Pakistani govt inks deals for 560 MW of fresh wind

Pakistan’s Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) on Friday signed contracts with the developers of projects that will see the country expand its wind power capacity by 560 MW.

The government agency, which is tasked with promoting renewables installation in Pakistan, has inked implementation and guarantee direct agreements with independent power producers (IPPs) regarding 11 projects. The move is in line with the country’s 30% national renewables goal by 2030 and efforts to cut dependence on fossil fuel imports. The new capacity is expected to lead to the production of over 1.8 billion kWh of clean power per year, AEDB said.

Six of the schemes will be supported by the International Finance Corp (IFC), which on Friday signed agreements to finance the so-called Super Six project portfolio with USD 450 million (EUR 406.9m) in debt. Those power plants, with a combined capacity of 310 MW, will be installed in the Jhimpir wind corridor in Sindh province and will be able to generate enough electricity to cover the annual needs of 450,000 homes while offsetting around 650,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually, IFC said in a separate statement. It will provide some USD 86 million in funds from its own account and USD 234 million mobilised from other lenders.

The 11 projects are expected to become operational by 2021.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.904)

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