National grid would receive additional electricity of 9,700 megawatt (MW) through renewable energy by the year 2030, officials in Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) told Business Recorder on telephone from Islamabad.
It is expected that total electricity needs may touch 162,590 MW after 23 years, as its demand is growing between eight to 12 percent annually in the country.
Officials said the country had 19,522 MW total installed capacity contributed by 12,567 MW thermal (64 percent share), 6,493 MW hydel (33 percent share) and 462 MW nuclear (two percent share).
Currently, renewable energy has no share in the total installed capacity but AEDB has projected that national grid would be able to get 700 MW by 2010 and 9,700 MW sharing five percent of the total demand by 2030, they added. To keep the momentum of economic growth, the government has taken various measures to cater energy demands in the future.
They said that AEDB was established in May 2003 to implement government policies, programmes and projects through private sector in the field of renewable energy.
The AEDB was formed to assist and facilitate development and generation of renewable energy to achieve sustainable economic growth besides facilitating transfer of technology and develop indigenous manufacturing base for Renewable Energy Technology, they said.
The AEDB would facilitate installation of 700 MW of wind energy plant near Gharo, Sindh, by 2010 in addition to developing solar products like solar lights, fans, cooker, geyser etc through private sector. In this regard laws and taxes had been designed to encourage self-energy generation by domestic sector, they apprised.
The AEDB has prepared road map for completion of its projects in phases. The short-term or 'lenient phase' would be completed by June 30, 2008, medium-term or 'consolidation phase' by July 2008 to July 2012 and finally long-term or 'maturity phase' by July 2012 onwards, officials said.
They said that unique features of Renewable Energy Policy 2006, including wind risk/hydro risk, guaranteed electricity purchase, setting up of grid station provision is the responsibility of the purchaser, attractive tariff, no import duties on equipment, zero sales tax, net metering, electricity banking, wheeling provisions and grid spill over concept introduced.
The country has the potential of more than 50,000 MW wind energy. Pakistan has 1,045-kilometre long coastline in the south where average wind speed was recorded at 7 m/s only at Gharo Wind Corridor, officials said. They said the government had given incentives to wind farm investors, providing land at reduced rates for wind energy projects.
The federal government has approved the policy guidelines for tariff determination and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has offered up front tariff of US cents 9.5/kWh to investors. About the present status of wind projects, the officials said the government had issued letters of intent (LoIs) to 84 investors so far for setting up wind farms of 50 MW each on Built, Operate, Own and Transfer basis.
About 23,645 acres of land has been allotted to 15 investors on sub-leased basis in the general wind corridor, officials said, adding that survey and demarcation of another 10,169 acres of land were under way. Power generation licenses have been issued to five companies, including Green Power, New Park, Milergo, Win Power, Tenaga Generasi.
About tariff negotiation with these companies' officials said that Nepra had offered the upfront tariff of 9.5 cents/KWh, 10.23 US cents/kWh to New Park and Green Power's, respectively. While, Win Power and BEL had filed for tariff petition and Tenaga Generasi was willing to accept 9.5 cents, they said.
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