The Muzaffargarh Solar Power Project is a proposed 600 MW solar power plant to be installed in

Muzaffargarh Muzaffargarh is a city in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the bank of the Chenab River, it is the capital of the eponymous district. It is the 39th most populous city of Pakistan. History The Muzaffargarh region was an agricultura ...

, Pakistan. The project is part of the government's initiative to generate low-cost and environment-friendly electricity. The project was launched as a component of the government's strategy to generate 10,000 MW of

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

nationwide. The primary objective was to lower electricity costs by phasing out load-based power plants that operate on imported fuel during daylight hours. The initial pilot project of 600 MW was set in motion in

Land acquisition

2400 acres of land was to be acquired for the Muzaffargarh project at an estimated cost of Rs 2000 crore. 1.4 billion. However, due to financial constraints, the Planning Commission refused to fund the land acquisition.

Bidding

The project's bidding process faced a poor response from potential investors. Despite offering an appealing power tariff of 3.4 cents per unit, no bids were submitted for the project. This presented a setback, as the government did not receive any bids for the initial pilot project. Due to the poor response in the bidding process, the

National Electric Power Regulatory Authority The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (, abbreviated as NEPRA) is responsible for regulating the electricity supply in Pakistan. It is also responsible for issuing licences for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, ...

(NEPRA) intended to review the approved tariff for the project.

References

{{renewable-energy-stub Solar power stations in Pakistan Proposed solar power stations Energy in Punjab, Pakistan