Federal Power Minister Khurram Dastgir Wednesday said that every new wind power project launched in the Gharo-Jhimpir corridor of Sindh is a step forward towards achieving the national goal of producing cheaper and clean electricity through indigenous energy sources.
The minister said this after formally inaugurating two new wind energy projects in the Jhimpir area. The projects include the 60 MW plant of Metro Wind Power Ltd and a 50 MW renewable project of Gul Ahmed Electric Ltd.
The minister said the Gharo-Jhimpir corridor being the site of several wind power plants represented the energy future of Pakistan that stands for maximum utilization of indigenous power resources for clean electricity production.
He said the launching of new wind power plants in the country was fully in line with the energy policy of the present government having the compulsory provision that any new generation capacity to be installed in the country shouldn’t consume imported fuels for the protection of the environment.
He appreciated that new wind power plants would also go a long way in slashing the electricity bills as their tariff was much less than the electricity tariff being charged from general consumers in the country.
He assured the audience that the present government would do its best to facilitate the launching of new wind energy projects in the country by expanding the national transmission capacity as it required greater production of clean electricity for powering economic growth in Pakistan.
The minister said the power production on the basis of expensive imported fuels would gradually be phased out in Pakistan and instead, there would be greater reliance on wind, solar, nuclear, and hydro resources for clean electricity generation for every consumer in the country.
He said the present government stood fully committed to introducing the most advanced technology for consuming Thar coal for energy production so that there should be minimal harm to the environment.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief of the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) Shah Jahan Mirza assured the audience that AEDB had been doing its best to act as the one-window facility for prospective investors who wanted to launch clean energy projects in Pakistan.
He said the AEDB had been helping out the incoming energy projects to play its due part in achieving the vision of the government that stands for 60 percent power production in the country through clean energy sources by the year 2030.
