renewables to the rescue - solar panel traffic lights

You know, in a conservative Muslim society, when you meet not only pickpockets but headscarves, the economic crisis becomes very serious --
As you do in Pakistan, there are rubber scraping women at traffic lights.
The lights are still on in Karachi.
Black people in Islamabad
But cars and taxis can still be refueled with CNG.
Outside these protected areas of the commercial and political capital, the full impact of Pakistan's energy crisis has emerged.
The long-line car waiting for the quantitative compression of natural gas blocked the street and reminded me of the gas pipeline in 1974.
Factories are being demolished and ready to be shipped to other countries and their owners are no longer willing to tolerate days without electricity or gas to operate ---
Edible oil manufacturers lament that they are no longer able to provide high-quality products because they have to replace natural gas in fast-clogged burners with fuel oil.
Pakistan has two energy problems.
Most of the rural population still have no electricity, no clean cooking, and most people still have no electricity-a long-
Station access problem.
But cities and industries that had reliable electricity a few years ago (
Mainly from hydropower and imported oil)and transport (
A large part of gas from Pakistan)
Now, people are choking on disruptions, rationing, and absolute shortages.
This reliability problem comes from many reasons. -
Global warming and deforestation have severely reduced water and electricity and dried up the reservoir.
Including one built for Islamabad in the 1960 s)
The drowning platform. Sky-
World oil prices remain high, and 36% of Pakistan's electricity comes from imported oil, which is too high for the local economy.
Finally, bad plans, stupid low prices, and the failure to complete the pipeline of plans for Iran or Central Asia to replenish natural gas have left the country severely lacking fuel for homes, factories and vehicles ---
There is no triple strike that is clearly solved quickly.
But power shortage. -
Reliability and access-
There is a surprising range of potential solutions.
While renewable energy still maintains a reputation here as "too expensive for a poor country", the reality is that
Long-term solutions to energy poverty in Pakistan will almost all come from efficiency and clean energy ---
Not a historical source like imported oil.
Dam and gas.
Pakistan heats up its natural gas a big waste of domestic water-a low-
Low-level tasks handled by China and Nepal
Cost of solar water heater.
Replace the diesel generator in the remote battery
Small Bio-telephone tower and rural industry
Massive oil imports will ease the burden on the country. -
The price is much lower.
Sunlight, not oil, can be used as a source of pumping.
Reliable roof to meet peak power load in the afternoon
The top solar panel will exceed the cost of the diesel generator and inject the stable voltage electrons into the grid when needed most
On a hot afternoon
Mountainous north Pakistan has thousands of potential Village micro-sites
Only 2% hydropower projects have been developed.
The cost is trivial.
Even remote villages prove that they can handle maintenance and maintenance on their own.
In Pakistan's densely populated plains, imported kerosene is replaced by small solar micro-Solar energy
Power grids can reduce energy bills for the rural poor, increase their incomes and quality of life, and end the scourge of kerosene fires and pollution.
Wind blowing from North Karachi
Corridors offer cheap power grids up to 20,000 MW-
His volatility could be a perfect match for Pakistan's 30% Hydro.
Ability to track changes in seasonal and daily needs.
It is important that all these renewable energy solutions are cheaper than the fossil fuels they will replace ---
If it's not as cheap as water and electricity
Pakistan is used to electricity and subsidized natural gas.
But more importantly, each of these solutions can be deployed in an incremental, fast and cost-effective manner ---
Unlike large power plants, dams or gas pipelines, gas pipelines can last for decades in complex regional, financial and political networks --lock.
Their ability to improve Pakistan
Tight governance structures are not trivial-urban roof-
Top solar energy needs feed
In tariffs linked to peak power values, wind corridors will not be able to develop without reliable long-term prices and better management of the grid ---
But compared with some of Pakistan's stalled big negotiations
Only with the moderate support of the government can the renewable energy of hydropower projects develop rapidly.
Obstacles. -
A major problem is that interest groups that make a profit from importing oil from power plants do not want to see wind and solar replace it ---
But there are strong commercial and political forces now demanding action. -
The important thing is the "now" section.
Renewable energy may be clean. -
But this is not what the Pakistanis are asking.
Cheap renewable energy-
It's good, but not the most important.
Renewable energy, however, is also fast-
This could make all the difference, whether it's the ability of the country to respond to the dual energy crisis or the legacy of climate change.
Carl Pope, a senior leader in the environmental movement, is a former executive director and chairman of the Sierra Club. Mr. Pope is co-author --
With Paul Labor. -
Strategic Ignorance: Why did the Bush administration, desperate to undermine environmental progress for a century, call it a "very intense book" by the New York book review ".