A truly wild story is unfolding in Pakistan. Over the past few years the country has become the globe’s third largest importer of Chinese solar panels, and yet none of the resulting projects are operated by, or even visible to, the national utility.
Simultaneously, demand from the grid has dropped 9.1% over the past 12 months, which has many scared of a potential utility death spiral.
Here’s a recent story in the Financial Times on what’s been going on that’s good background.
To unpack this, we sat down with Jenny Chase of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. She has been chasing down this story since 2021, when she was the first to report on it.
Jenny is also the OG solar analyst and knows more about this space than pretty much anyone. We highly suggesting scrolling through her annual “Opinions About Solar” megathread on twitter.
On an unrelated note, DERVOS tickets are selling fast. There’s less than 15 left at the discounted price, so snag yours quickly. Final speakers, sessions, demo-day participants, and more to come out shortly.
Pakistan because of circumstances is living out the reality of where we are all headed, with our unreformed human financial systems leading us on. (We are not tech-led, since the tech solutions have been around for decades). Observe how much conversation takes place about justice and fairness, and also observe how well the Pakistani nation is being cared for during these conversations.
‘Forewarned….
Hello guys. With all due respect: I believe I understand the potential story you wanted. That Pakistanis were buying solar panels and setting up bootleg ‘people’s’ power systems - and simply ignoring the existing utilities. Solving their own problems directly. Which certainly appeals to me. Taking matters into our own hands is perhaps ultimately necessary to solve powering our communities in a sane and functional way, technologically and fiscally.
Is interacting with utilities and state actor economies a fools errand? Expecting the corner loan shark to deal an honest hand? The current southeast US situation forecasts the fate of those listening to the ‘incremental change’ folks (pay my bonds off first, before solving anything else.)
However, your guest Jenny sounds like a nervous ‘liberal’, defaulting to Uncle Grid, the only Game in Town. It’s ok. We would be too, looking at her world her way. God bless all God’s creation.
However, we are each responsible for our own paths. Looks like we need to get to our own personal net zero, and build community outward from there. If Bronze Age villagers built 200 year houses from wood, without homeowners insurance, on a 30 hour workweek, we are without excuse. Persians built passive AC tower systems in the desert. Carthaginians sailed galleys to Britain for tin. (all pre-grid, LOL)
What are we doing to live up to our opposable thumbs? That’s a podcast I’d be interested in. Best & thanks for being out there! - Richard