Pakistan’s government struggling to fund renewable energy projects

Pakistan’s government struggling to fund renewable energy projects

the centuries-old technology of turning

wheels with water still produces

relatively clean energy

the carrot hydropower project is

designed to produce 720 megawatts enough

to supply electricity to about five

million pakistanis the 1.7 billion

dollar investment comes from china's

three gorgeous corporation

pakistan wants to boost its renewable

energy production from five to thirty

percent in the next eight years

that requires a 32 billion dollar

investment but with the economy

struggling and negligible foreign

investment achieving the government's

2030 goal won't be easy

the current

magnitude and current quantum of the re

is only five percent so the government

has set up the target to take it to 30

in the uh year 2030.

overall

import as you know country in the

country is around 12 to 14 billion u.s

dollar depending depending upon the

priority and i would say around 50

percent goes to the to the power sector

and 50 to the transportation sector so

that is around that's a huge bill and

for coal it's around 2 billion us dollar

per year

that cost is set to rise not just

because of higher oil prices pakistan's

population is growing at two percent a

year and the demand for electricity is

expected to soar from forty thousand

megawatts to sixty thousand by twenty

thirty

but an estimated 144 million pakistanis

many in remote villages are not

connected to the national grid or don't

have a reliable supply

in southern pakistan a group of

environmentalists call the indus earth

trust invested about a hundred and fifty

thousand dollars to set up five mini

solar power plants they helped provide

off-the-grid electricity to more than

three thousand people

some villagers who left for cities have

returned and electricity seems to have

strengthened the community's spirit

and provided self-sustaining jobs

each house has an electricity meter and

the charges are deposited into a

community account for the village that

pays for my 30 a month salary and helps

in case we need maintenance

further south in the arabian sea wind

power is being harnessed for the last

three years this 50 megawatt wind farm

has tried to help the local wetland

ecosystem on pakistan's southernmost

tidal land

projects like this are meant to have a

dual impact not just produce clean

energy through the wind but also plant

mangroves to sequester carbon

but in the grand scheme of pakistan's

expanding power needs these projects are

tiny in addition to power generation the

government needs major investment to

upgrade and renovate its power grid so

electricity can reach consumers

the push to move away from expensive

hydrocarbons to eco-friendly sources

sounds good in theory but remains a long

way from reality osama bin laden