KARACHI, Oct 12: Several environmental and social impact reports pertaining to the installation of windmills in the Gharo-Keti Bander-Hyderabad Wind Corridor have been gathering dust at the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency offices due to a lack of interest of the officials and the authorities concerned.
Sources in the Sindh environmental watchdog said that entrepreneurs, under the initiatives of the Alternative Energy Development Board, had submitted a number of initial environment examination (IEE) and environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports, needing public hearing proceedings as well, seeking clearance and certification from the protection agency during the last one year. But cases could not be taken up on a fast-track basis, they said.
Though the concept of windmills was floated about six years back in the wake of the conventional power sector’s deficiencies, there still remain several matters undecided in the context of renewable energy. “We could have handled the reports and go for a public hearing as well. But we have been told by our superiors to wait and see and not to do anything in haste for two main reasons,” said an official requesting anonymity.
“The agency not only lacked the capacity to monitor the related developments, but also was aware of the fact that the new power sector was being nurtured by sensitive and influential quarters in Islamabad,” the official added.
It was learnt that the process of environmental impact assessment in the case of windmill installations had been put on the back-burner on the pretext that technical guidelines were required from some international agency.It is a legal requirement under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997, to conduct an environmental assessment in the case of power plants based on imported wind machines, having three spinning blades up to 40 metres long, and a system of gears to convert their power to an electronic drive. The act empowers the government to frame regulations for the protection of the environment, which includes the ecosystem and ecological relationships as well as all social and economic conditions affecting community life.
Potential sites
In addition to a few sites along the coastal areas of Balochistan, the Gharo-Keti Bander-Hyderabad Wind Corridor of Sindh has been identified by the Alternative Energy Development Board as a potential resource for significant generation of wind power. It is estimated that the existing power deficit in the country was around 2,500MW, which is likely to reach 5,500MW by 2010, while the Gharo-Keti Bander Wind Corridor alone has a potential of generating 40,000 megawatts.
In Sindh, the board has marked sites and is negotiating with different entrepreneurs promising foreign financing as well for the commissioning of about 22 windmill projects with an initial generation capacity of 50MW each, said a source in the Alternative Energy Development Board. Most of the windmills or turbines planned to be commissioned in Sindh are being acquired from Spain, Germany and China. Though the impact assessment procedures are pending, one of the proposed wind farms or plants is likely to be inaugurated by a major government official next month, said another insider.
When contacted, Sindh Secretary for Environment and Alternative Energy Mir Hussain Ali said that he was not aware that the IEE or EIA cases had been received from the proponents of wind power projects at the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (Sepa). “I will check with Sepa and if needed, will also direct it to ensure immediate processing of IEE and EIA reports,” he added.
At the same time, however, Mr Ali disclosed that some policy documents were jointly being prepared by the UNDP and AEDB to build up the capacity of the environmental protection agency for the purpose
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