THATTA: US Consul General Grace Shelton has said the United States continues to strongly support Pakistan’s efforts to expand clean energy to foster economic development.

She said during a visit to the Sindh Wind Corridor (SWC) in Jhampir, Sapphire Wind Power Project, USAID-funded grid station and Kheenjar Lake on Thursday that the SWC showed the vital role the renewable ene­rgy could play in helping Paki­stan overcome its energy crisis.

At the Sapphire Wind Power Project, she learned from project site manager Danish Hanif how the Over­seas Private Inve­stment Cor­p­o­ration (OPIC) had funded and contributed to 50 megawatts of renewable energy to Pakistan’s national grid.

The National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) grid station is also the site of major US government support — USAID support of $43 million would facilitate the creation of a 680 megawatt link, said a handout.

During her visit to Khe­enjhar Lake, Pakistan’s second largest freshwater lake, Ms Shelton appreciated the World Wildlife Foundation’s (WWF) for the work they had done for wildlife conservation and sustainable economic development.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2016