page_title: Energy in Afghanistan
section_title: Solar and wind farms
hierarchical_section_title: Energy in Afghanistan / Solar and wind farms
caption_attribution_description: English: Afghanistan's first wind farm in Panjshir Province.
context_page_description: Energy in Afghanistan is primarily provided by hydropower. According to the World Bank, approximately 84.1% of Afghanistan's population has access to electricity. Some rural areas, however, may not get 24-hour electricity but this will change once the major CASA-1000 project is completed in 2020.
  According to Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, Afghanistan generates around 300 megawatts of electricity mainly from hydropower followed by fossil fuel and solar. About 1,000 MW more is imported from neighboring Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran and Turkmenistan.
  Due to the large influx of expats from neighboring Pakistan and Iran, Afghanistan may require as much as 7,000 MW of electricity in the coming years. The Afghan National Development Strategy has identified alternative energy, such as wind and solar energy, as a high value power source to develop. As a result, a number of solar and wind farms have been established, with more currently under development.
context_section_description: Afghanistan has the potential to produce over 222,000 MW of electricity by using solar panels. In 1991, a new 72-collector solar installation was completed in Kabul at a cost of $364 million. The installation heated 40,000 liters of water to an average temperature of 60 °C around the clock. The use of solar power is becoming widespread in Afghanistan. Solar parks have been established in a number of Afghan cities. Solar-powered street lights are seen in all Afghan cities and towns. Many villagers in rural parts of the country are also buying solar panels and using them.
  The country also has the potential to produce over 66,000 MW of electricity by installing and using wind turbines. The first wind farm was successfully completed in Panjshir Province in 2008, which has the potential to produce 100 kW of power. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has teamed up with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop a wind map of Herat province. They have identified approximately 158,000 MW of potential wind power. Installing wind turbine farms in Herat could provide electricity to most of western Afghanistan. Smaller projects are wind pumps that already have been attached to water wells in several Herat villages, along with reservoirs for storing up to 15 cubic meters of water. The 300 KW wind farm in Herat was inaugurated in September 2017.
caption: Afghanistan's first wind farm in the Panjshir Province.
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