SG Solar Bhera

Bhera Service Area, M-2 Motorway, Punjab Pakistan.
At the time of its inauguration in 1997, M-2 Motorway connecting the provincial capital, Lahore with the federal capital, Islamabad was the first ever motorway built in South Asia, and was considered a landmark infrastructure development in the country. Bhera Service Area marks the mid-point of M-2 Motorway and serves as a rest point for majority of road users. The vast parking sheds at the service area, which previously served no other purpose than to house cars, now feature solar panels at the top which generate sufficient electricity to power hotels, restaurants, rest rooms, gas stations and allied facilities in the service area.
With Pakistan’s development growth and ever-increasing carbon footprint thereof, and the country already facing the consequences of climate change not necessarily of its own making, such intelligent solutions as the one implemented at Bhera Service Area prove that sustainability can go hand-in-hand with development needs. Widespread implementation of such small scale solutions can certainly lower greenhouse emissions and mitigate impacts of climate change.