To resolve energy crisis in the long run, the government should also invest in Alternate Renewable Energy (ARE) projects. This was the crux of the first day of the second international exhibition on Alternative Energy and Energy Efficiency arranged by Renewable and Alternative Energy Association of Pakistan (Reap) which kicked off here on Saturday.
The domestic sector was badly hit by long hours of power outrage which could be better addressed by investing in ARE, but its initial cost as compared to other sources of energy is too high, while in the long-run it is much cheaper with fewer environmental hazards.
They stressed the need for financing macro-level projects of renewable and alternate energy in Pakistan by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) at the generation and supply end; and by Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) at the consumer end to meet the growing demand of electricity, which would reach around 100,000MW by 2050.
The inaugural roundtable session titled 'Deployment of Alternative and Renewable Energy Technologies in Pakistan - opportunities, obstacles & way forward' of the conference on alternative and renewable energy sources titled "Towards an Energy Secure Pakistan" being held under the auspices of Institute of Policy Studies in collaboration with Reap and Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB).
The session was addressed by AEDB CEO Arif Alauddin, DG-IPS Khalid Rahman, Reap Islamabad chapter's Chairman Asif Jah, and a number of experts relating to ARE technologies such as biogas, solar, micro hydel, biomas, wind, etc.
The participants discussed various opportunities and available ARE technologies that have rich potential to meet the increasing demand of energy in Pakistan and urged the government to provide an enabling environment to attract FDI and facilitate and encourage local manufacturers and help them get adequate financing and latest technology to develop reliable and economically viable solutions on a large scale for the consumers.
Arif Alauddin in his concluding remarks said that one should not compare Pakistan with countries like US, Canada, Germany or even India, which were providing subsidies to the extent of 0.50 dollars to 0.70 dollars per unit to the consumers. Speaking on the occasion, Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO) Chairman Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi said the phenomenon of energy shortage was fairly common in most of under-developed world. However, many of these countries are managing the situation pretty well by way of a solid strategy, planning and utilisation of techniques and solutions that are already commonly available all over the world.