China exported more solar panels to Pakistan than to many G20 nations, with over 16 gigawatts (GW) imported in 2024 alone, a research report stated on Wednesday.
The G20 (Group of Twenty) is an intergovernmental forum of 19 countries and the European Union, representing the world’s largest economies.
The report titled ‘Leader of One or Leader of None – China’s Choice for Clean over Coal in Pakistan’ published by think tank Renewables First said more than 39GW of solar panels, nearly all from China, entered Pakistan in the last five years.
These solar panels are “enough to exceed three-quarters of Pakistan’s installed national generation capacity”, the report said.
The report unpacked this transformation, highlighting China’s role in the Global South.
“The exit of the United States from the Paris Agreements threw international climate action into a state of frenzy, with the world left speculating who, if anyone, might step in to lead the efforts against climate change,” it said.
From crisis to clean energy: Pakistan emerges as top solar market in 2024
China is now a global powerhouse in clean energy manufacturing. It is supplying tools in the form of renewable energy technologies that much of the world is using to fight climate change, according to the report.
There has been an energy shift in Pakistan in the form of what the think tank called a ‘Solar Rush’, which is driven “not by government declarations or boardroom decisions, but by rooftops, farms, and factory sheds”.
The report demystified the ‘Solar Rush’, dissecting how one of the world’s fastest-growing, people-led solar markets materialised not through grand strategy, but through open competition, favorable trade policy, and a flood of low-priced technology.
Yet as solar thrived, coal investments began turning into high-risk assets, with the country still hosting billions of dollars in Chinese-financed coal-fired power plants, the report said.
As solar slashed grid demand and made self-generation more viable, these legacy plants, once seen as anchors of energy security, have began to sink.
“Utilisation of these power plants fell to as low as 4% in some projects by 2024. Capacity payments ballooned. And electricity from the grid grew more expensive for those still reliant on it,” the report.
“China’s solar panels are outcompeting China’s power plants,” said Muhammad Basit Ghauri, lead author of the report. “What we are seeing is an unintentional but profound strategic contradiction. And Pakistan is ground zero for this global experiment in energy disruption.”
Pakistan’s solar revolution leaves its middle class behind
With distributed solar now displacing centralised generation, Pakistan does not just need panels. It needs storage systems, grid upgrades, local manufacturing, financing tools, and a pathway to move away from stranded coal assets, the report said.
“Pakistan may be the first to experience this clash between legacy coal and democratised solar at this scale, but it will not be the last. If China gets this right, it will not just lead to Pakistan’s energy transition. It will prove itself as the architect of a new Global South energy paradigm, one that is fast, fair, and truly transformative,” the report envisaged.
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