Pakistan could save more than $9 in fossil fuel imports over the lifetime of solar panels and inverters for every dollar spent importing the equipment, according to the “Renewables First, Pakistan Energy Market Review, 2026” (PEMR26) report.
The PEMR26 report notes that solar panels and inverters imported at a cost of $8.9 billion up to FY26 have already helped Pakistan avoid nearly $14.7 billion in fossil fuel imports. Future savings could increase the cumulative figure to approximately $124 billion by FY50.
The report estimates that a further $4.57 billion investment in inverter replacements could help avoid an additional $109 billion in fossil fuel imports between FY27 and FY50. Overall, Pakistan could avoid around $9.23 in fossil fuel import costs for every dollar invested in solar panels and inverters over FY17-FY50.
The projected savings show that Pakistan currently has such a growing web of distributed solar systems that can replace electricity that would otherwise be generated using imported regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) and coal.
These estimates are based on assumptions, including a fixed fuel price in real 2026 terms and a generation mix of 65 percent RLNG and 35 percent imported coal.
