A wind-powered future
It makes more sense to develop our wind and solar resources than it does to pull poor-quality Thar coal out of ground
wind power, with the turbines placed in sparsely populated areas, is going to upset very few people, pollutes nothing and is endlessly renewable. STOCK IMAGE
It has taken decades for alternative energy resources to develop to the point at which they are affordable and sustainable. Wind is emerging as a global leader in alternative power generation. Two wind-power projects are soon to be online, one in Sindh and one in Punjab. The Sindh government has signed an agreement with two wind-power companies that are projected to deliver 158 gigawatt hours between 2016 and 2036. The Punjab government has made an agreement with a firm from Denmark for the development of four pilot projects, which will create 1,000 megawatts of electricity. The new projects will create badly needed jobs and go towards alleviating the rolling power crisis that hinders development.
Pakistan has crippling systemic power generation problems. The existing infrastructure is aging, under-invested and indifferently maintained. Power is expensively generated using imported oil, the dams are silting up and building new ones is dogged by political sensitivity. It has taken decades for alternative and renewable energy resources to reach maturity. Wind and sun are natural assets that we have in abundance. There is already a large solar array close to Bahawalpur and others are on the cards. Wind farms are an obvious path to relatively quick power generation. The technology is proven and with prices of hardware dropping, the cost benefits are undeniable. It makes more sense to develop our wind and solar resources than it does to pull poor-quality Thar coal out of the ground at vast expense only to burn it in the most polluting way possible. All forms of power generation have their advocates and detractors, but wind power, with the turbines placed in sparsely populated areas, is going to upset very few people, pollutes nothing and is endlessly renewable. We need a mixed basket of power generation into the future and with what was once considered as ‘alternative’ generation becoming mainstream, the Sindh and Punjab governments are going in the right, wind-powered, direction.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2015.
Pakistan has crippling systemic power generation problems. The existing infrastructure is aging, under-invested and indifferently maintained. Power is expensively generated using imported oil, the dams are silting up and building new ones is dogged by political sensitivity. It has taken decades for alternative and renewable energy resources to reach maturity. Wind and sun are natural assets that we have in abundance. There is already a large solar array close to Bahawalpur and others are on the cards. Wind farms are an obvious path to relatively quick power generation. The technology is proven and with prices of hardware dropping, the cost benefits are undeniable. It makes more sense to develop our wind and solar resources than it does to pull poor-quality Thar coal out of the ground at vast expense only to burn it in the most polluting way possible. All forms of power generation have their advocates and detractors, but wind power, with the turbines placed in sparsely populated areas, is going to upset very few people, pollutes nothing and is endlessly renewable. We need a mixed basket of power generation into the future and with what was once considered as ‘alternative’ generation becoming mainstream, the Sindh and Punjab governments are going in the right, wind-powered, direction.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2015.