Pakistan would be failed as a nation in the next 27 years if it does not generate 80% of its energy demand from the alternative renewables including hydel, solar, wind, and biomass.
Weather in Pakistan is quite favourable to the wind and solar generation but still a good number of experts believe that they can at best supplement but not replace hydropower which, amongst others, can provide a range of valuable services, including frequency control, grid balancing, water storage, quick start, and peaking services not inherent in wind and solar generation.
Eng. Amjad Mumtaz, an energy expert, is of the view that going for renewables like solar is a good option but it should not be part of the national grid. Instead, it should be community-based and managed at the local level.
According to him, the investors dealing with housing and real estate should be given the incentive to make arrangements for solar parks in housing societies. This will also reduce the load on national grid and agreements for import/export of power during peak/off-peak hours would be possible, he added.
He said the up-gradation of transmission and distribution system is need of the hour for the system stability. We have got enough generation capacity but without augmentation of the national grid and low industrial growth, he added.
It may be noted that Nishat Group has completed another environmentally friendly project by commissioning a 3 MW Wartsila Solar Power Plant at Sahianwala, Faisalabad during November 2019. Meanwhile, the plans to acquire two more Solar Power Plants for Power Divisions located at Bhikki and Ferozwatwan are under process. The project of 3.2 MW Steam Turbine for a power plant located at Lahore has also completed in December 2019 by the group. This turbine generates electricity from high pressure/temperature steam produced by 9MW coal power plant before this steam is transferred at low pressure/temperature to production halls of Dyeing and Home Textile Divisions.
Eng. Suleman Najib said if Pakistan does not generate 80% from Renewables, including hydel, solar, wind, and biomass, in the next 27 years then we would be failed as a nation. He said Germany had Solar PV of 34GW in 2013 which was twice of our total power generation mix. According to him, the old ratio 70:30 of hydel and thermal has now changed to 80:20 of RE and thermal generation.
Tahir Basharat Cheema, another energy expert, however, termed it a conservative approach and stressed the point that Pakistan would need to have AREs to the tune of 100% by the end of the next quarter of a century.
Former Director-General Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Muhammad Khalid said this is high time for going for solar energy because solar Power equipment has become quite cheap thus reducing the cost of installation and its operating costs are negligible.
According to him, many industrial concerns are in the process of installing solar power nowadays. It may be noted that the power division has already finalized the draft of renewable energy policy 2019, envisaging 25 per cent of total generation capacity from alternative and renewable energy technologies by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030. Pakistan produces only five per cent of electricity from renewable power; mainly from wind, a bit from solar, and a little from bagasse as captive power plants in sugar mills. The government decided to move to a renewable energy-reliant economy by 2030 in which hydropower would be the backbone. To keep pace with the demands, this would require the development of additional generation capacity of 20 gigawatts of hydropower, wind, and solar.
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