Month: November 2020

A World Bank (WB) study launched Tuesday suggests that a major scale-up of variant renewable energy (VRE) could help Pakistan save US$5 billion in costs over the next 20 years, mainly from reduced fuel consumption. “Pakistan should quickly implement a major scale-up of solar and wind generation,” the report advised. The study, titled Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) Integration and Planning, finds that Pakistan needs to urgently implement a major expansion of solar and wind “variable renewable energy”, to achieve a share of at least 30per cent of total capacity by…

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After a lapse of more than 11 years, the Central Working Development Party (CDWP) has finally approved a 26MW hydropower project in Skardu, which would be completed under the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The Shagharthang Hydropower Project, which was initially approved in 2009 at an estimated cost of Rs3.356 billion, would now be completed at Rs8.616 billion. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) had initially agreed to fund two hydropower projects in GB, including Shagharthang Hydropower Project and Thak Chilas Hydropower Project, under Renewable Energy Development Sector Investment Programme.…

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For converting the MoUs signed with the IPPs into final legal agreements, the government is currently engaged in finalizing the templates and to this effect the IPPs are also on board. According to a senior official, the government team will soon invite the IPPs’ CEOs to get the templates for final amended Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) approved. Under the MOUs signed, the government has managed to introduce with the consent of IPPs material changes in the existing PPAs that will yield reasonable dividends amounting to Rs835 billion in the next…

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s reliance on coal to generate power is economically unviable and it needs to swiftly move towards adding about 24,000 megawatts of wind and solar-fired power in the next 10 years to reduce the cost of power generation, says a new study of the World Bank. The Variable Renewable Energy Planning and Integration study suggests that Pakistan should quickly implement a major scale-up of solar and wind generation, which could result in savings of up to a billion dollars per annum. The World Bank said that Pakistan’s use of…

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