ISLAMABAD, July 29: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) have joined hands to harness the country’s immense wind energy potential.

They would in this regard establish a wind power industry by adopting internationally proven technology.

An inaugural Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting was held here on Saturday to discuss the “Sustainable Development of Utility-Scale Wind Power Production: Phase-1” Project.

This project is being funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) contribution of $3.1 million, whereas $0.720 million in kind will be given by the Government of Pakistan.

AEDB would act as the national execution agency of the project. PSC discussed the details of the project and emphasized its importance, particularly in view of the objective to reduce dependence on imported fuels to meet the ever-growing energy needs of the country.

The premise of this project lies on the abundance of renewable energy resources available in Pakistan. Wind energy, in particular can be effectively used to generate power for commercial purposes. Therefore, the vast coastal and inland areas of Pakistan provide adequate sources for wind regimes, which can be channelled for the greater good.

This project will focus on establishing a wind power industry by adopting internationally proven technology. It will aim at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and assist in producing a total of 60 to 80 megawatts of commercial wind energy; thereby resulting in a carbon dioxide decline of 9 million tons, over a time span of 20 years.

Participants of PSC said the project aims at establishing wind energy as an economically viable and sustainable option by removing policy, institutional, regulatory, fiscal and technical barriers to private investment in the sector.

Rural electrification and infrastructure development are a key area of intervention of the project.

The main outputs expected from the project include a wind power policy package, project facilitation for investors, mainstreaming renewable energy, developing indigenous capacity to install and operate wind energy facilities and financial instruments for sustainable wind energy development.

Country Director UNDP Mr Haoliang Xu, highlighting the socio- economic implications of this project said that millions of people all over the world were living without access to electricity, while many more used traditional fuels for cooking.

Furthermore, women and children spend several hours a day in the drudgery of gathering firewood and carrying water over long distances, as centrally produced electricity and modern fuels do not reach them.

He said renewable energy sources had traditionally remained untapped in countries like Pakistan.

Therefore, this will be a great opportunity to promote sustainable human development by using one of the cleanest sources of energy.

Chairman AEDB Air Marshal (Retd) Shahid Hamid, who co-chaired the meeting, reiterated AEDB’s commitment to promote alternative renewable energy in the country and ensured full support to all those interested in undertaking such energy projects.