The Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) has issued 97 Letters of Intents (LoIs) for 4850 MW wind power generation in the country. The first 50MW wind power project is now under installation at Jhimpir (Sindh) at a cost of US $121 million by ZORLU Enerji Pakistani Ltd (ZEPL). The construction works for the first phase are underway and the ZEPL intends to commission the first phase of 06 MW this month.
ZEPL, is a subsidiary of Istanbul based Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Uretim A.S (Zorlu Energy Electricity Generation Inc), an independent electricity producing company. Installation of second batching plant has been completed and wind turbines (including the towers, blades and the nacelle) have been shifted to the project site from the warehouse.
The installation of transmission line up to the grid station has been completed and a total of 31 poles have been erected. Presently installation of booms on the transmission lines is in progress. LOI for 50 MW wind project was issued on April 7, 2006. Land was allocated to M/s. ZEPL in Jhimpir in March 2007 and generation license was awarded to M/s. ZEPL by NEPRA in January 2008.
ZEPL had filed a petition for determination of tariff to NEPRA in October last year on which a tariff of US cents 10.4929/kwh was determined by NEPRA on December 12, 2007. On a revised petition for tariff determination filed by ZEPL in April this year which was considered by NEPRA and a tariff of US cents 12.1057 per kwh was determined in May this year and accepted by the company.
The Vensys 77 with 1.5 MW and Vensys 62 with 1.2 MW technology has been selected for this project. Vensys has a synchronous generator with permanent magnet excitation with high efficiency. It has no energy losses because of an external excitation and no slip rings for external excitation needed and can also generate electricity in case of power shortage in the grid.
Both the Vensys 77 and Vensys 62 are gearless WTG. These turbines do not require gear oil servicing nor do they produce leaks. Furthermore, there are no gear losses, which are a great advantage particularly at partial load. As such, these advantages will result in higher energy output, lower insurance costs, increased turbine lifetime and, lower overall operating and maintenance costs.
ZEPL intends to install 06 MW in the first phase of their 50 MW project. Five turbines of 1.2 MW capacity each would be installed in the first phase. The power generated from the first phase would be evacuated to the Jhimpir grid station by HESCO.
ZEPL has applied for an additional LOI of 5 x 50 MW = 250 MW for the development of wind power project in the country. It intends to develop this additional 250 MW on the same negotiated condition of first phase, which is already under construction on a fast track basis. The company has already arranged turbines for the additional generation.
AEDB plays a vital role in the development of wind power project of M/s. Zorlu Enerji (Pvt) Ltd and provides the following services/facilitation to the company for the development of said wind power project:
-- To sub-lease the Sindh government land to M/s. Zorlu for the entire life of the project and development of feasibility study.
-- Tariff determination and acquisition of generation license processes and verification of power production numbers.
-- Drafting, reviewing and finalisation of project documents ie Energy Purchase Agreement (EPA), Implementation Agreement (IA), and Measuring Protocols etc.
-- Act as a one-window facility for the company in order to move the process on a fast track basis and provide facilitation to the company for the negotiation of project documents with different stakeholders.
According to AEDB, Pakistan has a considerable potential of wind energy in the coastal belt of Sindh, Balochistan as well as in the desert areas of Punjab and Sindh. This renewable source of energy has, however, not so far been utilised significantly. The wind data of all Pakistan has been collected from Pakistan Meteorological Department and analysed by AEDB.
As per the collected data, the coastal belt of Pakistan is blessed with a God gifted wind corridor that is 60 km wide (Gharo - Kati Bandar) and 180 km long (up to Hyderabad). This corridor has exploitable potential of 50,000 MW of electricity generation through wind energy.
AEDB has also made a wind resource study to set up the benchmark wind speed values at different level from Gharo and Jhimpir regions at present. The average wind speed in the Gharo and Jhimpir region is more than 7.0 m/s. In addition to that there have been some other wind sites which have been exploited in coastal area of Balochistan and some Northern areas.
National Renewable Energy Laboratories (USA) under the USAID assistance programme in 2007 had carried out the wind resource study of Pakistan and developed a meso scale map showing the wind speed potential available at 50m altitude. NREL study has also discovered the wind corridor in the south of Pakistan. The NREL wind resource map of Pakistan has given a great boost to the wind power development activities in the wind corridor regions. Now this potential area has become the focal point for the development of wind energy in the near future.
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