Govt To Harness Alternative Sources Of Energy: Minister

Punjab Energy Minister Dr Akhtar Malik on Thursday said the government was committed to harness alternative sources of energy and make all-out efforts for producing clean energy at cheaper cost.

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Dec, 2018 ) :Punjab Energy Minister Dr Akhtar Malik on Thursday said the government was committed to harness alternative sources of energy and make all-out efforts for producing clean energy at cheaper cost.

Speaking at a seminar titled 'Energy situation in Pakistan' at Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in Bahawalpur, the minister said that the whole world was shifting to alternative sources of energy and Pakistan would also have to benefit from it.

The seminar was organised by the Unified Media Club, said an official release issued here on Thursday.

Simon Nicholas, a representative of a US think-tank, presented a report on the energy situation in Pakistan. It was the first detailed and comprehensive report on country's energy situation by any foreign think-tank.

Dr Malik said that some of the country's industry has been shifted to Bangladesh and Malaysia due to energy crisis.

Malik said that energy runs industrial wheel and thus is the backbone of national economy. He said that Germany, where sunshine was not as abundant as in Pakistan, was producing 80,000 megawatts of power. He said that the incumbent government fully comprehends the energy requirements of the country and focusing its attention on alternative sources.

He informed that the government was seeking audit of Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park given the fact that there was marked difference in its cost compared to cost of such projects in other countries.

The PTI government was the custodian of the public money and would do what it deemed the best for people, he said.

He said that boiler of the Sahiwal coal power plant would be replaced and local coal would be utilised, adding that economic conditions of the country do not allow import of fuel.

He said that projects meant for public welfare would continue irrespective of which government launched them.

Simon Nicholas from Institute of Energy, Economic and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), suggested that Pakistan would have to benefit from wind and solar power to meet its energy requirements till 2030.

The IEEFA model, he recommended at the seminar, suggests that Pakistan could be able to produce 30 percent of its required energy through alternative sources of energy till 2030, the expertsaid.