PRODUCING electricity by using wind, solar, waste, micro-hydro and bio-gas technologies is becoming a major problem as investors have not utilised the Letters of Intent (LoI) issued to them by the Government of Pakistan
Private energy producers who had promised to invest $5 billion in these technologies are waiting for the tariff issue to be resolved..
Officials of the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) in the prime minister’s secretariat have informed higher authorities that no project was likely to be set up in the next two years.
The AEDB issued a total of 92 LoIs for generating 275MW of electricity including wind power. But tariffs and administrative issues pertaining to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) of Wapda have not been sorted out.
Nepra is believed to have refused to offer a tariff of more than 16 cents for each kilowatt but wind power investors were seeking more.
While Nepra is not prepared to give what investors describe as a ‘fair tariff’ for wind power and other sources of energy, bureaucratic hurdles, allegedly created by the NTDC, were also pushing the people to avoid putting up any project, say investors. As a result, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is being asked to firm up its new projects to generate 8,800MW of nuclear energy by 2030.
However, the PAEC is also expressing its inability to deliver as China is taking time to provide 4-6 nuclear power plants as agreed between the two countries. China is stated to be under pressure from a 38-member nuclear supplier group acting on the directives of the United States.
According to the PAEC officials, Chashma-1 is generating 325MW of nuclear energy while Chashma-2 of the same capacity will be commissioned in 2011 as per schedule. The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (Kanup) of 137MW is over-age and is currently generating only 90MW nuclear energy.
“But the real disappointment of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) of wind, solar etc. is lack of co-operation from the government and its various agencies including Nepra and the NTDC”, a consultant of wind power, Mr Sultan Farooq told Dawn on telephone from Dubai.
He said there was no solution to the ongoing worsening power crisis, but to go for alternate options of hydro, wind solar etc., and that the government should facilitate the IPPs in this regard. He said a “fair tariff” was needed to be offered by Nepra. An AEDB official, who did not like to be quoted, said that his organisation was not the executing agency. It was there to facilitate the investors of renewable energy. He regretted that not a single project out of total of 92 LoIs issued, could be set up due to differences between Nepra and the NTDC and between both the organisations and the investors.
He said that feasibility studies for eight IPPs of the wind power were given to Nepra. The matter was then sent to the NTDC for determining the power purchase agreement. “And out of these eight, tariffs was awarded to four IPPs who then refused to accept that tariff as being low”, he said.
Responding to a question, he said that global demand for wind turbines is rapidly increasing and by the time tariff and power purchase agreements are finalised, these prices will further go up, forcing the IPPs not to take any decision. “It takes 18 to 24 months for the financial close of any project and this is not the way to attract investors in our part of the world”, the official regretted.
Nevertheless, he said that AEDB was engaged in providing electricity to remote villages. So far 1762 houses in 31 villages had been provided electricity in Sindh through solar and wind energy. The whole village of “Goth Omar Deen Arain”, has been provided with electricity, the official said. By March 2008, he said 100 more villages would be electrified in the province. The plan was also to electrify many villages in Balochistan for which additional funding has been sought from the federal government. The AEDB had been set up to promote environment-friendly alternative renewable energy resources, he added.
He was happy that one of the most important accomplishments of the AEDB had been the creation of awareness among decision makers on importance of the renewable energy. The official did not rule out effective international collaboration once the tariff issue was resolved.
Pakistan is blessed with abundant alternative/renewable energy resources, like solar, wind and water. In hydro-power sector, the potential of which identified is about 46,000 MW out of which only 6,595 MW has been utilised. Most of the hydro-power potential lies in the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP), Northern Areas (NA) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). However, he said, the potential in canal system and in small rivers and streams, if calculated, would be much more.
The vast irrigation system provides hundreds of sites for macro, mini and small hydro-power plants. Depending upon the head and flow of water, suitable turbines can be utilised to generate electricity.
He said the country has huge potential for small and mini-hydropower projects under 50 MW capacity , with score of sites identified. Small and micro-hydropower projects are suitable for local investments and individual projects could come on line in a short time to mitigate the serious electricity shortage problems. In addition, being a renewable energy resource, every one of these investments is a substitute for expensive imported oil.
The installed capacity of the hydropower stations in the country is about 6,595 MW and only about 15 per cent of the available hydro-power potential has been harnessed so far.
By Ihtasham ul Haque
http://dawn.com/2008/02/11/ebr15.htm
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