KARACHI: Sindh is all set to produce over 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy just on the basis of wind power by the next year 2018 coinciding with the change of power in the country after next general elections.
“A strong, robust, and the statutory regime is required to sustain and further increase achievements of Pakistan in the arena of alternative energy that will work uninterruptedly regardless of change of governments in Islamabad and in the provinces after the forthcoming elections,” said speakers at a media briefing here on Thursday.
The 2nd International Wind Energy Summit is being organised at a hotel in Karachi on 22 November 2017 to discuss all such issues related to promotion of clean energy production in the country as Sindh leads all other provinces in this cause due to an abundance of wind power resource. Chairman of organising committee of the Wind Energy summit Naeem Qureshi stated this while briefing newsmen about salient features of the upcoming moot.
Qureshi informed newsmen on the occasion that Sindh owing to the presence of Pakistan’s first wind corridor in Gahro-Jhimpir area already had achieved installed capacity of 788.5 MWs of wind-based power generation owing to 15 wind projects that had entered into the operational phase. Moreover, he said, nine more power projects of 445 MWs cumulative generation capacity had achieved the financial close and were in various stages of construction.
He said that Alternative Energy Development Board is encouraging the development of another ten wind energy projects in the province having expected the cumulative capacity of 1200 MWs, which would be constructed by 2019-20 through the process of competitive bidding of tariff after shifting from the current regime of upfront or cost-plus tariff.
He said that upcoming moot would thoroughly take into account progress so far been made in the arena of alternative energy, future of wind energy in Pakistan having a special focus on Sindh, foreign and local investment opportunities available in the sector, and technologies being used to tap clean energy resources of the country.
He said that conference was being organised with the aims to further brighten future of alternative energy sector in the country, better planning of the sector in future, provision of the best regulatory regime for maximum generation of clean electricity, availability of foreign and local investment prospects, and use of modern technologies for the purpose.
Likewise, the first wind energy moot, its second edition is being supported and endorsed by World Wind Energy Association, Sindh government’s Energy Department, Alternative Energy Development Board, Govt of Pakistan, and similar other concerned organizations of the power sector. The energy update is organising the summit.
The keynote speakers and participants of the conference are Alternative Energy Development Board Chief Executive Officer Amjad Ali Awan, Sindh Board of Investment Chairperson Naheed Memon, NEPRA Sr Director Tariff Mohammad Sajjad, FFC Business Manager Imran Shah, Ambassador of Denmark in Pakistan, Alternative Energy of Sindh Govt Director Mahfooz Qazi, STDC CEO Rehan Hamid, Wind Energy Association of Pakistan President Danish, Sindh Transmission chief Zafar Sobani, senior officials of NTDC, Central Power Purchasing Agency, and others.
