The Government of Pakistan is expanding renewable energy capacity in the country through wind power.
As per the reports in Pakistan Today, the government has lined up 29 different wind power projects in the country. This includes two wind power projects with capacity of 106.4 MW which have achieved commercial operation and are supplying electricity to national grid.
Three other projects, having a cumulative capacity of 150 MW, have achieved financial close and are under construction. These projects are expected to achieve Commercial Operation Date (COD) during this year, the piece said.
Another six wind power projects with a cumulative capacity of 330 MW are close to achieving the project financial closing. The expected COD dates for these projects are in 2015.
Additionally, 11 wind power projects with a cumulative capacity of 550 MW may also achieve COD by second quarter of 2016, the report said. Another 12 wind power projects with cumulative capacity of 789 MW are at different stages of implementation.
As per the study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, America, Pakistan has the potential of producing 133,000MW of wind energy. The generation capacity factor in Pakistan also stands at 33-34 percent, compared to 40 percent in the best of wind corridors in the world.
Recent reports also suggest in order to boosting the wind power market in Pakistan, the government has to address the issues associated with connecting private projects to the main grid.
picture source: ewind