August 12, 2007	Sunday	Rajab 27, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 11: The Pakistan Meteorological Department has installed 43 wind sensors along coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan and 41 others in the Northern Areas to collect data in order to set up wind power plants at suitable points for harvesting wind energy, official sources disclosed here on Saturday.

A corridor between Gharo and Keti Bandar, one of the sites where the wind data have been studied by the meteorological department, has been found feasible for setting up wind farms.

According to measurements at Gharo, carried out over 24 months, the annual mean wind speed is estimated to be 6.86m/s at 50m above ground level.

The annual power density of the area is 408.6W/square metre, which brings the site into category III of power potential, making it suitable for large economically viable wind farm, says the feasibility study.

The sources said the capacity of each turbine would be 50 megawatts but the power generation would be around 35 per cent of the installed capacity based on the wind record. They said the wind farms would be operational by the end of 2008.

Under the Renewable Energy Policy announced by the government in December, 700MW of wind energy would be harnessed by 2010 under the short-term plan. Under the policy, wind energy would have a five per cent share of the total hydroelectric and thermal energy resources of the country.

In view of the wind data, the gross annual energy production by an 18MW wind farm consisting of 30,600kW turbines will be 45 million kWh. The net annual production is estimated at 31 million kWh.

According to the findings of the ‘Wind power potential survey of coastal areas of Pakistan,’ funded by the ministry of science and technology, Sindh’s coastal areas were found to have greater wind power potential than those of Balochistan. Potential areas cover 9,700 square kilometres in Sindh.

The gross wind power potential of the area has been calculated to be 43,000MW. Keeping in view the area utilisation constraints, the exploitable electric power generation potential is about 11,000MW.

At present, oil accounts for approximately 45 per cent of total commercial energy supply, the share of natural gas is 34 per cent, while that of hydel power remains roughly at 15 per cent, says the study.

Wind power provides an opportunity to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuel and expand the power supply capacity to remote locations where grid expansion is not practical, it says.

A typical wind farm of 30 turbines might extend over an area of one square kilometre but only one per cent of the land would be taken in use, the remainder can be used for purposes such as farming, it says.

Wind energy is an ideal renewable energy because it is pollution-free, infinitely sustainable, doesn’t require any fuel, doesn’t create greenhouse gasses and doesn’t produce toxic or radioactive waste, the study says.—APP