AEDB installs first wind turbine at Jhimpir

Islamabad: Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) has installed first wind turbine of 1.2 MW at Jhimpir, Sindh for commercial power generation. According to AEDB, initially 6MW electricity will be generated with the help of five turbines, which are all in advanced stages of installation.

The power generated from the first phase of the farm would be enough to electrify 60,000 homes in Hyderabad Electricity Supply Company region.

The farm being set up by Zorlu Enerji (Pvt) Ltd (ZEPL) would be later expanded in the second phase to generate 50 MW of electricity. The cost of power generation from the project would be comparable to that of KANUPP nuclear power plant.

AEDB Chief Executive Officer Arif Alaudin on the occasion said this was a major achievement, which would help improving country's renewable energy sector. 'I believe that this is a step towards adoption of wind power for meeting our growing energy needs and a way to contribute towards national efforts to reduce dependence on foreign fossil fuel,' he added.

AEDB facilitated the setting up of the wind farm by assisting ZEPL in leasing the land from Sindh Government, development of feasibility study, tariff determination and acquisition of generation license, verification of power production numbers and drafting, reviewing and finalisation of project documents including Energy Purchase Agreement (EPA), Implementation Agreement and Measuring Protocols.

Zorlu Enerji (Pvt) Ltd President Murat Sungur Burfa said incentives offered by Pakistan's renewable energy policy were a major factor in the company's decision to invest here. He described AEDB's 'open-for-business' attitude as refreshing. He said AEDB acted as a one-window facility for the investors in renewable energy sector to promote the use of renewables in the country.

Pakistan has a considerable potential of wind energy in the coastal belt of Sindh and Balochistan and as well as in the desert areas of Punjab and Sindh. The wind data of Pakistan has been collected from Pakistan Meteorological Department and analysed by AEDB.

As per the collected data, the coastal belt of Pakistan wind corridor that is 60 Km wide (Gharo- Keti Bandar) and 180 Km long (up to Hyderabad). This corridor has the exploitable potential of 50,000 MW of electricity generation through wind energy.