Comment by Riaz Haq on November 18, 2019 at 8:26am

#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)

Comment by Riaz Haq on November 20, 2019 at 4:23pm

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.

Comment by Riaz Haq on December 5, 2019 at 9:10am

#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.

Comment by Riaz Haq on December 16, 2019 at 8:19am

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).

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 3, 2020 at 4:33pm

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.

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 14, 2020 at 4:28pm

#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.

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 30, 2020 at 7:58pm

#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.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 13, 2020 at 9:04pm

#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.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 19, 2020 at 12:39pm

#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.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 19, 2020 at 12:49pm

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.”

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