Chipping in the global wind energy

No doubt, renewable energy in Pakistan is still in its infancy. But, as per a latest Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) report, the countrys total annual installed wind energy capacity almost doubled to 106 megawatt in 2013.
While excluding the regional anomalies (read India and China), the 50 megawatt addition seemingly aligns well with the Asian average addition of 57 megawatt. The report, titled Global Wind 2013, shows that the share of all other Asian countries in the annual wind capacity additions is miniscule in front of the wind energy giants, India and China.
However, it is wiser to face the reality. Pakistans capacity additions fall way behind many developed countries. Also, if the policymakers are serious about wind energy in Pakistan, condoning the Indian and Chinese markets for the sake of comparison makes little sense. After all, these market offer immense insight into how the wind energy operates.
With the rising power consumption and the need for electrification, there is a need for renewable energy by at least supplementing the existing energy mix in the country. In a recent sitting with BR Research, Kashif Ansari, the CEO of Sachal Energy Development, estimated a realistic potential of around 20,000 megawatt of wind energy in the country. He also mentioned that projects totaling 1,000-1,200 megawatt were to commence in the next few years.
However, policy loopholes and the argument over capital and tariff cost plague the local industry. Meanwhile, in the same report, the GWEC has estimated 47gigawatt of wind energy additions worldwide in 2014. It reckons steady growth to double the worldwide installed capacity to about 600gigawatt by the end of 2018.
The report highlights Asia amongst the regions with accelerated growth in the years to come. Growth in China is seen to be based on offshore segment as well as the governments plans to add 200gigawatt of capacity by 2020. Indias future has been linked to the policy initiative after the general elections, while the world is likely to witness a stable stream of new projects in Pakistan, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Lets hope GWEC is right!