'Government should focus on wind and solar power'

Chairman Businessmen Panel and Pakistan Business Group Alliance of FPCCI Mian Zahid Hussain, Presidential Candidate Abdul Rahim Janoo and candidate for SVP Mian Anjum Nisar for FPCCI elections have said government should not ignore the matchless potential of renewable energy available in the country. Government should focus on wind and solar power whose price has dropped to the controversial sources of power generation, they said.
The business leaders further said that Pakistan can generate 50000 mw of electricity by harnessing wind power sources while the potential of solar power is said to be matchless. These sources of energy can satisfy all the needs of energy while surplus power can also be exported, they added.
They said that some estimates suggest that share of renewable energy will rise by 100 percent globally during the next 14 years but the pace of work in Pakistan is not satisfactory. Pakistan can seek support of Denmark where 43 percent of electricity is being generated through renewable sources and the share will jump to 70 percent in next 4 years. Co-operation with Brazil can also pay dividends where 42 percent electricity is generated through renewable, they added.
Our country used to satisfy its 67 percent power requirement through Hydel power until 1985 but subsequent governments promoted costly thermal power resulting in costly agricultural and industrial production and expensive exports. This reduced share of Hydel power from 67 percent to 30 percent in the national energy mix which will drop further in the years to come.