Special instruction issued for promotion of Solar Energy, Net-Metering

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/490951-special-instruction-issued...

Power Division has issued special instructions to all DISCOs for promoting and further easing installation of net-metering in order to provide opportunity to all electricity consumers to curtail their monthly electricity bills besides optimal utilization of solar potential of the country.

The instructions were issued on Friday during one-point agenda on net-metering meeting of Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA).

As per the latest instructions, all the DISCOs have been directed to establish one window for interested net-metering electricity consumers. The appointment of focal persons will in this regard be ensured besides their active engagement on targets assigned by the Power Division.

Each officer at operational level will be assigned targets of net-metering which will be properly monitored. These targets and their results will count for greater points during their assessment for promotion and other benefits.

All the DISCOs are further directed to ensure proper briefing of consumers during open katcheris by the respective Superintending Engineers, XEN and SDOs.

All the DISCOs will also run a comprehensive awareness campaign for educating the consumers regarding benefits of net-metering.

The meeting while emphasizing the importance of net-metering in order to tap the solar energy potential of the country, also underscored the need to extend all out facilitation to the consumers by the DISCOs.

It was noted that although the rules and regulation for net-metering are adequate, however, the practical steps taken by DISCOs are not enough to promote it in order to fully and optimally utilize the potential.

It was further directed to strictly monitor all targets in this regard.

Earlier, the meeting was informed that a total of around 900 MW solar panels have been imported in the country. There are 1,190 electricity consumers with a cumulative capacity of 26MW who have installed net-metering so far.

#Pakistan added 500MW of #solar power in 2018. #Asia topped with new installations, despite declines in top three markets (#China, #India and #Japan). China alone accounted for around 45% of global additions, but this was down from nearly 54% in 2017. https://www.evwind.es/2019/06/21/photovoltaic-cumulative-capacity-i...

Photovoltaic capacity increased to 505 GW
June 21, 2019 reve
The annual global market for solar photovoltaics (PV) increased only slightly in 2018, but enough to surpass the 100 GW level (including on- and off-grid capacity) for the first time. Cumulative capacity increased approximately 25% to at least 505 GW; this compares to a global total of around 15 GW only a decade earlier. igher demand in emerging markets and in Europe, due largely to ongoing price reductions, compensated for a substantial market decline in China that had consequences around the world.

Despite the single-digit growth rate of the global market in 2018, solar PV has become the world’s fastest-growing energy technology, with gigawatt-scale markets in an increasing number of countries. 

Demand for solar PV is spreading and expanding as it becomes the most competitive option for electricity generation in a growing number of markets – for residential and commercial applications and increasingly for utility projects – even without accounting for the external costs of fossil fuels.
Eleven countries added more than 1 GW of new capacity during the year, up from 9 countries in 2017 and 7 countries in 2016, and markets around the world have begun to contribute significantly to global growth. By the end of 2018, at least 32 countries had a cumulative capacity of 1 GW or more, up from 29 countries one year earlier.
There are still challenges to address in order for solar PV to become a major electricity source worldwide, including policy and regulatory instability in many countries, financial and bankability challenges, and the need to integrate solar PV into electricity markets and systems in a fair and sustainable manner.

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Turkey followed, installing 1.6 GW for a total of 5.1 GW, already surpassing the national target for 2023. However, Turkey’s additions were down 37% relative to 2017 due to several factors, including uncertainties regarding national support schemes, issues related to land acquisition, permission and financing, as well as delays as project developers await further cost reductions.
Others in Asia to add capacity included Chinese Taipei (almost 1 GW), driven by a FIT and a target of 20 GW by 2025, as well as Pakistan (0.5 GW) and Malaysia (0.4 GW).

#Pakistan plans #renewables for a fifth of #energy supplies by 2025. Pakistan will build #wind and #solar plants to reduce reliance on gas and fuel imports and ease the burden on its #grid. #electricity #power @AJENews https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/pakistan-plans-renewables-energy...

Pakistan is planning a wave of new wind and solar plants that will expand its clean energy capacity to about fifth of its total.

The South Asian nation plans to increase its renewables by more than four times by adding as much as 7 gigawatts to bring its total to 8-9 gigawatts by 2025, said Nadeem Babar, head of Pakistan’s energy task force. The new energy policy that targets lifting the country’s total generation capacity by 40% to 42-43 gigawatts is expected to be approved within a month, he said.

The shift to clean generation comes after Pakistan has nearly bridged a power deficit by adding 10 gigawatts of capacity in the past six years to ease long, unannounced blackouts in major cities. Most of that capacity was coal and natural gas fired plants that were financed by China as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.

“The general policy is to have much higher emphasis on renewables over the next 10 years,’’ Babar said in a phone interview this month. Hydroelectric generation isn’t included in the renewable figures and is expected to account for 35% of the nation’s capacity by 2025.

As Pakistan has beefed up power generation its grid has come under increasing pressure and many transmission lines are already operating at full capacity. To alleviate congestion the country is working with the World Bank to identify the best locations to site new renewable generation.

Pakistan plans to auction the right to build renewable capacity annually starting in December. It will also deregulate clean energy for companies that want to build a wind farm or use solar panels to supply private businesses, said Babar.

Renewable generation is also expected to reduce the country’s costs to import power generation fuels such as coal and natural gas. Pakistan’s petroleum product imports, which fuel both power plants and vehicles, accounted for about $13 billion of the country’s $50 billion total imports in the eleven months ended May.
As well, a $3.5 billion joint venture with China to dig up coal from Pakistan’s Thar desert generated electricity for the first time this month.

“Last year, 41% of generation was on imported fuels,” said Babar. “That is just way too high.”

#Chinese #investment in #renewables triples under Belt and Road initiative (#BRI). Biggest recipient of Belt & Road investment was #Pakistan, where equity investments from #China accounted for 36.8% of the country’s new #wind capacity from 2014 to 2018. https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/07/30/chinese-investment-in-renewa...

A report by Greenpeace has found in the five years since China announced the continent spanning ‘One Belt, One Road’ infrastructure plan, investment in Belt & Road countries has supported 12.6 GW of wind and solar power generation capacity. That is almost three times the 450 MW that came online in the territories before 2014. The initiative has also supported 68 GW of new coal capacity.

A study published this week by environmental charity Greenpeace found China’s Belt & Road Initiative has led an investment surge in energy infrastructure in the regions covered by the plan – particularly south and Southeast Asia – over the past five years.

According to the NGO, Chinese equity investment in solar, wind and coal power projects in south and Southeast Asia rose 1,370% during 2014-2019, compared to the previous five years.

The Greenpeace study shows 12,622 MW of wind and solar power generation capacity along the Belt & Road route was supported by Chinese equity investment, alongside 67.9 GW of coal capacity. Some 93% of the wind and solar investment – and 94% of the coal projects – went to south and Southeast Asia.

“Solar now presents a serious rebuttal to any pattern of Chinese overseas pro-coal bias,” said Liu Junyan, a Beijing-based climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace East Asia. “Chinese investors’ ratio of coal to solar is now the same at home and abroad – both are still six-to-one coal, unfortunately, but I’m amazed to see what five years of equity investment in solar made possible.”


Of the 12.6 GW of renewables capacity to be funded by Chinese investment, 1.7 GW has already been installed – 1.2 GW of it solar. For PV, that represents a 280% increase in capacity funded through equity investment. At the end of last year, a further 10.8 GW project pipeline in Belt & Road countries had received equity investment from Chinese companies. The largest single recipient of Belt & Road related investment was Pakistan, where equity investments from China accounted for 36.8% of the country’s new wind capacity from 2014 to 2018.

The Belt & Road route covers a wide corridor along the former overland Silk Road and maritime Spice Route from China to Europe across Asia and includes central Asia, the Middle East, parts of Africa and southern Europe.

For renewables and coal, equity in projects is the primary form of investment. Greenpeace pointed out for coal the rise of renewables represents a serious threat.

“Equity ties Chinese investors to overseas coal projects for the long run,” said Wang Yan, of Greenpeace East Asia. “And there’s a slew of financial, environmental and regulatory risks on the horizon. But the equity model also gives Chinese enterprises license to invest in a variety of projects. It’s Beijing’s job to educate Chinese companies on coal risks and the potential of equity investment in renewables before a series of bad investments put a stink on the whole Belt & Road.”

Experts see space for ample growth in Pakistan’s civil nuclear energy sector

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/508871-experts-see-space-for-ample...

Brigadier Kazmi said Pakistan’s nuclear energy sector had contributed to the socio-economic uplift of the county and there was ample space for growth in this industry.

“The nuclear energy sector has been playing a very important role in power generation, minerals exploration, developing high-yield stress-tolerant crops, cancer treatment, designing and fabrication of industrial plants and equipment and human resource development for many years.”

He said Pakistan is one of the countries in the world that have operated a complete nuclear fuel cycle and is amongst 30 countries that have nuclear power plants in operation. “Pakistan has a remarkable experience in safe and secure operation of nuclear power plants. We have the expertise and the ability to supply items, goods and services for a full range of nuclear applications for peaceful uses.”

Pakistan has established four agriculture centres that use energy for optimisation of important crop varieties, development of better methods for conservation of inputs and products, in addition to maximum use of innovation technologies.

Brigadier Kazmi further stated that safety and security were an integral part of any nuclear program and vital for saving humans from technology and ensuring that humans did not misuse the technology.

Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi said that we all are convinced that Pakistan is a responsible state and uses its nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

“When we have a glance at the rapidly growing population of Pakistan and even the faster growing power needs of this population, one can convincingly understand that it is impossible to meet these needs by use of the conventional methods and techniques for power generation. Our nuclear plants are significantly (not sufficiently though) helping power requirements.”

He expressed that Pakistan became a nuclear power 21 years ago and acquiring this status was the only choice because the government and the people well understood the geo-political scenario and the history of its relations with the neighbours.

Prof Iraqi said that Pakistan consistently stands by its policy to develop an efficient and consumer- centric power generation, transmission and distribution system that meets the needs of its people and supports the country’s economy in a sustainable and affordable manner.

He further said that the main concern of our nuclear plants has been to completely eliminate power loadshedding, reducing the cost of electricity to affordable level for the citizens, and increasing revenue collection to support its economy.

During the recent years, according to the vice chancellors, our industries have faced a significant setback due to power deficit, which has ultimately placed a negative impact on the life of a considerable portion of our population in social and economic forms.

The nuclear power for peaceful use is our highly-deserved priority, he added. Professor Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, Director Politics and International Relations, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, observed that whenever there is high alert at the boarders, Pakistan faces propaganda of being an irresponsible nuclear state despite the fact that Pakistan has never violated the Geneva Convention and always respects all international humanitarian laws and agreements.

He observed that Pakistan’s nuclear program is much better than its neighbouring country. The nuclear energy could be used for the benefit of civilians or to gain military power, he said, adding that Pakistan always gives priority to peaceful use of nuclear energy over the race to nuclear weapons.

]

As part of #UK #DFID’s Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) program, Karandaaz will invest over £15 million to promote #renewableenergy generation and efficiency measures in #Pakistani businesses. https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/renewable-energy-generation/


Speaking at the occasion, Joanna Reid, Head of DFID Pakistan said,

“Less than 4% of Pakistan’s electricity is generated from renewable sources. We are working to change that I believe that this investment in sustainable energy will go a long way in promoting energy-efficient and environment-friendly options for businesses, and at the same time help to generate more jobs and achieve greater prosperity.”

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Chairperson Karandaaz said,

“Economic and urban development is a national priority for Pakistan. With 39% of the population residing in cities, Pakistan is not only the most urbanised, but also the fastest urbanizing country in South Asia. Pakistani cities’ contribution to its GDP growth however, is much lower than in peer countries. It has been estimated by the IFC that as much as 11%-14% of the energy utilised in Pakistan could be saved through energy conservation and efficiency measures, which is equivalent to two hours of power supply each day. This grant from DFID will help bridge the financing gap and enable the emergence of sustainable and efficient energy for Pakistan’s private sector, resulting in more vibrant and economically friendly cities, more competitive businesses and more jobs all leading to Pakistan moving closer to its targets as set under SDGs.”

Speaking at the occasion, Ali Sarfraz, CEO Karandaaz said,

“Karandaaz is proud to have established itself in a short span of time as a trusted partner of DFID to implement this additional focused financing programme for sustainable energy and energy efficiency in Pakistan. We will work closely with multilateral partners to pave the way for increased investments in the sustainable energy sector. This will also promote low carbon growth.”

According to the latest World Bank study, more than 75% of Pakistani firms cite energy provision as a major constraint to growth. Where available, electricity provision is costly and inefficient, lowering the competitiveness of industry and services. Daily load shedding and large leakages in the distribution system mean manufacturing firms cite access to electricity amongst the top obstacles to growth.

Climate and environment are a global priority for DFID. Domestically and internationally, the UK has been leading the way on climate change. This programme is also an opportunity for Pakistan to draw on UK expertise in clean energy for greener growth.

According to the latest World Bank study, more than 75% of Pakistani firms cite energy provision as a major constraint to growth.
According to the Global Competitiveness Report, energy shortage has directly impeded Pakistan’s ability to compete in international markets for Pakistan’s export sector. Widespread use of renewable energy and energy efficiency is yet to kick off. 17% of the energy utilised in Pakistan could be saved through energy conservation and efficiency measures, which according to some estimates is equivalent to two hours of power supply each day.

A market assessment conducted by the IFC in 2014 found that potential savings range from 11%-14%. The same assessment estimated the demand for renewable energy investment across six industrial sectors at $2.2 billion. Incentives for firms and residences to switch to renewables have been initiated, but these have so far proven ineffective and the use of energy from renewable sources, excluding hydropower, is still under 4% of total energy generation as estimated by Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan.

Huge #Pakistan Thar mine shows #power of #coal. In Cholistan Desert, Pak is building a #solar farm which will expand to 8X the size of New York’s Central Park. Gov't has the ambition to generate 60% of its power from #renewable sources in about a decade https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/08/09/asia-pacific/science-h...

In the flat scrubland of Pakistan’s scorching Thar Desert, hundreds of workers have been toiling for two years in the vast open pit of the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co. Taking three-hour breaks during the hottest part of the day and living in a makeshift village of shipping containers, they are digging for fuel to sustain a $3.5 billion power project. So far they have scraped away about 500 feet (150 meters) of Aeolian sand, dirt and coal to create a hole a mile (1.6 km) wide.

Far to the north, in the Cholistan Desert, lie the skeletal beginnings of a solar farm that is supposed to expand to eight times the size of New York’s Central Park. It is the largest solar project in Pakistan, where the government has recently announced an ambitious plan to generate 60 percent of its power from renewable sources in about a decade.

If these grand developments in the desert suggest that coal and solar are in a close-run contest, they are not. Before 2016, Pakistan had a single coal-fired plant. It now has nine, supplying 15 percent of the nation’s electricity, with another four under construction. Solar power provides about 1 percent of energy needs and is getting a tiny sliver of investment compared with what is going into coal. Solar and other renewables may someday eliminate Pakistan’s dependence on coal, but that day is probably decades away.

And that is fine as far as Akhtar Mohammad is concerned. “Coal is good. It’s cheap,” he said at his roadside kiosk in Port Qasim on the outskirts of Karachi, where air pollution is “among the most severe in the world,” according to the nongovernmental Pakistan Air Quality Initiative. “There is a lot of smoke and bad air already. We need electricity — any fuel, it doesn’t matter.”

Mohammad’s pragmatism sums up the planet’s quandary. “Coal is the absolute No. 1 cause of carbon emissions globally and the leading driver of climate change,” said Tim Buckley, Sydney-based director of energy finance studies at the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis.

But though wealthy nations may be able to afford to wean themselves off coal, which is one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gases, in countries where electricity is scarce, unreliable or unaffordable, local politics often takes precedence over economics: Coal remains the cheap fallback.

Dozens of coal plants in Asia
Especially in Asia, dozens of coal plants have come on line in recent years or are in the planning stages — with a normal lifetime of almost half a century. In South and Southeast Asia, coal burning is expected to increase about 3.5 percent a year for the next two decades, according to the International Energy Agency. Globally, the IEA predicts, coal demand won’t peak until 2040. And that may be optimistic. Forecasts often assume governments will choose the cheapest option based on optimum efficiency while factoring in environmental constraints and the falling cost of solar and wind power.

Coal consumption won’t decline as significantly as people think, says Shirley Zhang, Wood Mackenzie Ltd.’s principal Asia-Pacific coal analyst. On the one hand, annual global sea-borne coal trade probably peaked last year at 980 million tons. On the other hand, from now until 2040, it will decline by only 20 million tons, she says. Despite the rise of renewables, the roll call of governments adding coal-fired plants includes four of the world’s five most populous nations: China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan.

How #cleantech can help power #Pakistan's #green #revolution. Pakistan is 8th-most affected country from #ClimateChange #CPEC must include #renewables in its integrated energy planning in Pakistan https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/how-cleantech-can-help-power... via @wef

Pakistan has been the 8th-most affected country when it comes to climate change. Although the government recognizes that vulnerability, there is a lot of room for forming an effective adaptation plan.

Pakistan has set aside 7.6 billion rupees ($47 million) for addressing climate change in its 2019-2020 budget. This will be spent on new initiatives and ongoing schemes including climate-resilient urban settlements, the establishment of a Geomatic Centre for Climate Change and of a Pakistan Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Strategic Planning and Coordination Cell, as well as sustainable land management projects to combat desertification. Pakistan planted a billion trees in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, and there is a commitment to plant 10 billion trees over the next five-to-eight years.

But governments cannot achieve climate change targets by themselves. Increasing public-private partnerships are required. Global trends in innovation have led to the advent of ‘cleantech’ - technological innovations with sustainable aims, such as reducing our carbon footprint, meeting the demands for clean energy, cleaner air and water, producing healthy food for our ever-growing population, and the optimal utilization of finite resources.


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The government should provide basic funding for research by providing grants to universities and other researchers, and offering tax credits on private sector research. In Pakistan, which has many energy projects in the pipeline through the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the government should include renewables in its integrated energy planning, in order to attract investment at scale in cleantech, and should include cleantech targets in primary legislation, provide green financing options and most importantly phase out fossil fuel subsidies. Its focus must now be on greening projects across all sectors throughout the country.

"The week before I arrived in Jacobabad, the city had reached a scorching 51.1°C (124°F. If the planet continues warming at an accelerated rate, it won’t just be the people of Jacobabad who know what it’s like" #Jacobabad #Pakistan #Heat #ClimateChange
https://bit.ly/32DZOLu?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social...

It’s just after 7 in the morning in the Pakistani city of Jacobabad, and donkey-cart driver Ahsan Khosoo is already drenched in sweat. For the past two hours, the 24-year-old laborer has been hauling jugs of drinking water to local residences. When the water invariably spills from the blue jerricans, it hits the pavement with an audible hiss and turns to steam. It’s hot, he agrees, but that’s not an excuse to stop. The heat will only increase as the day wears on, and what choice does he have? “Even if it were so hot as if the land were on fire, we would keep working.” He pauses to douse his head with a bucket of water.

Jacobabad may well be the hottest city in Pakistan, in Asia and possibly in the world. Khosoo shakes his head in resignation. “Climate change. It’s the problem of our area. Gradually the temperatures are rising, and next year it will increase even more.”

The week before I arrived in Jacobabad, the city had reached a scorching 51.1°C (124°F). Similar temperatures in Sahiwal, in a neighboring province, combined with a power outage, had killed eight babies in a hospital ICU when the air-conditioning cut out. Summer in Sindh province is no joke. People die.

To avoid the heat, tractor drivers in this largely agricultural area till the fields at night and farmers take breaks from noon to 3, but if life stopped every time the temperature surpassed 40°C (104°F), nothing would ever get done. “Even when it’s 52°C to 53°C, we work,” says Mai Latifan Khatoom, a young woman working in a nearby field.

The straw has to be gathered, the seeds winnowed, the fields burned, the soil turned, and there are only so many hours in the day. She has passed out a few times from the heat, and often gets dizzy, but “if we miss one day, the work doesn’t get done and we don’t get paid.”

If the planet continues warming at an accelerated rate, it won’t be just the people of Jacobabad who live through 50°C summers. Everyone will. Heat waves blistered countries across the northern hemisphere this summer. In July, all-time heat records were topped in Germany, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Wildfires raged in the Arctic, and Greenland’s ice sheet melted at a record rate. Globally, July was the hottest month ever recorded.

Climate scientists caution that no spike in weather activity can be directly attributable to climate change. Instead, they say, we should be looking at patterns over time. But globally, 18 of the 19 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001. I asked Camilo Mora, a climate scientist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who in 2017 published an alarming study about the link between climate change and increased incidences of deadly heat waves, if this was the new normal for Europe. He laughed. The new normal, he says, is likely to be far worse. It’s likely to look something like Jacobabad.

#Pakistan cannot accelerate #economic growth without a robust #power production and supply system in place. It has plan to develop 120 new #electricity projects to add 74,448 megawatts to the system till 2040 from hydel, domestic coal and renewable sources https://tribune.com.pk/story/2073522/2-pakistan-draws-plan-add-7444...

“In the year 2040, the nominal production capacity in the system will stand at 98,091MW against projected peak load (demand) of 80,425MW,” the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) said in a study titled “Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan 2018-40”. In 2018, the nominal capacity and demand matched quite closely as the nominal capacity from all generation sources hovered around 27,715MW whereas the demand was close to 26,700MW.

In 2019, the gap between nominal capacity and demand is steadily widening and has started surpassing the peak load in the system. It can be observed that a significant surplus of around 17,600MW remains between the projected demand and installed capacity, according to the study. Sufficient generation has been planned to be added by 2040 to satisfy the 1% LOLP (loss of load probability) criteria and add sufficient reserves to the system.

The cumulative nominal capacity will be approximately 62,979MW whereas the peak load is projected at 50,306MW in the year 2032, thus a wide gap of around 13,000MW between the two parameters and the capacity will be in surplus compared to demand, according to the study.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has uploaded the comprehensive study on its website to invite the stakeholders and public feedback, incorporate their concerns, if any, and give final shape to the document.

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It projected the peak power demand would grow by an average (compound annual growth rate) of 4.12% per year and supply by 5.22%, considering the gross domestic product (GDP) grows at a low rate of 4.5% per year from 2018-2040. In the scenario where GDP grows at a medium pace of 5.5% over the years, the peak power demand is estimated to rise by 5.13% per year and supply by 6.24%. Power demand and supply are anticipated to grow by 6.67% and 7.80% respectively if the GDP growth rate is high at 7% from 2018-2040.

#Pakistan government inks deals for 560 MW of fresh #WindEnergy. The move is in line with the country’s 30% national #renewables goal by Year 2030. https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/pakistani-govt-inks-deals-for-56...

Pakistan’s Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) on Friday signed contracts with the developers of projects that will see the country expand its wind power capacity by 560 MW.

The government agency, which is tasked with promoting renewables installation in Pakistan, has inked implementation and guarantee direct agreements with independent power producers (IPPs) regarding 11 projects. The move is in line with the country’s 30% national renewables goal by 2030 and efforts to cut dependence on fossil fuel imports. The new capacity is expected to lead to the production of over 1.8 billion kWh of clean power per year, AEDB said.

Six of the schemes will be supported by the International Finance Corp (IFC), which on Friday signed agreements to finance the so-called Super Six project portfolio with USD 450 million (EUR 406.9m) in debt. Those power plants, with a combined capacity of 310 MW, will be installed in the Jhimpir wind corridor in Sindh province and will be able to generate enough electricity to cover the annual needs of 450,000 homes while offsetting around 650,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually, IFC said in a separate statement. It will provide some USD 86 million in funds from its own account and USD 234 million mobilised from other lenders.

The 11 projects are expected to become operational by 2021.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.904)

According to US government statistics, Pakistan’s energy mix is formed of 64% fossil fuels, 27% hydropower and 9% other renewables and nuclear power.


https://www.power-technology.com/features/pakistan-energy-mix/

While Pakistan has strong potential for producing renewable energy it is still far behind much of the world in developing these sources.

In a country where over 50 million people still don’t have adequate access to electricity, how is Pakistan’s energy mix evolving?

Pakistan has benefitted from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion dollar deal that is part of China’s Belt and Road initiative to finance infrastructure projects across Asia.

The projects funded by the CPEC include the 720MW Karot hydro-project in the disputed Kashmir region. At a cost $1.4bn, the project was begun in December 2016 and will be completed in December 2021.

However, this initiative has faced criticism in Pakistan. The CPEC has allegedly added to corruption in the country, with the value of the scheme going up from $46bn to $62bn. It has also been accused of binding countries to China through debt via expensive projects.

Because of this Pakistan has made tentative steps to distance itself away from the CPEC due to the suspicions of the current ruling party Tehreek-e-Insaf, with one cabinet minister stating that the CPEC was of “little benefit” to Pakistani’s.

Fossil fuels still dominate Pakistan’s energy mix. Recent examples of fossil fuel-powered projects in the country include the China Power Hub Generation Company’s (CPHGC) coal fired power plant in the Balochistan region of the country, which has a capacity of 1320MW and will enter Pakistan’s energy grid by the end of 2019.

Pakistan also has domestic natural gas resources, producing nearly 37 million cubic feet in 2018. Of this, 43% is used in its power sector, powering plants such as the Balloki power plant outside of Lahore. Natural gas accounts for 40% of Pakistan’s energy needs.

Nuclear energy has had a presence in Pakistan since the formation of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Committee in 1955, with the first nuclear power station Kanupp 1 being completed in 1971.

Pakistan currently has five reactors with a total capacity of just over 1.3GW, but there are plans to expand this. Since 2013 Pakistan has pushed for a further 2.2GW of nuclear power with two new reactors in the city of Karachi. Built with Chinese assistance, the reactors are estimated to cost $5bn.

Renewable energy has been slow to develop in Pakistan, and currently only accounts for 4% of the energy mix.

However under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s current government, plans to increase the country’s renewable capacity have stepped up.

In April 2019 it was announced that Pakistan will aim to have 30% of its energy capacity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass by 2030. It has been estimated that Pakistan could produce 340GW of wind power alone.

This plan will coincide with hydropower rising slightly to 30% of Pakistan’s energy mix. According to the International Hydropower Association, Pakistan has the potential to produce 60,000MW of hydropower, but currently produces just over 7000MW.

The largest hydropower plant in the country is the Tarbela Dam project in the north of the country. With a capacity of over 4000MW, the power plant has been in operation since 1984 at a cost of nearly $1.5bn.

Having been slow on the renewable uptake Pakistan has belatedly made moves to expand its wind and solar capacity, alongside boosting its nuclear power capacity. However the fossil fuel sector still leads the way in Pakistan.

#Pakistan sets sights on floating #solar as #water scarcity bites. Floating PV modules on dams and lakes not only produce #energy but they also reduce water evaporation and water wastage. #RenewableEnergy #ClimateCrisis
https://www.pv-tech.org/news/floating-solar-to-conserve-water-in-pa...

With Pakistan's water reserves fast depleting, floating solar will be a key part of conserving resources and producing cheap energy, according to the nation's minister for Power and Petroleum Omar Ayub Khan.

Speaking at a conference on the water crisis, Khan announced that floating solar systems would be installed in four reservoirs besides canals at Tarbela, Mangla, Ghazi Barotha and Khanpur.

He noted Pakistan's plans to roll out 18-20GW in new hydropower capacity – taking the power source to 70% of the energy mix – and to ramp up nuclear power to 10% of the energy mix. The new hydro capacity would also offer great opportunities for FPV projects.

Speaking on water conservation, Khan said: "Not just flood irrigation system we have been used to. The world has moved on. We have to make sure that this resource is jealously guarded and used. We are already finalising plans with floating solar."

The government is already in discussions with the energy ministry of Punjab over placing floating solar on its canals so that its irrigation systems can also be run on solar power. Meanwhile, 29,000 tube wells in Balochistan will also be converted to solar. Floating PV modules not only produce energy but they also reduce water evaporation and water wastage.

Khan noted that solar will continue to decrease in price, given that the country has adopted competitive bidding for all new projects under its new renewable energy policy.

IRENA Pegs #Pakistan’s Total #RenewableEnergy Capacity By 2018-End At Over 13,000 MW, With #Solar Contributing 12% Or More Than 1,500 MW. Target: 30% of installed capacity to be #renewable by 2030. #cleanenergy #ClimateChange http://taiyangnews.info/markets/pakistans-cumulative-solar-capacity...

At the end of 2018, the cumulative installed solar energy capacity of Pakistan had reached 1,568 MW, increasing from 742 MW at the end of 2017, representing an addition of over 800 MW in a single year. These statistics are published in the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) annual report, Renewable Capacity Statistics 2019.

The report tracks renewables growth of several countries starting from 2009. For Pakistan it means solar power capacity of 4 MW in 2009 has now grown to 1.5 GW, accounting for 12% of out of 13 GW of total renewable energy capacity of the country in 2018.

Globally, a total of 171 GW of new renewable energy capacity was installed in 2018, growing 7.9% annually, of which 84% came from wind and solar alone. In concrete terms, solar added 94 GW of new capacity with Asia accounting for 64 GW, while wind grew by 49 GW.

According to an April 2018 Renewables Readiness Assessment report of IRENA, Pakistan does not have a clear renewable energy target, which the agency says is a must to ‘translate political will into a language that can be understood by investors’.

The World Wind Energy Association reported on April 2, 2019 that the new government in the country under Prime Minister Imran Khan plans to increase the share of renewable energy in total power generation to 30% by 2030, from wind, solar and biomass, and additionally 30% from large-scale hydropower. It would be a 26% points increase from the current renewables share of 4%. Pakistan is working on its Renewable Energy Policy 2019 whose guiding principles have been approved by the government’s Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE).

As per January 2017 directives issued by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) of Pakistan, the country should be moving towards a competitive bidding process for utility scale solar and wind power plants, something that’s yet to take place.

In a December 2018 report, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) wrote that the country could reach 12.4 GW of total installed solar power capacity by 2029-30, provided the government came up with clearly defined targets for long-term renewable energy policy (see IEEFA Suggests 30% RE For Pakistan By 2030).

New #IAEA Collaborating Centre in #Pakistan for #Nuclear #Technology. Partnership with PIAES in 3 key areas: Modelling and simulations with verification and validation capabilities, experimental nuclear #engineering, and education and training. https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/new-iaea-collaborating-centre-...

With a cooperation agreement signed today, the IAEA has designated the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) as an IAEA Collaborating Centre to support Member States on research, development and capacity building in the application of advanced and innovative nuclear technologies.

Islamabad-based PIAES is one of Pakistan’s leading public research university in engineering and nuclear technology and a major nuclear research facility of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.

“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of education and training for building the capacity of Member States in this field,” said IAEA Deputy Director General Mikhail Chudakov, Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy, at the signing ceremony at the Agency’s Vienna headquarters. “Through this network, the Agency encourages scientific studies and cooperation across Member States, making the centres a key IAEA cooperation mechanism.”

This partnership with PIAES is based on a holistic and multidisciplinary approach in three key areas: modelling and simulations with verification and validation capabilities, experimental nuclear engineering, and education and training. Member States will strengthen their capacities in reactor technology design, nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems, and reactor numerical modelling and simulations.

“We are first and foremost a university, so academics and research and development is at the heart of what we do,” underlined Nasirmajid Mirza, Rector of PIAES. “It will be rewarding to further build and develop capacity in nuclear technology and non-electric applications of nuclear energy and teach it to those who want to learn.”

IAEA Collaborating Centres
Through the Collaborating Centres network, Member States can assist the IAEA by undertaking original research and development and training relating to nuclear science, technologies and their safe and secure applications. With the newly designated Collaborating Centre PIAES in Pakistan, there are now 43 active Collaborating Centres worldwide, with ongoing discussions in several countries to establish new Centres.

#WorldBank approves $700m for #renewableenergy in #Pakistan. #Dasu dam will produce 2,160 MW in phase 1 to 4,320 MW in phase 2. #Hydrolectric #power to help reduce imports of fossil fuels, alleviating the stress on the country’s current account balance. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2188561/3-world-bank-approves-700m-hel...

The World Bank on Wednesday approved $700 million additional financing to help Pakistan generate low cost, renewable energy to provide affordable electricity to millions of users.

The World Bank is also working with the federal and provincial governments to deal with the coronavirus pandemic as the confirmed coronavirus cases soar past 2,000.

The additional financing will be used to complete the first phase of the Dasu Hydropower project. It will install 2,160 megawatts capacity along the Indus River.

Stage two will double the installed capacity to 4,320 megawatts – making it the largest hydropower plant in the country.

“Pakistan’s energy sector is aiming to move away from high-cost and inefficient fossil fuels towards low-cost, renewable energy to power the national grid,” said Illango Patchamuthu, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan.

“Along with reforms in the tariff structure, the Dasu Hydropower Project will result in fewer imports of fossil fuels, alleviating the stress on the country’s current account balance.”

The project will help lower the overall cost of energy generation in the country, which will benefit millions of energy users by making electricity more affordable for households, as well as the manufacturing and agricultural sector.

The powerplant will provide its electricity particularly in the summer to reduce blackouts when the demand is higher.

“The Dasu hydropower plant has a low environmental footprint and is considered to be one of the best hydropower projects in the world,” said Rikard Liden, Task Team Leader for the project.

“It will contribute to reducing Pakistan’s reliance on fossil-fuels and producing clean renewable energy.”

The Dasu hydropower plant will produce electricity at $0.03/kWh compared to Pakistan’s current cost of electricity generation of $0.08/kWh.

This investment will help Pakistan pave its way into becoming an upper middle-income country by 2047.

#Pakistan hired 63,000 people, unemployed by #COVID19, to plant 10 billion #trees while wearing masks & maintaining #SocialDistancing. Starts with 15,000 acres near #Islamabad to expand to #forest land throughout the country to fight #ClimateChange via @ https://www.upworthy.com/pakistan-hires-63000-people-to-plant-10-bi...

If there is a bright spot to the COVID-19 epidemic, it's the positive environmental impact that social distancing has had on the planet. There has been a steep drop in worldwide pollution and wildlife is returning to places that were once dominated by human activity.

The pandemic has also inspired many world leaders to champion a green recovery.

Pakistan has found a great way to help its laborers who've lost their jobs due to the health crisis by hiring them to plant saplings as part of the country's 10 Billion Trees program. The five-year project was launched by Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan to counter the droughts, flooding, and rise in temperatures in the country caused by climate change.

Pakistan ranks fifth on a list of countries most affected by planetary heating over the past two decades by the Global Climate Risk Index 2020.

The country has been on lockdown since March 23, but the prime minster granted an exception for the 63,000 laborers it has hired for the program. The workers will be paid between 500 to 8000 rupees a day — about half of what a laborer would usually make —but it's enough to get by.

The work is a lifeline for the unemployed laborers but it will only put a small dent in Pakistan's unemployment rate. A recent assessment by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics found that up to 19 million people could be laid off due to COVID-19.

Even though the work takes place in isolated areas, laborers still have to abide by social distancing rules. They must remain six feet apart from one another and wear masks.

Much of the planting is being done on 15,000 acres near the state capital of Islamabad as well as other pieces of state-owned forest land throughout the country.

"This tragic crisis provided an opportunity and we grabbed it," Malik Amin Aslam, climate change advisor to the prime minister, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The United States should look into similar programs to help its unemployed citizens as well as the planet. During the Great Depression, president President Franklin Roosevelt mobilized the U.S. Forest Service, the Works Progress Administration, and the Civilian Conservation Corps to create a shelterbelt of trees that ran in a 100-mile-wide zone from North Dakota to the Texas panhandle.

The goal was to provide a natural barrier against the dust storms that ravaged the middle of the country during the Dust Bowl

Over seven years, 30,233 shelter belts were planted, stretching over 18,600 square miles, and containing over 220 million trees. It also provided much needed employment for thousands of workers who's livelihoods had been destroyed by the Dust Bowl and stock market crash.

In every great tragedy holds the seed of opportunity. The U.S. should follow Pakistan's lead and use that seed to plant a better future.

#Pakistan awards $5.8B contract for #dam construction to consortium of #Chinese and #Pakistani companies. #diamerbhashadam will store 6.4 million acre feet (MAF) of #water and produce 4,500 MW of clean #electricity.$1.03B for social programs around the dam http://v.aa.com.tr/1839628

Islamabad on Wednesday granted a contract worth 442 billion Pakistani rupees ($5.85 billion) to a consortium of Chinese and Pakistani companies for construction of a major dam to cope with the country's growing energy requirements.

The contract was signed at a ceremony in the capital Islamabad between the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), and a joint venture of Power China, and Frontier Works Organization – a subsidiary of Pakistan’s Army – for construction of a diversion system, main dam, and access bridge of Diamer-Basha dam, apart from a 21 megawatt hydropower project.

Amir Bashir Chaudhry, chief executive officer of the project, and Yang Jiandu of Power China signed the agreement on behalf of WAPDA and the joint venture respectively, according to a statement by the Water and Power Ministry.

WAPDA has already awarded a consultancy contract of the project to Diamer Basha Consultants Group (DBCG) worth 27.182 billion rupees ($168.8 million). The consultancy agreement includes construction design, construction supervision, and contract administration of the Diamer-Basha Dam project, the statement added.

The development came a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the start of construction of the much-awaited dam in northern Pakistan.

The $14 billion dam, to be constructed on the River Indus in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, which borders China, is set to produce 4500MW of affordable electricity, said the statement.

"The 6.4 MAF [million acre foot] water storage capacity of the dam will reduce the current water shortage in the country of 12 MAF to 6.1 MAF," the statement said, adding that it will also add 35 years to the life of Tarbela Dam – one of the two major dams in Pakistan – by reducing sedimentation.

Some 78.5 billion rupees ($1.03 billion) will be spent on social development of the area around the dam, mainly on resettlement of the population.

"It will also be a major source of flood mitigation and save billions worth of damages caused by floods each year," the statement said.

Earlier, Asim Saleem Bajwa, special assistant to the prime minister on information, called the announcement "historic."

"Announcing to start construction of Diamer Bhasha dam today is a historic news for all generations of Pakistan, a huge stimulus for our economy, create 16,500 jobs, generate 4500 MW hydel power, and irrigate 1.2 million acre agriculture land," he tweeted on Monday.

#Pakistan’s 969 MW-Neelum Jhelum #Hydropower Project achieved yet another milestone, as its contribution to the National Grid crossed 8 billion units mark and earned Rs80 billion revenue. #lowcarbon #RenewableEnergy - UrduPoint

https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/neelum-jhelum-hydropower-proj...

In terms of revenue, Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project has yielded more than Rs 80 billion of hydel electricity into the National Grid with efficient operation of the project by Neelum Jhelum and WAPDA engineers and staff under tiring conditions, said a press release.

The project, satisfactorily meeting the design capacity energy production, achieved this land mark despite the fact that the shelling by India from across the Line of Control during July and October 2019 interrupted the working at the project, which forced evacuation of the Chinese workers from the project site and continue to be afflicted by COVID-19 pandemic.

Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project, one of the engineering marvels, has been constructed in a very difficult mountainous terrain and being 90 percent of the project underground.

The project is comprised of a weir (dam), underground water way system of 52-kilometer long tunnels, an underground power house and a switch yard. The project, having four generating units of 242.25 MW capacity each, started electricity generation with commissioning of its first unit in April 2018. The project attained its maximum installed generation of 969 MW on August 14, 2018 with commissioning of its all four units.

It is worth mentioning here that Neelum Jhelum generated up to 1040MW on April 9, 2019 beyond installed capacity of 969 MW, which reflects the efficiency of its electro-mechanical equipment, the turbines in particular. Now-a-days, the project has been running on full load i.e. 969MW because the required quantum of water is available due to high-flow season.

GE bags #Pakistan #hydro deal. #Dasu #Hydroelectric project will be done in 2 stages. First stage consists of installing a 2,160MW hydropower plant on the Indus River, which could be expanded to 4,320MW in a second phase.- reNews - #RenewableEnergy News https://renews.biz/60392/ge-bags-pakistan-hydro-deal/#.XsQ3ku6M540....

GE Renewable Energy, in consortium with Powerchina Zhongnan Engineering, has been selected by Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) to supply six Francis turbines and generators for stage one of the new Dasu hydropower plant in Pakistan.

The 2.2GW Dasu hydropower project is among the largest power generation projects in the country.

“The plant will help generate clean electricity, ushering in a new era of socio-economic potential and development in remote areas,” GE said in a statement.

The project will be completed in two stages. The first stage consists of installing a 2160MW hydropower plant on the Indus River, which could be expanded to 4320MW in a second phase.

This project is part of the Vision 2025 Programme launched by WAPDA in 2001 and the Government of Pakistan’s Power Policy 2013.

Once commissioned in 2026, the Dasu hydropower plant will power around four million households in Pakistan.

GE Renewable Energy’s hydro business is responsible for the design, supply, supervision, installation, and commissioning of the new turbines and generators, as well as the control and protection systems. GE Grid Solutions will provide the Generator Circuit Breaker.

WAPDA chairman Lt Gen Muzzammil Hussain (Retd) said: “The project is vital to add a major quantum of hydroelectricity to the national grid in order to minimise reliance on expensive thermal generation and lower the power tariff.”

President and chief executive of GE Renewable Energy Hydro Pascal Radue added: “We are proud to start this new collaboration with WAPDA and will support them to develop clean and sustainable electricity in Pakistan.

"We are also glad to be part of this new hydropower project that will facilitate access to electricity in remote areas.”

#China ignores #India over world's highest Diamer-Bhasha #dam project in #Pakistani #Kashmir. #Islamabad gets #Beijing funds for joint venture opposed by #Delhi. It will generate 4,500 MW of #power & store 8 million acre-feet of #water. #RenewableEnergy

http://www.southasianwire.com/news/2020/05/24/china-ignores-india-o...

In a pierce that has severely dissatisfied India and tightened ecomomic family with China, Pakistan has awarded a agreement to a Chinese-Pakistani corner try to build a dam in a long-disputed Kashmir region.

The initial proviso of a Diamer Bhasha dam project, value 442 billion Pakistan rupees ($2.75 billion), has been awarded to a joint venture between Power Construction Corporation of China and a Pakistan Army’s Frontier Works Organization on a 70:30 basis.

The devise is located in Gilgit-Baltistan, a primeval segment 320km from a limit with China. The multipurpose dam will be used for appetite generation, H2O storage and inundate control. It will have a 4,500 megawatt ability and storage for 8.1 million hactare feet of water.

The dam is China’s initial vital infrastructure devise in Kashmir, and partial of a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), that is tied into China’s vast Belt and Road Initiative.

In 2018, China commissioned an 820km fiber ocular wire underneath CPEC that cost $37.4 million and upheld by a same region.

Muzammil Hussain, authority of Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), pronounced his classification will yield 30% of a investment and a supervision of Pakistan a rest. Hussain put a sum cost of a devise during 1.497 trillion rupees ($8.77 billion).

The figure is contentious, however, given Hussain formerly estimated a cost during about $14 billion on several occasions.

Pakistan is positively in a financial break and would be incompetent to self-finance a project. Only final week, a supervision diverted $6.23 million from a COVID-19 service account to compensate seductiveness on appetite debts.

James M. Dorsey, a comparison associate during Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), believes that China will account a devise by loans to Pakistan, though how these will be repaid stays to be seen. Dorsey told a Nikkei Asian Review that a devise will offer China’s interests some-more than Pakistan’s since “China has a top palm in negotiate due to a mercantile support to Pakistan underneath [CPEC].”

Some observers trust Pakistan is penetrating to get a dam built fast and peaceful to leave financing concerns until later. “There’s no denote that Islamabad has suspicion by how it will cover these measureless costs,” Michael Kugelman, emissary executive of a Asia module during a Wilson Center in Washington D.C., told Nikkei. “Or if it has suspicion things through, it hasn’t expelled a devise to a public.”

“Since [Islamabad] will have few other funder options, it won’t have most precedence with China in terms of a structuring of a intensity loan,” Kugelman said.

In Nov 2017, Pakistan pulled a dam proposal out of CPEC since of Beijing’s conditions, that enclosed owning a project. Islamabad’s progressing requests to other appropriation sources, including a World Bank and a Asian Development Bank in 2016, were incited down since of a longstanding feeling between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.

India immediately cursed a latest development. “We have consistently conveyed a criticism and common concerns with both China and Pakistan on all such projects in a Indian territories underneath Pakistan’s bootleg occupation,” Shri Anurag Srivastava, a central orator of India’s Ministry of External Affairs pronounced in a statement.

Beijing discharged a Indian protest. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lijian Zhao described a dam as jointly profitable with win-win potential. “China’s position on a emanate of Kashmir is consistent,” pronounced Zhao.”China and Pakistan control mercantile team-work to foster mercantile growth and urge a contentment of a internal people.”

#Pakistan's Suki Kinari #hydroelectric power project unaffected by #COVID19. 19.5% work on the 874 MW dam project completed on Kunhar River with an investment of
US $ 1.963 billion under the umbrella of #CPEC. #China #renewableenergy https://www.app.com.pk/progress-of-suki-kinari-power-project-remain... via @appcsocialmedia

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting General (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa Wednesday said work on the Suki Kinari hydal power project was in full swing as progress on the project remained unaffected due to COVID-19.
In a tweet, Asim Bajwa who is also Chairman, China Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (CPECA) said, 19.5 percent work on the 874 MW power project had been completed.
He said the project was being established at Kunhar River with an investment of
US $ 1.963 bn under the umbrella of China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
He informed that the project had so far created 4,250 job opportunities and
after completion it would help reducing cost of electricity.
“Bringing cost of electricity down is top priority of the government,” he added.

#WorldBank approves US $700m for 4,320 MW Dasu #hydropower project in #Pakistan. Loan will be used to build transmission line and complete the 2,160MW first phase of the plant. Total project cost: cost US $4.2 billion.
https://constructionreviewonline.com/2020/04/world-bank-approves-us... via @Construction Review Online

The World Bank has approved US $700m grant to finance the construction of the 32GW Dasu hydropower project in Pakistan. The hydroelectric power plant which is being built on the Indus River, approximately 7km upstream of the Dasu town, Kohistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; is being implemented by Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA).

The World Bank’s additional financing will be used to construct the transmission line and complete the 2,160MW first phase of the plant. The entire project is estimated to cost US $4.2bn.

Upon completion, the Dasu hydropower plant will become the largest of its kind in the country, generating low-cost, renewable energy to power millions of users. The hydropower plant is expected to come online in 2023.

World Bank Pakistan country director Illango Patchamuthu said that Pakistan’s energy sector is aiming to move away from high-cost and inefficient fossil fuels towards low-cost, renewable energy to power the national grid. “Along with reforms in the tariff structure, the Dasu Hydropower Project will result in fewer imports of fossil fuels, alleviating the stress on the country’s current account balance,” he said.

In addition to providing most of the clean electricity during the summer months, the Dasu hydropower plant is expected to contribute to the socioeconomic development in Dasu and surrounding areas of the Upper Kohistan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

Furthermore, World Bank Task Team Leader Rikard Liden added that the Dasu hydropower plant has a low environmental footprint and is considered to be one of the best hydropower projects in the world. “It will contribute to reducing Pakistan’s reliance on fossil- fuels and producing clean renewable energy,” he affirmed.

#Shanghai Electric celebrates 27 years of commitment in #Pakistan in thermal power, nuclear power, and Power Transmission and Distribution under the umbrella of the #China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (#CPEC). #electricity #energy #power #industry #economy https://www.worldcoal.com/power/27052020/shanghai-electric-celebrat...

Shanghai Electric is now celebrating the 27th anniversary of its entering Pakistan markets since 1993. Yesterday was itself a related anniversary, making 69 years since China established diplomatic relations with Pakistan. Shanghai Electric, representing the first batch of Chinese companies entering the market, has generated a string of milestone projects in categories that include thermal power, nuclear power, and Power Transmission and Distribution under the umbrella of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (the CPEC).

Thar Integrated Coal Mine-Power Project: Shanghai Electric signed the EPC contract for a block coal-fired power station project in Thar Coalfield, Pakistan, in December 2016. In April 2019 Shanghai Electric signed another EPC contract for Thar Block-1 Integrated Coal Mine-Power Project with an installed capacity of 2 x 660MW and a coal mine with an annual coal production capacity of 7.8 million t. The project is capable of powering 4 million households in Pakistan with 1320 MW of indigenous, affordable and reliable electricity.
Shanghai electric is also applying ultra-supercritical technology, which can run at higher net efficiency than the annual average net efficiency required by Pakistani government. Additionally, the plants will operate with a high Acid Gas removal rate, with low sulfur dioxide emissions to reduce environmental impact when it begins to generate electricity in 2022.
Sahiwal 2 x 660 MW thermal power plant project: Shanghai Electric was commissioned to provide steam turbines, generators and auxiliary equipment for Sahiwal 2 x 660 MW coal fired power station, the contract for which was signed in June 2015. Shanghai electric reduced the production time to 12 months by leveraging the new mode of the steam turbine designed with supercritical cylinder, with the generator stator iron centre, coil and shaft tile optimisation further improving the efficiency of the plant.

Deal worth $2.4 billion signed with #China for 1,124 MW Kohala #hydropower project in #AJK. Signatories include Three Gorges Corporation, the government of Azad Jammu and #Kashmir (AJK) and #Pakistan’s Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB). #CPEC

Furthermore, another hydroelectric power project – the 102MW Gulpur project – located at Poonch River, Kotli district of AJK met the commercial operation date on March 10, 2020.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2233400/2-deal-worth-2-4b-signed-kohal...

PPIB Managing Director Shah Jahan Mirza briefed PPIB on the status of upcoming IPPs, explaining that various projects may experience delay in achieving critical milestones primarily due to Covid-19 and project sponsors were requesting support from PPIB in combating the situation. The board, while considering the intensity of the matter, allowed extension in the validity of Letter of Support/ financial close date for the 1,124MW Kohala hydroelectric power project.

It also agreed to provide support for Thar coal-based power generation projects in getting required extension in the backdrop of the global pandemic.

Agreeing on a proposal, the board with the consensus of all provinces and AJK allowed extension in the validity of Letters of Interest in respect of 640MW Mahl, 450MW Athmuqam and 82.25MW Turtonas-Uzghor hydroelectric power projects for accommodating these IPPs under the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan.

Moreover, the board was apprised that PPIB had started processing small hydroelectric power projects for the first time, therefore, standard security package agreements including the implementation agreement (IA) were required to be in place.

PPIB had prepared a standard draft of IA, which needed approval, the board was told. A committee of the board has been constituted to review the draft of the standard IA for small hydroelectric power projects for its onward submission to the ECC for consideration and approval.

#Pakistan's Diamer Bhasha Dam to store 8 million acre feet of #water, produce 4,500 MW of #power. Top Chinese engineer: “Diamer Bhasha Dam (DBD) is a world class mega-hydro project. Taking part in this project is a huge challenge for them”. #electricity https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/675120-diamer-bhasha-dam-world-cla...

BEIJING: Yang Haiyan, deputy chief engineer of Bei Fang Investigation, Design & Research Co. Ltd (BIDR), said that “Diamer Bhasha Dam (DBD) is a world class mega-hydro project. Taking part in this project is a huge challenge for them”.


On May 11, Prime Minister Imran Khan had urged for immediate start of the DBD's construction. On the same day, a Chinese company, BIDR signed a contract to join the consulting team of DBD.

In an exclusive interview to Gwadar Pro, Yang Haiyan said, facing such a difficult work, has showed confidence. “Since 2003, we have worked for water conservancy construction in Pakistan for 18 years.

"We have taken part in investigation and design of almost all of the hydropower projects in Pakistan, such as Tarbela Dam," Kohala Dam, SK, Gomal Zam Dam, N-J and so on,” “China's ability on water conservancy construction is built on years of practices. With our knowledge and experience, we will do our best to live up to Pakistan's trust,” Yang said.

Azad #Kashmir: 102 MW Gulpur #hydropower plant starts production. The project financing has been provided by Korea Exim Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Islamic Development Bank and ECO Bank.https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/07/08/102mw-gulpur-hydropo... via @Profitpk

Gulpur Hydropower Project has achieved certified commercial operation and has started producing cheap electricity for the national grid, said NESPAK Managing Director Dr Tahir Masood in a press communiqué on Wednesday.

NESPAK, in a joint venture with MWH Inc USA, has provided consultancy services as ‘owner’s engineer’ to Mira Power Limited, a subsidiary of KOSEP South Korea, for the 102MW Gulpur Hydropower Project.

“NESPAK has played a very vital role in the successful completion of Gulpur Hydropower Project, as it provided complete technical support to Mira Power Limited in getting approvals from different government agencies as well as supporting the EPC contractor in resolving complex issues that arose during construction,” said a statement issued by the company.

The successful completion of this project has added another feather in NESPAK’s cap, as the company had recently played a major role in the development and completion of 84MW New Bong Escape Hydropower Project.

Gulpur Hydropower Plant is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation project located on Poonch River, a major tributary of Jhelum River near Gulpur in Kotli District of Azad Kashmir. The project financing has been provided by Korea Exim Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Islamic Development Bank and ECO Bank.

The project is developed under the federal government’s ‘Policy for Power Generation Projects 2002’ as adopted in Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

The project has the capability of generating average annual energy of 102MW. It was developed in the shortest possible time and would play an important role in Pakistan’s national vision.

The project was completed at a total cost of Rs52 billion.

#Pakistan PM #ImranKhan: 'Will build biggest dam in Pakistan's history'. Kicks off construction work at #DiamerBhashaDam to store 6.4 MAF, irrigate 1.2 M acres of farm land, generate 4500 MW Hydel power, add 16,000 jobs in steel/cement/construction sectors https://www.dawn.com/news/1569151

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday vowed to build the "biggest dam in Pakistan's history" after kicking off construction work at the Diamer-Bhasha Dam project, adding that the project will also benefit the people living in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

The prime minister made the remarks while addressing a public gathering in Chilas.

Earlier, the PM had visited the site of the dam along with Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, where they were briefed on the mega project.

---
The premier, during his address, vowed that with this project, the government was going towards building the "biggest dam in Pakistan's history".

"This will be our third big dam. China has made around 5,000 big dams, but have a total of about 80,000 dams. From this you can gauge the massive mistakes we have made in the past.

"The decision to build this dam was taken 50 years ago. There can be no better site for constructing a dam, it is a natural dam. Forty, 50 years ago this was decided, and work on the project has begun today. This is one of the biggest reasons why we haven't progressed."

The premier maintained that the government will now move towards building more dams on rivers, which will lessen pressure on foreign exchange and allow Pakistan to generate its own fuel.

He added that generating electricity from water instead of furnace oil or coal will also prevent negative impacts of global warming and climate change. "The benefits are dual. We won't have to import fuel and it won't affect our climate negatively."

Imran said that the project would also generate job opportunities for people living in the region. "I am familiar with GB and have visited Chilas on multiple occasions in the past 30 years. I am well aware how much the area depends on tourism and how much they need tourism during the summer months."

He said that he will speak to the chief minister to prepare standard operating procedures (SOPs) for resurrecting the tourism industry that has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We can learn from the world, tourism is slowly resuming. It won't be the same as it was before the pandemic hit, but we can start opening it slowly and start developing SOPs for it," he said, adding that help will also be extended by the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) in this regard.

The premier added that the project was a huge opportunity for the people of Chilas and GB. Addressing the people of GB, he said: "We didn't increase your budget out of obligation. It is our government's policy to prioritise those areas that have been left behind.

"Thus far, our development has been restricted to a few cities. We will be left behind until we spend on uplifting less-developed areas."

Therefore, the government is investing in GB, merged districts and Balochistan, he said. He concluded his speech by congratulating the people of GB. "Time will prove that this dam will change the fortune of the people of GB, especially those living in Chilas."

The premier had began his speech by stressing that nations only progress when they think of the future and when they invest in their resources, uplifting those segments of society that have been left behind.

"The decisions made in the 90s to generate electricity using imported furnace oil affected our current account deficit. When there is pressure on foreign exchange, [the country's] economic conditions start deteriorating."

#CPEC Re-Emerges In #Pakistan With Flurry Of Major #China Deals: 2 #hydropower projects costing $3.9 billion, and another to revamp Pakistan's colonial-era railways for $7.2 billion -- the most expensive #Chinese project yet in Pakistan. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/belt-and-road-re-emerges-in-pakista... via @ndtv

China's Belt and Road program has found new life in Pakistan with $11 billion worth of projects signed in the last month, driven by a former lieutenant general who has reinvigorated the infrastructure plan that's been languishing since Prime Minister Imran Khan took office two years ago.
The nations signed deals on June 25 and July 6 for two hydro-power generation projects costing $3.9 billion in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir region, and another to revamp the South Asian nation's colonial-era railways for $7.2 billion -- the most expensive Chinese project yet in Pakistan.

Khan's government appointed Asim Saleem Bajwa last year to run the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority, which oversees more than $70 billion in projects from power plants to highways.

He also joined Khan's cabinet in late April, becoming one of more than a dozen former and current military officials in prominent government roles as the army expands its influence in the country.

The Chinese financing has helped rid Pakistan of an electricity deficit that left exporters unable to meet orders and major cities without electricity for much of the day. Still, the implementation of some investments appeared to stall since Khan came to power, with no new projects announced in 2018 and very few in 2019.

Since Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the initiative in 2013, the World Bank estimates about $575 billion worth of energy plants, railways, roads, ports and other projects have been built or are in the works across the globe. Its progress has slowed recently, dogged by accusations that China is luring poor countries into debt traps for its own political and strategic gain.

"The reality is that much of CPEC, like the Belt and Road more broadly, has been paralyzed," said Jonathan Hillman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, referring to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Pakistan "is a flagship for China's Belt and Road, so the need to show progress is even more important."

In a tweet last month, Bajwa said some detractors had given the "false impression" that CPEC had been slowed. Not only has the pace of work on projects picked up recently, but a great deal of ground work has been done to launch phase two of the project that also includes special economic zones to lure Chinese manufacturers, agriculture, science, technology and tourism, he wrote.

"The prime minister pushed very hard on this," said Abdul Razak Dawood, Khan's adviser on commerce and investments said by phone. "We feel that we have to get more and more hydro in our energy mix."

A spokesman in Bajwa's office said he was not immediately available to comment.

Little Progress

Pakistan's army is already responsible for securing every single Beijing-funded project scattered across the country, from the mountains near the Chinese border to the desert in Gwadar where the Chinese operate a port. Its role has become even more important following terrorist attacks on three Chinese-related projects in the past year.

"There is no doubt that PM Khan's arrival slowed the pace of CPEC projects," said Mosharraf Zaidi, a senior fellow at Islamabad-based think tank, Tabadlab, and a former principal advisor to the foreign ministry. "The renewed energy and approval we are now seeing is almost entirely likely due to the chairperson having settled in, and being added to Prime Minister Khan's cabinet."

#UN #SDGs: #Pakistan has achieved ‘Climate Action’ goal 10 years ahead of the deadline, a recognition of Pakistan’s commitment to fighting #climatechange, but also an endorsement of the success of #ImranKhan govt's initiatives. #ClimateAction #PTI | https://tribune.com.pk/article/97098/how-successful-has-pakistans-c...

According to the Sustainable Development Report 2020, an annual global assessment of countries’ progress towards achieving the United Nations led Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Pakistan has achieved the ‘Climate Action’ SDG ten years ahead of the deadline. This is not only a recognition of Pakistan’s renewed commitment to fighting climate change, but also an endorsement of the success of numerous environmental protection initiatives launched by the government.

Traditionally, climate change has not been a key agenda item in Pakistan’s public discourse which over time has resulted in a gross underestimation of the gravity of the situation. Therefore, it is important to begin by recognising that climate change is a very real threat to Pakistan’s long-term prosperity and survival. According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan was the 5th most affected country by the impact of climate change during the twenty-year period from 1999-2018. The Index used a weighted score, based on climate change mediated death toll and loss to the economy (in purchasing power parity terms), to calculate a Climate Risk Index (CRI) score which was then used to rank countries.

With rising Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and a dwindling forest cover, Pakistan’s annual mean temperature is estimated to rise by three to five degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Already, cities such as Turbat and Nawabshah are witnessing record high temperatures, confirming the worst fears of climate change scientists. The rising temperatures will over time result in rapid melting of the glaciers that feed Pakistan’s rivers, as well as in a projected 60 cm rise in the sea level by the year 2100. Coupled with a high variability in precipitation, these changes are expected to lead to an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods, droughts and tropical storms, jeopardising Pakistan’s agriculture, economy, water and food security, as well as the health of the country’s inhabitants.

Despite the seriousness of the threat, Pakistan’s fight against climate change did not really take off until 2013. The origins of the new-found fervor can be traced back to the Billion Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP), popularly known as Billion Tree Tsunami. Through BTAP, over a five-year period the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa restored 350,000 hectares of forestland employing a combination of natural regeneration and planned afforestation. As a result, the province’s forest cover increased by about five per cent and half a million green jobs were created. The initiative received global acclaim after a third-party audit by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) confirmed nearly 85% average survival of the plantations. It exceeded the province’s Bonn Challenge commitment and was hailed as a “true conservation success story” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Not only did the successful execution of BTAP make climate change a significant issue of public interest in Pakistan, it also served to put the country on the map in the global fight against climate change.

Since 2018, Pakistan’s fight against climate change has picked up further pace. There has been a discernible shift in the government’s priorities with the emergence of an overarching “Green Growth Agenda” that has informed several initiatives across the country. With an aim to replicate the success of BTAP on a national level, ...

#DiamerBhashaDam, world's tallest dam at 272 meters, will change #Pakistan's destiny by addressing its #energy & #water problems. Located in #GilgitBaltistan, it will store 6.4 million acre-feet of water, generate 4,500 MW of cheap #renewable #electricity https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202007/20/WS5f14f269a31083481725...

Project, to be ready in 2028, expected to meet water, energy needs in Gilgit-Baltistan region

A new mega project in northern Pakistan is expected to meet both water and energy needs of the region, according to officials and experts.

Work on the construction of Diamer Bhasha Dam near Chilas, a city in the Diamer district in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, has started.

"Diamer Bhasha Dam is set to change the destiny of Pakistan by addressing its energy and irrigation problems," Faisal Vawda, Pakistan's federal minister for water resources, said. "It's Pakistan's lifeline."

The dam's reservoir will be 272 meters in height, and it is said to be the tallest roller compact concrete dam in the world.

Roller compacted concrete is a special blend of concrete that has the same ingredients as conventional concrete but in different ratios, and with a partial substitution of fly ash for Portland cement. This reduces thermal loads on the dam and reduces chances of thermal cracking.

The dam has a proposed spillway with 14 gates and five outlets for flushing out silt. The diversion system comprises two tunnels and a diversion canal. It will also include the construction of powerhouses.

Asim Saleem Bajwa, chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority, said the dam will generate 4,500 megawatt of hydroelectric power.

It was a historic moment as Prime Minister Imran Khan kicked off the construction work on Diamer Bhasha Dam, he said. "Around 16,000 jobs will be created during the construction of the dam."

Imran Khan officially launched the construction work on Wednesday, with Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Qamar Bajwa by his side.

The biggest

"Diamer Bhasha Dam will be the biggest dam in Pakistan's history," the prime minister said while addressing the public during the launch. "The dam will benefit the country both economically and environmentally, especially the people of Gilgit-Baltistan," he said.

The multibillion-dollar project is estimated to be completed in 2028. It is a multipurpose project that will be used for water storage, flood mitigation, irrigation and power generation.

"This is no ordinary project. There is a reason why both Pakistan's prime minister and the army chief were present at the site for the project launch. It will have an impact on Pakistan's economy, security and politics," said Ahmed Quraishi, a senior fellow at Project Pakistan 21, an independent research organization based in national capital Islamabad.

Feather in the cap

It is another feather in the cap for the Chinese engineers who are known for undertaking challenging international projects, he said.

The project is being jointly constructed by Power China and Pakistan's Frontier Works Organization.

The Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan approved the award of civil works for construction of the dam and the 21-MW Tangir Hydropower Project to the joint venture partners.

The two companies signed a contract in June with a local company for the construction of the diversion system, main dam and access bridge as well as the hydropower project.

"We are grateful to our all-weather friend China for its support in the construction of the mega project," said Faisal Vawda, the water resources minister.

Quraishi said the technical specifications of the project suggest it will be something that engineers worldwide will be studying due to the region's terrain. "China's experience in the dam construction is unparalleled," he said.

Hot testing completed at #Pakistan’s 1100 MW #Karachi 2 #nuclear power plant. Construction of Karachi 2 began in August 2015, followed by Karachi 3 in May 2016. Outer containment dome of Karachi 3 was installed in August 2020. Nuclear Engineering


https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newshot-testing-completed-at-pakis...


Unit 2 at Pakistan’s Karachi Nuclear Power Plant has completed hot functional tests, according to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which is constructing two units (2&3) at the plant.

Karachi 2 is the first overseas unit to use China's Hualong One technology. The thermal testing will be followed by nuclear fuel loading, grid connection and power generation.

The tests, lasting several weeks, includes simulating nuclear power plant operations to verify reliability of the main equipment and systems under thermal conditions before the reactor is loaded with nuclear fuel. They were completed on 4 September, CNNC said. Cold functional tests were completed at Karachi 2 in December 2019.

After the completion of hot tests, the Karachi 2 came close to the stage of physical launch, the message says.

Construction of the 1100MW Hualong One reactor Karachi 2 began in August 2015, followed by Karachi 3 in May 2016.

The outer containment dome of the Karachi 3 was installed at the end of August, CNNC said.

#Pakistan Pursues Big Action On #ClimateChange. Along with #trees planting, #PTI govt announced a new #ElectricVehicle policy this summer, and plans to get two-thirds of its #electricity from #renewable sources like #wind, #solar and #hydropower by 2030. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/29/916878679/with-glaciers-melting-and-...

On her first foray into tree planting, Laiba Atika forgot a key item — a shovel, which her mom later fetched.

But the 17-year-old is clear about why she is leading volunteers in the northern Pakistani city of Mardan to plant dozens of pine trees in a scrubby park.

"It's our duty as citizens," she says in formal English, "to implement actions that can make planet a better place to live in."

Atika's tree-planting drive is being replicated all over Pakistan, where the government aims to plant ten billion trees over five years with the help of local communities. The reforestation initiative is central to a wide-ranging plan the Pakistani government recently adopted to change practices and cut emissions that drive climate change.

Like most developing nations, Pakistan is not a big emitter of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. But developing countries suffer harm disproportionate to their historically low emissions. Climate-fueled extreme weather events, from floods to droughts, could displace or kill tens of thousands of people, straining government resources and threatening political stability.

That urgency has prompted some nations, such as Pakistan, to craft ambitious plans to reduce emissions, even as the world's second largest emitter, the United States, shrugs off serious climate action.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan "knows the implications of climate change and is willing to take the lead in putting Pakistan on a green trajectory," says Malik Amin Aslam, a senior climate change advisor to Khan and the leading proponent of the new policies.

Alongside tree planting, the government announced a new electric vehicle policy this summer, and plans to get two-thirds of its electricity from wind, solar and hydropower by 2030. "That is a genuine step up in ambition for renewable energy," said Simon Nicholas, an energy finance analyst who follows Pakistan at the U.S.-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

But the problems that have long hobbled Pakistan threaten its new climate goals, too, environmental activists say. Plans are undermined by corruption and lax implementation, according to Afia Salam, an activist in Karachi. Environmentalists point to other ambitious policies the government announced since it took power, like a ban on plastic bags in Islamabad, which has gone widely ignored.

Khan's own broad-tent party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, includes powerful business interests that have carved out loopholes for themselves from the climate policies.

"What Pakistan has done, despite resource constraint, is aspirational for many countries," Salam says. But, she adds, "there's so many conflicting interests within the party itself."

The world's fifth most populous country, Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable to global warming. Already, summer temperatures in its southern cities often surpass 120 degrees. Rainfall has grown more erratic, and in August, unprecedented monsoon rains drowned parts of Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, turning roads into rivers and killing dozens of people across the country.

Northern glaciers nestled in mountains are the country's main water source, and they are melting faster than ever. Highland communities now face occasional water shortages and flash flooding that sweeps away their lands. If the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions continues on its present trajectory, the water supply for Pakistan's 220 million people will be imperiled within 50 years, scientists say.

#Pakistan's 300 MW Chashma 4 #Nuclear Power Plant officially accepted. Chasnupp is home to two #Chinese-supplied 300 MWe PWRs as well: unit 1, in commercial operation since 2000, and unit 2, since 2011.: New Nuclear.
#electricity - World Nuclear News https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Pakistans-Chashma-4-off...

Chashma unit 4 was connected to the grid on 29 June, 2017. The Chinese-supplied pressurised water reactor (PWR) is the second of two CNP-300 units to enter service at the site, following unit 3 which entered commercial operation in December 2016. The Chashma site - also referred to as Chasnupp - is home to two Chinese-supplied 300 MWe PWRs as well: unit 1, in commercial operation since 2000, and unit 2, since 2011.

For the final acceptance ceremony, held at Chashma on 23 September, CNNC set up video connections at construction subsidiary China Zhongyuan Engineering Company's headquarters in Beijing and at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) headquarters in Islamabad. Participants in the ceremony included PAEC Chairman Muhammad Naeem and CNNC President Gu Jun.

CNNC said China and Pakistan have maintained a strong partnership in the nuclear power sector since the two countries signed an agreement in 1986 to facilitate the transfer of civil nuclear technology.

Regarding future cooperation, Gu Jun said: "CNNC will, as always, assist Pakistan in the operation and maintenance of its plants, provide full-life and full-service services, and commit to providing clean, efficient and safe energy to the Pakistani people."

Pakistan also has a 125 MWe Canadian-supplied pressurised heavy water reactor, Karachi unit 1, which has been in commercial operation since 1972. Two 1161 MWe Chinese-supplied Hualong One (HPR1000) plants are under construction as units 2 and 3 of the Karachi plant. Construction of unit 2 began in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016. The units are scheduled for commercial operation in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

In November 2017, CNNC and PAEC signed a cooperation agreement on the construction of a Hualong One reactor as unit 5 of the Chashma plant.

#Pakistan Plants 500 Million New #Trees in Drive Against Climate Change. The #PTI government's countrywide $760 million reforestation drive is on track to plant more than three billion trees by mid-2023 to mitigate the effects of #ClimateChange.

https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/pakistan-plants-500-million-new-trees-drive-against-climate-change

Aslam noted the tree plantation program is also generating tens of thousands of new employment opportunities and is expected to create about 1.5 million jobs over the next three years when the government will have hit the target of nearly 3.3 billion trees.

“For every dollar you invest in nature, you get nine dollars back. So, you get jobs, you get local employment, you get (a) green economy going,” the minister told VOA.

“Even during the COVID era, we created 84,000 jobs for people who were out of jobs,” he added, referring to the coronavirus pandemic that hit Pakistan in February.

The outbreak prompted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government to introduce nationwide lockdowns to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which has infected at least 315,000 Pakistanis, and resulted in more than 6,500 deaths. New infections, however, have dramatically and steadily declined to several hundred a day since June, encouraging the government to lift all lockdowns.  

Khan spearheaded a reforestation campaign, known as Billion Tree Tsunami, in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, which his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party has been governing since 2013. 

The four-year program restored 350,000 hectares of forests and degraded land, surpassing its 348,400 hectares commitment to the Bonn Challenge and winning Khan international praise for his climate change efforts.

The Bonn Challenge, established in 2011, calls for the restoration of 350 million hectares of deforested and degraded lands by 2030.

Billion Tree Tsunami program

The Billion Tree Tsunami program generated about 500,000 green jobs for men and women in poverty-stricken remote areas of the scenic Pakistani province. It has established a network of private tree nurseries and boosted local incomes.  

The World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan (WWF-P), which monitored and audited the tree-planting effort in KP, reported that the project has been an environmental, economic and social success, with one of the highest survival rates of trees in the world, ranging from 75% to more than 80%.

Officials at the International Union for Conservation of Nature-Pakistan (ICUN-P) hailed the initiative as “a true conservation success story.”

Khan launched the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami program after his party won the July 2018 national election and he became prime minister.

Third-party audit

Last week, the Pakistani government signed an agreement with a consortium of three international organizations for a third-party monitoring and evaluation of the “Ten Billion Tree Tsunami” program from 2020 to 2024.

The consortium comprises WWF-P, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and ICUN-P.

FAO deputy representative Farrukh Toirovi described the program as a historic undertaking by Pakistan.

“This is a project which will benefit not only today the people of Pakistan, but also it will be benefiting the people all around the world and the region, and also for the people of the generations to come,” Toirovi said. "We from FAO are interested in this project so that we can take these lessons from Pakistan and try to use it also in other countries.”

Hammad Khan Naqi, director general of the WWF-Pakistan, explained that his organization will evaluate 30% of the plantation sites, 30% for wildlife conservation and 100% percent of the protected areas across the country.

Pakistani officials say the unprecedented third-party monitoring of a government project will ensure impartial “verification, transparency and accountability” of the massive reforestation drive and of the public funds being spent on it.

Authorities say a key part of the project is to curtail activities of the powerful “timber mafia” that for decades has operated in Pakistan unhindered.  

The KP provincial government effectively dismantled hundreds of illegal sawmills and arrested timber cutters while implementing the ‘Billion Tree Tsunami’ project there, leaving at least two forest guards dead in such encounters and injuring many more.

#Pakistan: Floating #solar panels paired with #hydroelectric dams. LUMS #Lahore researchers floated 200MW panels at 1.45 GW Ghazi Barotha Dam to model if 200 MW floating solar system could replace 1 of the 5 #hydropower units when water levels are low. https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/10/05/floating-pv-paired-with-hydr...

Researchers from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan have examined the potential to deploy floating PV on a body of water connected to one of the country's hydroelectric dams.

They published their findings in “Complementing hydroelectric power with floating solar PV for daytime peak electricity demand,” which was recently published in Renewable Energy.

Pakistan covers around 30% of its power demand with hydroelectric dams. Some of these facilities are of considerable size, like the Tarbela Dam, which reportedly has 3.5 GW of generating capacity. The University of Lahore scientists modeled the implementation of a floating array at the 1.45 GW Ghazi Barotha Dam, which features five generating units with around 290 MW of capacity each.

To cover daytime peak loads, installing a 200 MW floating system on the dam's reservoir could replace one of the five generating units if water levels are low. The researchers noted that Pakistan suffers frequent outages due to peak load hours during the day. The floating solar plant would work like a peaker plant, they said.


In terms of grid integration, the co-location of floating PV arrays with hydroelectric dams offers the chance to tap into existing infrastructure to cut costs. The scientists compared two approaches. In the first, they connected a floating PV system directly to a 500 kV transmission line system. In the other approach, they added a 132 kV sub-station.

They determined that the cost of connecting a solar PV array to the grid accounts for about 25% of total project costs. However, that shrinks considerably when such projects use the existing infrastructure of hydroelectric dams. With an additional 132 kV substation, the utilization rate can also be ramped up. The scientists suggested that a substation with import and export functions could distribute power more efficiently when a solar array is not generating at full load.

#Pakistan: Work On Mega Dams Projects Going On A Fast Pace After 5 Decades. Total #water storage capacity of these dams is about 8.7 million-acre-feet (MAF). Diamer Bhasha #dam would add 35 years of life to Tarbela dam by cutting sedimentation- UrduPoint https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/work-on-mega-dams-projects-go...


"We can save this water by increasing storage capacity and bring virgin land under cultivation, said Indus River System Authority Chairman Rao Irshad Ali Khan.� He was of the view that�construction of mega dams including Diamer Basha and Mohmand would enable Pakistan to streamline its off-set�water induced variations in water flow.

The Diamer Bhasha dam would add 35 years to the life of� Tarbela dam by reducing sedimentation, he said.� According to Chairman WAPDA Gen retired Muzammil Hussain both the dams would be with cumulative gross water storage capacity of 9.3 million acre feet (MAF) and electricity generation capacity of 5300 mega watts (MW).� He said that Diamer Bhasha Dam was a multi-purpose project aimed at water storage, flood mitigation and power generation.

The project would be constructed across River Indus about 40-kilometer downstream of Chillas town. The 272-meter high Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Dam would have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 million acre feet (MAF).

The project will generate 4500 MW of electricity with annual energy generation of more than 18 billion units of low-cost and environment friendly electricity.With construction of Diamer Basha Dam Project, the life of Tarbela Dam will be enhanced to another�35 years.

It will also have a positive impact on the annual energy generation of the projects in the downstream areas.

Regarding Mohmand Dam, the WAPDA chairman said that the work on the construction of the dam was going on fast track and would be completed by 2024.

�"The project is of immense importance and it will store 1.2 million acre feet (MAF) of�water�for irrigated agriculture, help mitigate floods in Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera and generate 800 mega watt (MW) of green and clean energy.

�The Spokesperson WAPDA told APP that Diamer Bhasha Dam Project would stimulate economic activities in the far-flung and� backward areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, providing as many as 16550 job opportunities to the� locals and Pakistani engineers, he added.

He said that construction of the dam would help bring as many as 1.23 million acres of� additional land under cultivation, following which annual agricultural benefits of the� project had been estimated at Rs. 279 billion.Meanwhile, the Federal government is also providing funds for construction of 60 small, medium,�large and delayed action/recharge dam projects in the country through the Federal Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) aimed at providing water for irrigation/ agriculture, and drinking purposes.

The accumulative live storage capacity of these dams is about 8,683,699 Acre-feet. As many as 17 dams projects are likely to be completed during the current fiscal year and they are small dams in Tehsil Dobandi, Gulistan Killa, Bhundaro storage dam, Dosi dam Pasni, Darah dam Khuzadar, Mangi dam Quetta, Mara Tangi dam Loralai, Tuk dam Tehsil Wadh, Anjeeri dam Nushko, Azdhakhoi dam, Baghi dam Naushki, delay actions dams in Siaro Hazar Ganji Nal, small dam at Sardari Goz Darkhalo, small dam Kunji Ferzabad, and Sukleji dam etc.

During last decade, WAPDA had completed Mangla Dam Raising(2.88 MAF), Gomal Zam Dam (0.892 MAF), Satpara Dam(0.053 MAF) and Darawat Dam (0.089 MAF) to store water.

WAPDA is also planning to construct Kurram Tangi Dam Stage-II (0.90 MAF), Chiniot Dam (0.85 MAF), Shyok Dam (5.0 MAF), Akhori Dam (6.0 MAF), Dudhnial Dam (1.00 MAF), Skardu Dam (3.20 MAF) and Sindh Barrage (2.00 MAF) to cope with the issues of water shortage in the country.