AEDB assists SBP in revising financing schemes for renewable energy

LAHORE: The Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) has assisted State Bank of Pakistan in revision of SBP's Financing Scheme for Renewable Energy in order to make financing available for broader consumer categories and swift implementation, said sources.

The facility had been extended till June, 2022, they added.

So far, they said, six commercial banks namely JS Bank, Bank of Khyber, Habib Bank, Faysal Bank, Meezan Bank and Bank Alfalah already had announced their products under the SBP facility.

The Board has also assisted World Bank in study for analyzing the integration of variable renewable energy in the national grid with the objective of increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy mix of the country.

It has also assisted Ministry of Science & Technology and Ministry of Commerce on development of mechanism for enforcement of the solar quality standards through announcement of SRO 604(I)/2019 requiring pre-shipment inspection (PSI) of solar panels and related equipment consignments imported into the country.

AEDB engaged the World Bank for developing strategy for implementation of new ARE Policy 2019 and undertaking competitive bidding for renewable power generation including localization of the manufacturing technology and advanced R&D.

Besides, a continued collaboration with UNIDO is also under way in promoting biomass technologies, cluster development for promotion of biomass in industries, energy management practices in industries, mapping potential for utilizing renewable energy applications in major export oriented industries and imparting trainings to energy managers.

The Board has also collaborated with World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) in organising a two-day Pakistan Renewable Energy Summit in September, 2019. AEDB invited policy makers, national and international experts, investors, developers, manufacturers and other stakeholders to enlighten them with global renewable power developments and potential for future growth in Pakistan.

Under the vision of the government to exploit clean energy resources and increase the share of ARE in the energy mix, a new Alternative & Renewable Energy Policy (ARE Policy 2019) has been formulated consequent to expiry of RE Policy 2006 in March, 2018.

In order to maximise the utilisation of ARE technologies, NEPRA had announced NEPRA (Alternative & Renewable Energy) Distributed Generation and Net Metering Regulations, 2015 on September 1, 2015. The first net metering system of 1 MW capacity was installed at the Parliament House, Islamabad which has opened the door for net-metering based systems in all parts of the country.

During the period of July 2019 to March 2020, more than 2,300 new licenses were issued by NEPRA for net-metering based installation of approx 34 MW. As of March, 2020 more than 4,125 solar installations with a cumulative capacity exceeding 75 MW have been approved by NEPRA for net-metering.

AEDB with the support of IFC completed a four years programme for creating awareness and bringing private sector investment in remote villages in Pakistan. The programme successfully introduced IFC Global Standard products in off-grid villages in Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab. The programme was aimed at addressing the lighting needs of consumers and give access to low-cost, high-quality, safe, reliable, and cleaner lighting products.

Similarly, AEDB undertook a pilot Result Based Financing (RBF) off-grid electrification initiative. The project was executed in remote areas of Sindh and Punjab. The project resulted in inviting private sector companies to develop their businesses-cum-supply chain for off-grid solar solutions in the remote villages. The pilot project was completed in December 2019, which is expected to lead to full fledge programme in next year.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020