you depends on your utility's net metering rules.) Some companies are starting to allow people to enroll their batteries in virtual power plants, a fleet of batteries, smart thermostats and other household appliances that work together to decrease demand on the grid. Where available, virtual power plants might come with additional perks for the battery owner. In addition, you'll be able to use your battery bank in the event that the grid goes down due to a failure, natural disaster or even a solar flare. A backup generator can also help keep the power on in an emergency (and charge your batteries), but it requires burning fossil fuels, usually either gas or propane. Batteries do add considerable expense to your home energy system, but federal tax credits and other incentive programs usually can be applied to the cost of storage. Battery Pros Battery Cons Can reduce energy bills Savings vary depending on local utility and net metering rules Getting cheaper, and eligible for tax credits and incentives Expensive Stored power for when the grid goes down Large battery banks require significant storage space Storing and releasing energy during peak usage hours can reduce stress on the grid Not all utilities encourage or reward this practice Cleaner source of backup power than a generator A generator may be more useful in a major emergency Latest battery chemistries (like Li-PO4) are exceedingly safe and simple to maintain Some batteries pose health and fire risks and require management and maintenance Increased energy independence Different types of solar batteries There are several kinds of batteries used in battery backup systems, including lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries. Here's a quick overview. Lithium-ion batteries There are multiple lithium chemistries on the market, including nickel-manganese-cobalt, lithium polymer and lithium iron phosphate. The latest lithium technology comes with less danger of fire than older headlines might lead you to believe. They're capable of a deeper discharge than lead acid batteries (you can use up to 90% of a charge per cycle without inflicting much damage) and are much easier to maintain with a longer lifespan. They're also significantly more expensive and sensitive to temperature. Increasingly, they are becoming standard in residential solar applications. Lead-acid batteries The basics of this technology are essentially unchanged for over a century. They remain inexpensive and widely available. For solar systems, it's popular to use somewhat more expensive sealed batteries that require less maintenance and eliminate the risk of dealing with a potential acid spill and hydrogen off-gassing. For a while, sealed lead acid seemed to be the future of solar batteries. However, all lead acid batteries require more careful monitoring of charge levels compared with lithium-ion and can't compete in terms of efficiency, energy and lifespan but are a good and plentiful budget alternative. Flow batteries Flow batteries (or redox flow batteries) are less common in home systems since they're mainly designed for commercial use. The technology appears promising, and it could become more widely used in residential battery backup systems in the near future. Nickel-cadmium batteries Nickel-cadmium batteries have a high energy density with double the energy of a lead-acid battery. Nickel-cadmium batteries are very durable, expensive and work well in extreme temperatures making them a good choice for large-scale commercial and industrial projects. Cadmium is toxic and generally not appropriate for residential use. Buying a backup battery system In general, a solar battery bank can cost between $10,000 to $25,000 for 10 to 25 kilowatt hours of power. (The US Department of Energy says solar batteries can cost anywhere from $12,000 to $22,000.) That said, it ultimately comes down to your budget and energy needs. A small off-grid solar system with enough battery capacity for the basics (no air conditioning or electric heaters allowed) using a pair of high-capacity flooded lead acid batteries can be had for $500 total. Upgrading to lithium-ion costs $1,300 for a system with comparable capacity. Adding batteries is a significant expense for any system, but the good news is that nearly a third will come back to you in the form of the 30% federal renewable energy tax credit. Other incentives may also be available from state and local governments, utilities, and even credit unions. How to set up a battery backup system It's best to use a certified solar installer or electrician to install your solar batteries and connect them to your solar array, your home, the grid and an EV charger if you desire. You should expect to spend a few thousand dollars for the labor involved, and there may be additional components like inverters, charge controllers and EV charge stations that can also add hundreds or thousands of dollars in expense. If you have confidence in your DIY skills and experience with electricity, it is possible to install batteries yourself. Just be sure to check with local regulations, building codes and equipment warranties. If you go the DIY route, make sure all batteries are the same age (ideally new). Don't mix new batteries with older ones to help make sure they charge evenly. Maintaining a battery backup system For all batteries, follow any manufacturers' instructions regarding monitoring the depth of discharge. Generally, for lead acid batteries, this means trying to keep them over half charged as much as possible. Many lithium-ion batteries can safely be taken down to only 10% charge. Flooded lead-acid batteries also need to be topped off with distilled water a few times a year. Lifespan and warranties A few years after installation, you may notice that your battery backup system doesn't hold a charge as well as it used to. That's because, like other types of batteries, battery backups lose storage capacity over time. To account for this, battery backups include a warranty that expresses how efficient the battery should be by the end of the warranty period. Many of the top solar batteries offer 10 years and 70%, meaning that by the end of the 10-year warranty, the battery should still operate at 70% of its original performance. Lead acid battery warranties typically last for two to five years. Inverters and batteries Inverters play an important role in how the battery stores and converts solar energy. While solar panels generate electricity in direct current, the electric grid and homes generally use alternating current. An inverter can convert AC to DC or vice versa, and most solar batteries include an inverter to store the energy in DC form, as well as an inverter to convert it back into AC to be used in the grid or the home. Because inversion of current isn't perfectly efficient, battery producers are always experimenting with how to invert less often and increase the efficiency of the battery. As a result, some batteries will not have inverters for both input and output included in the system. Talk to your solar installer about the battery system you're considering so that you can make sure you have all the external inverters you need. Beware cheap inverters, which are everywhere. To power modern household appliances, a pure sine wave inverter is essential; otherwise, you may end up frying some of the more delicate electronic circuits in your home. FAQ Why do I need a battery with solar panels? Solar power is available for only part of the day. Adding a solar power storage battery system ensures you always have power when the sun isn't out or during a power outage. Can I install my own solar battery? A professional solar electricity system installer can help you select a battery that works well with your goals, whether you want to be entirely off-grid, have an emergency store for outages or minimize your costs from the electric company during peak hours. DIY battery installation instructions abound online, but beware. Working with electrical equipment is dangerous and doing so without the proper training may also void your warranties and put you out of compliance with codes and other regulations. Do solar batteries qualify for the federal tax credit? Yes. The 30% federal solar tax credit can be applied to the total cost of your solar battery system if your battery can hold at least 3 kilowatt-hours of energy and is installed in 2023 or later. How many solar batteries do I need to power my house? It depends on how you intend to use them. Likely, fewer batteries are required if you simply hope to maximize net metering savings. To keep your home powered during an extended blackout, you will need to calculate your total power needs Can I use a normal battery for solar? Compared with a normal battery, solar batteries are purpose-built to keep your home and office running for long hours, and they have a long life. A home battery like the Tesla Powerwall is also much bigger than most batteries you're thinking of -- and should be installed by a professional.
Arab News
04-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan energy minister says net metering to be reformed, not scrapped
KARACHI: Pakistan will not abolish its solar net metering policy but is working to reform the mechanism to make it more 'transparent and sustainable,' Energy Minister Sardar Awais Leghari said on Wednesday. Net metering allows consumers to generate electricity through solar panels and sell excess power back to the national grid, receiving credits or monetary compensation in return. The policy was introduced in 2017 to promote renewable energy and ease pressure on the national grid. 'The government is not abolishing net metering but is considering changing its current mechanism to a more effective, transparent and sustainable model,' the Ministry of Energy's Power Division said in a statement. The minister said the expansion of net metering was now impacting the national grid and reforms were needed to address this in a 'timely manner.' Pakistan's current policy pays Rs21 per unit of solar electricity, resulting in a government subsidy of Rs1.90 per unit, according to the energy ministry. Officials say the cost is ultimately borne by domestic and industrial consumers, effectively subsidizing wealthier users who can afford to install solar panels. Leghari said the government may align the solar purchase rate with overall energy procurement prices, allowing it to adjust with market fluctuations. However, he stressed that the aim was not to eliminate incentives. 'We are not saying that net metering consumers should provide us with electricity at the rates of the cheapest sources of electricity,' Leghari said. 'These reforms are not a deterrent, but a step toward a better, balanced and sustainable system.' He said the typical payback period for solar investments in Pakistan was around three years, provided that consumers use 40 percent of the electricity they generate. Leghari also said the government was in discussions with the International Monetary Fund about the scheme but stressed 'there is no direct financial pressure on us.' In a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Leghari said the government was reviewing all stakeholder proposals and would not take steps that harmed businesses. 'We strongly hope that any changes in these regulations will be in the best interest of all stakeholders, the national grid and the electricity consumers of Pakistan,' he said. In January, Leghari called for a review of the net metering policy, saying it was becoming financially unsustainable. A government report from last year said the existing net metering framework had shifted a burden of Rs103 billion ($366 million) onto other electricity consumers in 2024. Pakistan has set a goal of generating 60 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and cutting projected carbon emissions by 50 percent. But the country remains far behind on those targets, despite growing solar adoption and abundant sunlight across most regions.
