The United States Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Opic) has approved a deal worth $100 million for a new 50MW wind power plant in Jhimpir near Karachi, reported Dawn.com.
Hawa Power, developers and producers of renewable energy located in Pakistan, is the sole contributor to the project and will help to relocate the power consumption of country from expensive fuel oils towards wind energy yielding high potential at low economy.
The funding for this wind project was approved at a quarterly meeting of the Opic board of directors held at Washington, reported the news agency.
Alternative Energy Development Board of Pakistan handed over the letter of interest to Hawa Power. The board has already issued land for many other project developments to independent power producers in Jhimpir corridor.
The land acquisition by the company is over and construction works will begin later by 2014 which will go on for minimum of eight months.
This wind power project comes under upfront tariff policy initiated by government and hence submission of tariff to National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) is excluded, added the report.
The Hawa Power Project consists of construction, ownership and operation ofwind power plant, which generates and supply electricity to the national grid of Pakistan at a pre-defined tariff.
Pakistan’s energy requirements are presently met through oil, gas, hydro power and nuclear power.Although Pakistan has one of the largest coal reserves in the world, they remain under-utilized and their share in energy supply is insignificant at the moment.