BEIJING: Ruichen Hong, a scholar of Green BRI Centre, has said that Dawood Wind Power Station not only can improve energy situation in Pakistan, but also brings benefits to the Pakistani society.
Hong, in an interview, said many countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) were among the world’s major energy producing and consuming countries. Meanwhile, they are mostly developing countries, with the requirement to continue expanding its energy markets, according to a report published by China Economic Net (CEN) here on Monday.
Power shortages have been a major constraint on the entire Pakistani economy. Pakistan’s power gap is between 4 and 6 gigawatts. The electricity structure dependent on fossil fuels brings a variety of problems to the local government.
Hong explained, in Pakistan, for every 1% increase in the use of fossil fuel, the total carbon emissions would increase 0.226%, which had a significant negative impact on the climate and environment, and was not conducive to sustainable development.
Dawood Wind Power Station, one of 14 Priority Energy Projects under CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor), is located on 1,720 acres of tidal flats 70 km east of Karachi.
“Pakistan government hopes to boost hydro-power and other renewable energy sources to increase the whole energy supply and optimize the structure of electricity.”
Hong said,”Sindh province is rich in wind energy reserves. Its southern wind field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers. The potential of wind energy development is about 11,000 megawatts, and the wind direction is stable, the wind speed is up to 7 meters/second. That means, if properly developed, it can meet 5%-10% of the national power demand.”
Dawood Wind power project brings significant climate and social effects. Hong said,
“This project provided 200 new jobs for residents during its construction. After completed, the project will generate 130 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, which can meet 100,000 Pakistani homes’ need and ease the country’s electricity shortage.”
“At the same time, compared with thermal power generation, the renewable electricity produced by wind power station has no direct greenhouse gas emission, while promoting sustainable development.”
“The electric power industry is an important area which affects the national energy security and economy, so it is highly valued by the government. In order to improve the power structure, the Pakistani government has released a series of supporting policies to stimulate and regulate the renewable energy market.
“During the construction of Dawood project, business operator has made full use of support from local government. On the one hand, it ensures that the government has the right to speak and capable to control the power resources. On the other hand, it stabilizes national economic development, and results in a win-win situation between enterprises and the country,” said Hong.
