According
to Syed Aqeel Hussain Jafry, policy director for the government's Alternative
Energy Development Board, “Mix of renewables will be included mainly wind and
solar power, plus geothermal, tidal, wave and biomass energy.”
Pakistan has devised a strategic plan this week to boost the share of its electric power from renewables to 30 percent by 2030, up from about 4 percent today. With boosts in hydropower capacity expected as well, the shift could bring the share of clean energy in Pakistan's electricity mix to 65 percent by 2030, said Nadeem Babar, head of a task force on energy reforms in Pakistan.
Syed Aqeel Hussain Jafry, policy director for the government's Alternative Energy Development Board, stated that the targets in the newly announced policy are a 20 percent share of renewables in installed capacity of Pakistan’s power mix by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030. He also said that the policy represented a significant shift from the past, when investors approached the government with individual projects.
This include mainly wind and solar power, but also geothermal, tidal, wave and biomass energy, he said.
However, the legislation leaves in place, plans to build seven more coal-fired power plants as part of the second phase of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project - something that could impede scale-up of renewable power, warned Zeeshan Ashfaq, a solar and wind energy developer in Pakistan.
Similarly, according to Ashfaq, managing director of SOWITEC (Solar Wind Technology) Pakistan, "A coal pipeline of around 4,000-5,000 megawatts will not provide much space for renewables.”
The new national renewables policy, approved by the prime minister's cabinet last December, was delayed due to coronavirus pandemic and negotiator’s efforts to resolve disputes with individual provinces.
But Asad Umar, federal minister for planning and development, said on social media the resolution of those disputes now opened the way to "unleash Pakistan's full potential" for renewables.
Reorganized
sector
Power cuts and scheduled outages, known as load shedding, in urban areas were sharply reduced from about 12 hours a day previously to only occasional outages by mid 2018. Up until 2017, prolonged power outages hit the country’s industrial production. Hobbled by decades of energy shortages, successive Pakistani governments have pursued private sector investment in power production, offering lucrative returns backed by sovereign guarantees. Despite the progress, seasonal production gaps and distribution woes remain.
New investment in renewable energy is also expected to come from private investors, with potential suppliers bidding in annual auctions and low-tariff proposals winning, said Nadeem Babar, chair of the energy task force and now special assistant to the prime minister.
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