First Solar to Power Zorlu Enerji’s 100MW Solar Power Plant in Pakistan

First Solar, Inc. is supplying more than 860,000 high-performance thin film modules to power a 100 megawatt (MW)AC utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant developed by Zorlu Enerji in Pakistan. The Independent Power Producer (IPP) facility, part of the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in the country’s Punjab province, is expected to be completed and connected to the electricity grid by the first half of 2018.
 
When completed, the plant will increase Zorlu Enerji’s installed capacity in the country to 156.4MW, a portfolio that includes a 56.4MW wind farm completed in 2013. The facility will generate an estimated 180 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year – sufficient to power approximately 140,000 average homes – for Pakistan’s Central Power Purchasing Agency, under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
 
“We are confident that First Solar’s advanced PV modules will thrive in Bahawalpur’s desert conditions, delivering over 8% more energy than conventional crystalline-silicon panels, and enabling our successful bid for a PPA,” said Sinan Ak, CEO of Zorlu Enerji.