Clean energy resources: Govt to produce up to 60pc of power by end-2030: minister

ISLAMABAD: The government is committed to produce up to 60 percent of power from clean energy resources including solar and hydel, wind and others by the end of 2030.

This was stated by Federal Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir Khan, while speaking at a workshop “Development of SDG7 roadmap for Pakistan”, jointly organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific UNESCAP.

The minister said the government was also installing the wind power plants, adding the country had abundant resources of coal and the government would utilise it.

Moreover, 30 percent vehicles will be shifted on electricity by 2030.

The minister said the currently existing energy crisis and debt figures were too large for the economy to manage. Pakistan has a sufficient generation capacity, but due to the lack of transmission Infrastructure, low recoveries, and high cost of thermal fuels, the current generation is falling behind the required demand.

Khan highlighted that although Pakistan does have sufficient capacity to make the country free of the demand-supply gap, but do not have the financial resources to generate electricity through diesel and furnace oil due to their high costs. The State was also suffering from the capacity to recover the electricity bills leading to continuously rising circular debt, he added.

“To deal with the energy crisis we have to find out a set of domestic sources, as imported fuels are unaffordable, we are going to promote green energy resources, but to do so Pakistan needs significant international cooperation.” He said the government was considering to redesign the trading models.

Giving the example of K-Electric, the minister said that shifting public-owned monopoly to private-owned monopoly had not worked properly. The government has installed most energy efficient power plants as compared with private power plants. The minister said that by introducing Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBM), competition in the power distribution and buying market would be enhanced. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine has disrupted globally energy markets. We have to promote energy conservation policy too.”

The per capita energy consumption in Pakistan is still far below the global level. In the near future, Pakistan has to enhance the energy production manifold. The government is committed to producing up to 60 percent of power from clean energy resources including solar and hydel. Wind power is also in the plan and the country has abundant resources of coal the government will utilise it. Moreover, 30 percent vehicles will be shifted to electricity. The ministry is to launch an energy conservation plan within the next few days as the country was spending at least $13 billion on the import of crude oil.

“There are serious questions on the privatization of the power sector. Owing to the energy crisis not only the people are facing problems but the government is also in serious trouble as the official concerned remained alert 24 hours a day. Our energy mix is also one of the problems and we have to change it,” the minister concluded.

Romina Khurshid, MNA, asserted that “our focus should be on energy conservation along with promoting green energy. This step is important to benefit all segments of society through a sustained and gradual transition,” she added.

Shahjehan Mirza, managing director PPIB informed the participants that despite having a low carbon footprint as compared to other countries, Pakistan has set the target to shift 30 percent of energy reliance on renewable energy sources by 2030.

“To achieve this target, the country needs international monetary support due to the high financial requirements for the infrastructure development required for achieving this goal,” Mirza said while highlighting several initiatives taken and in the pipeline by the government to promote renewable energy sources in the country.

Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, executive director SDPI said that rolling back subsidies on fuel were a make or break in the negotiations with the IMF. The high fuel prices should be able to catalyze the shift towards renewable energy. “While making policies to encourage shift to renewable energy sources, the political parties should be taken on board for effective policies,” Suleri added.

Sergi, Representative from the UNESCAP, opined the Covid-19 was a wake-up call for the international community to get back on track for building forward on the SDGs. He asserted that the UNESCAP was providing national governments with the framework to build their own transition models to transition to clean and green energy.

Dr Sardar Mohazzam, managing director NEECA, was of view that energy efficiency is not a new concept in Pakistan and the root cause of the energy crisis should be addressed. Energy conservation is much more cost-effective than energy generation and Pakistan must reduce its energy intensity for sustainable economic growth and increasing the GDP. Therefore, the need for energy audits, especially in the public sector, is important to improve on energy efficiency and energy conservation in the country.

Dr Zulfiqar Ali, managing director Board of Investment (BOI), viewed there was an immense potential for investment in the renewable energy sector in Pakistan. The government is ensuring ease of doing business to attract the investment required to support the clean energy transition. Besides, the government is also incentivizing consumers who sell energy captured from rooftop solar panels to the national grid for more economical energy generation, he concluded.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022