ISLAMABAD, July 6: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Alternative Pakistan Energy Development Board (AEBD) and German Technical Assistance Agency (GTZ) here on Wednesday launched a Rs4.5 million project to promote adoption of renewable micro-hydro energy for the poor rural communities in Northern Areas, which are not connected through the national electricity grid. The project will be the part of overall rural development strategy for the Northern Areas, where poverty alleviation and protection of the scarce natural resources are among the overall goals of the project.

The project will work together with a task force established within the prime minister’s office, to ensure that the project will provide energy services as per the user energy needs, business opportunities in the Northern Areas and available resources.

Khalid Saeed, the secretary for the economic affairs division, said at the project’s launching ceremony that the programme would address the major barriers to the adoption of renewable energy sources with information and awareness, policy and planning, financing of micro hydro systems and technical support.

The project would increase the opportunity for income generating activities for the poor communities, he said. This would include cotton/wool processing, fruit product processing, marble and other stones, and irrigation for land, he said.

The project would be led by community needs, where the energy supply would be linked to the demand for economic activities at the communities level. The project would increase opportunities for communal integration, social cohesion and increase environmental awareness.

AEDB Chairman Air Marshall (retired) Shahid Hamid said the project would help the country achieve the target of 10 per cent renewable energy use in the country. In the Northern Areas, renewable energy could play an important role in meeting the energy service challenge, through decentralised option for local power generation, he said.

Among renewable energy supply options, micro hydro was considered as one of the most viable to provide energy to the remote villages and promote income generation-activities, particularly in the mountain area of Northern Pakistan, he said.