Danish firms invited to invest in renewable energy

The government of Pakistan is committed to provide sustainable energy solutions in the long-run. And the recent actions are the testament of their claims. Pakistan has a huge potential of energy reserves such as coal, oil, gold etc., which has been untapped for decades. Similarly, solar energy is also one of them which can generate thousands of mega-watts at a cheap price. Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan has invited Danish companies to invest in the manufacturing of solar panels and wind turbines in Pakistan.

In a meeting with Denmark Ambassador Rolf Holmboe, the minister said Pakistan’s new renewable energy policy would bring opportunities for good returns due to government’s transparent policies. It is pertinent to mention here that the policy was unanimously approved by the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) where all provinces had representation at the highest level.

The minister also acknowledged the lead role Denmark was playing in clean and green energy at the global level. Therefore, Pakistan too had embarked on a drive to tap its huge renewable energy potential.

The renewable energy policy has set ambitious targets, which would soon be presented to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) for final approval and implementation.

He said by the year 2025, the government is planning to enhance to 20% of the current renewable energy share from 4% in the overall energy mix, while by the year 2030 the share would be raised to 30%, or around 20,000 megawatts.

He said the government expected a gradual decrease in electricity prices as new projects with the lowest per unit cost would start power production.

With the reduction in electricity cost, businesses would take benefit, the minister apprised. In turn, overall economic activity would get a boost with creation of thousands of new jobs, he added.

The Danish ambassador also appreciated Pakistan government’s efforts in raising the share of renewable clean and green energy to 60%. He said the new policy was more transparent as it provided a level playing field for all.

He also showed interest in assisting Pakistan’s initiative for renewable and offered capacity building modules to Pakistani experts in renewable energy, adding that Denmark was getting renewable energy at a very low per unit price.

In this regard, Danish companies are closely following developments in Pakistan in the field of renewable energy and they were ready to take part in the competitive process.

Qatar to build new solar power plant

Qatar is also in the race of acquiring solar energy and therefore, has signed an agreement with French energy giant Total and Japan's Marubeni to build a solar power plant capable of generating 800 megawatts, a tenth of country's peak energy demand, according to the country's energy minister. 

The Al Kharsaah plant has an estimated cost of 1.7 billion riyals ($467m) and is expected to be complete by the year 2022 in an anticipation of the grand event FIFA World Cup. 

Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told a news briefing on Sunday, said:

"Today is the commencement of the project itself and we expected by the first quarter of 2021 to have half of the [plant's] capacity up and running."

It is assumed that the solar power plant will have the capacity to generate about eight times the size of the solar energy Qatar had pledged to build, helping the organisation of a carbon-neutral event," al-Kaabi continued, referring to the 2022 tournament.

Other companies such as Qatar's Siraj Energy, a joint venture owned by Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), hold a 60 percent stake in the solar plant. The remaining 40 percent will be owned by both Marubeni and Total. Marubeni will take 51 percent of the minority stake, while Total will have 49 percent.

Patrick Pouyanne, Total's chief executive, said the solar plant, once complete, will be the largest ever built by the French conglomerate. In the past, Gulf States, have heavily dependent on oil and gas, but now they are investing billions of dollars in clean energy projects, mainly in solar and nuclear.

But critics say many such projects are slow to get off the drawing board.

On the other hand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said last week its first nuclear power plant would start operating within months after repeated delays to meet safety and regulatory conditions. It is pertinent to mention here that UAE will have the first operational nuclear reactor in the Arab world.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude oil exporter, has said it plans to build up to 16 nuclear reactors, but the projects have yet to be materialised.

Critics say the addiction to oil is hard to kick, particularly when supplies remain abundant and the high costs of investment in infrastructure needed to switch to renewable.

Solar - the Untapped Potential in Pakistan

In the last few decades, energy demand has surged as a function of industrialisation, population growth, inhabitant density amplification, commercial activity intensification, enhanced space mobility, de-forestation, etc.

Member states working on renewable energy around the world are allotted year-on-year Green House Gas (GHG) emission mitigation targets for reducing the impact of global warming. These communal gatherings for emission consensus are a result of 0.2-degree Celsius projected rise in temperature per decade globally due to emissions in the next two decades.

Even so, if the concentrations of GHGs were not to change, rise in sea level and anthropogenic warming would occur for centuries.

Whereas Pakistan is concerned, it’s current energy mix includes fossil fuels (furnace oil, natural gas and coal) and renewables (hydroelectric power, wind and solar) across its geographical vertices. The country stands at 169th place in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) out of the 180 countries included in the study, and this is quite alarming.

With several policies being passed, frameworks introduced and consultancies being sought over the last 10+ years, we as a nation have not been able to fully maximise this energy source as a value addition to the national grid.

Although, past and present governments consistently claim supply-demand parity, what remained unanswered is the lack of:

·        Rural electrification due to a low transmission/distribution network spread or grid proximity (70% of Pakistan is rural and overall grid connectivity stands at 42% to date)

·        High cost of well-to-consumer for a multitude of reasons (dilapidated development infrastructure, shortage of investment, lack of intrinsic resources, security, etc)

·        Rising fuel import bill

·        Under-utilisation of existing power plant capacities

·        Shortage of fuel transport civil linkages

All of these sources of energy generation are dirty, especially coal, and except solar.

Solar is one such clean energy resource that has made strong headway in recent years. For a country like Pakistan, solar energy is particularly suitable due to its optimal geographical location. In comparison with many European countries, most cities in Pakistan receive about 1,500-2,500 hours of sun annually, which is twice more than that of Europe. Baluchistan is particularly rich in solar energy with annual mean sunshine duration of 8-8.5 hours per day and these values are one of the highest in the world.

Unfortunately, with the technology being clean, cheap and abundant and climate platform ideal, it is a surprise that solar adoption to this day remains low in Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention here that solar energy is by far the most popular renewable energy resource relative to its peers due to its low operational/maintenance cost, ease of installation/use and zero GHG emissions.

One of the main challenges comes not from government regulations, theft or mismanagement, but from the technology itself. Solar has the good fortune and a bad omen of being relatively easy to set up, compared to other renewables (such as biogas, hydro, wind, etc).

From street vendors in Rawalpindi to SMEs all are equally to blame for the muddle in the solar energy price control, incomplete installations, workforce misuse, misappropriation of public wealth, indecisive policymaking and unaccountable billing. The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park is one prime example of such public-private partnership conundrum, which was hailed as a symbolic beacon of clean energy in the country.

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