Race towards clean energy: Pakistan should not be left behind, says minister

Share of renewable energy in country’s energy mix is minimal, say experts

ISLAMABAD: Much of the world has progressed by leaps and bounds towards integrating renewable energy into their energy mix and Pakistan should be no different. These sentiments were expressed by Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanveer Hussain while addressing a conference here Tuesday.

“All efforts need to be made to promote renewable energy in Pakistan,” he said. Hussain was the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of international conference and exhibition on Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs). The minister said renewable energy was important for the survival of the planet and the mankind.



He, further said that Pakistan had a huge potential for solar energy that needed to be harnessed. “People living in rural areas are getting very low quality and low quantity energy; the incumbent government has envisaged harnessing and promoting RETs in the country,” he said.

Hussain stressed that despite comprising a big chunk of Pakistan’s population, people in rural areas were subjected to hours of load-shedding and whatever electricity they did receive was unstable and prone to fluctuation. Muhammad Yaqoob from the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) said, “RETs can contribute towards achieving clean environment and are also cost-effective. Developing countries need to revisit their energy policies”.



Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology Fazal Abbas Maken said RETs were a high-potential area considering the environmental concerns the world was facing today. The secretary said that share of renewable energy in our energy mix was minimum. “Pakistan is blessed with abundant solar heat and we must make use that potential to generate electricity,” he said.

The event had been jointly organised by the Pakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET), Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) and ISESCO. Scientists and engineers from various African and Asian countries attended the conference.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2016.

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