RAWALPINDI, Aug 7: Pakistan having a low per-capita consumption of energy is estimated to be losing over 2 megawatt-hour and 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, which is at the highest end of global insolation averages.

The use of new renewable source of energy in Pakistan remains insignificant, despite the fact that per capita energy use has been increasing at almost 5 per cent per annum in recent years, while the share of oil and natural gas in total energy supplies remains at 30 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively, even as oil import prices hit record highs and indigenous gas production levels off, says an official policy document for development of renewable source of energy in Pakistan.

Most regions of Pakistan receive abundant solar irradiation. However, a greater use of renewable energy can elevate the per capita consumption if this indigenous resource, which has considerable potential, is tapped. So far, there had been no distinct national policy or incentives package formulated specifically for renewable energy development in the country, according to the report obtained by ‘Dawn’.

The document says commercially exploitable wind resources also exist in many parts, especially in southern Sindh and coastal Balochistan. Detailed wind mapping could also reveal suitable sites in the interior parts of the country and in the mountainous regions. To date, limited-scale wind data collection has been undertaken in the southern regions of the country. However, no commercial wind farms currently exist in Pakistan, and only a few micro turbines have been set up at the community level for demonstration purposes.

The policy document says Pakistan’s large agricultural sector produces copious amounts of biomass in the form of crop and livestock wastes and residues “such as bagasse, rice husk, and dung” much of which is currently collected and used outside the commercial economy as unprocessed fuel for cooking and household heating.

Pakistan’s geothermal potential remains unexplored, although promising sites exist. Wave and tidal power, although still in the technology development phase, could also eventually find applications along the country’s 1,046 km-long coastline, says the document.

There is great potential for the large-scale development of renewable energy, although a systematic assessment of economically viable resources has yet to be undertaken for specific technology applications. By some estimates, only 16 per cent of 40,000 mw of hydro-power potential has been harnessed so far, inclusive of large hydro. The current small hydro capacity consists of high-head plants set up in the northern regions, which collectively amount to only about 64 mw.

Recently, the government has placed increased emphasis on the development of the country’s renewable energy resources, initially setting an indicative target of achieving 10 per cent of installed generation capacity through renewable source of energy by 2010 (exclusive of large hydro). However, even this non- binding target has been revised downwards repeatedly: to 5 per cent in February 2005, and 1.1 per cent currently. This is symptomatic of both a lack of proper economic and technical appraisal of beneficial renewable source of energy applications in the local context, as well as an inability to sufficiently mobilise the necessary policy, legislative, institutional, and financial support for achieving realisable goals.

The government established the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) in 2003 to promote the use of renewable energy and help realize the achievement of national targets. The Ministry of Environment also stakes a claim to renewable energy projects due to their climate change implications, as well as being the sole national GEF focal point. The Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET) was set up mainly to engage in appropriate research and development and technology assimilation, but has so far been occupied with marginal demonstration programmes.

There is also an apparent overlap of the AEDB’s functions with the provincial governments’ entitlement to develop power projects of up to 50 mw capacity on their own. The situation becomes more complex if this is to be executed through a distinct corporate entity or if the project is to be connected to the national grid, as this would elicit Nepra’s regulatory role and presents certain legal anomalies that have yet to be tested and resolved in the context of renewable energy power projects, the document says.