The combined development of a 1 GW solar project at Oracle’s Thar Block VI coalfield in Pakistan has been agreed upon by Oracle Power and PowerChina. The Thar Solar Project, which would be located in the desert of southeast Pakistan, would use nearly 1.5 million solar panels with an installed capacity of 655 W to produce roughly 1.7 billion kWh annually. The Chinese partner will assist Oracle in assessing the project’s viability and coordinating efforts with the Chinese government. Oracle, in turn, will manage ongoing discussions with the Sindh and Pakistani governments and attempt to secure finance for the project.
The produced power from the Thar Solar Project will either be sold to a private distributor, added to the national grid, or used to lessen the carbon footprint at other coalfields within the Thar Coal Power Project. An further 1.2 GW solar, wind, and green hydrogen project in Sindh is being worked on by the UK-based company.