Energy-starved Pakistan seeks wind investor

[Zaki]

Energy-starved Pakistan seeks wind investors

* 18 IPPs allocated land for wind power projects of 50 MW each

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan this year expects to finalise four wind power deals worth $500 million to exploit a renewable resource that has been barely tapped in a country with a yawning gap between power capacity and demand.

The country suffers chronic power cuts that inflame public anger and stifle industry, a crisis seen by analysts as a test for President Asif Ali Zardari. Daily shortfalls range from 4,500 to 5,000 megawatts (MW), Water and Power Ministry figures show.

But the country’s coastal belt holds particular promise for wind power, with a potential for producing 50,000 MW, according to the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Arif Alauddin, chief executive of the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), on Friday said talks were underway with six Pakistani investors to build wind farms.

“We have reached a stage where I can say at least four deals will be finalised this year and production will start next year,” he told Reuters. “The worth of these deals will be $500 million,” he added. They would encompass four 50 MW plants with expected completion by the end of 2011, he said.

The AEDB is trying to boost local private investment in alternative energy by offering incentives and access to wind turbine makers and operators such as Siemens, Nordex SE, Coolwind, SWEG and General Electric. Nordex in March agreed to supply FCC Energy Ltd, a local company, with turbines for a 50 MW farm in the southern Sindh province.

To attract private investors, Alauddin said the government is guaranteeing an annual rate of return of up to 18 percent and will pay power producers if the wind blows below an annual average of 7.3 metres per second.

Wind farms: AEDB has already allocated land for 18 independent power producers (IPPs) for wind power projects of 50 MW each. The US Agency for International Development has plans to help Pakistan develop wind farms to generate 300 MW by the end of 2014. “You cannot expect changes overnight. It’ll take time. But we believe some 10,000 MW would be coming through wind in the next five to 10 years,” Alauddin said. reuters

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I guess this news required a seperate dedicated thread so i did not post in Energy thread