HISTORY OF WIND POWER IN PAKISTAN

Until now not a single wind energy conversion system with a generating capacity above 500W had been installed in Pakistan. There are only small numbers of micro-plants (300 to 500W) for generating electricity, and roughly 30 wind power installations are in use for pumping water in the coastal regions of the Baluchistan and the Sindh provinces. The first official initiative to stimulate the use of wind power in Pakistan was launched in November, 2002. With the financial support of UNDP and GEF, the Pakistani environment Ministry initiated a project entitled "Commercialization of Wind Power Potential in Pakistan". That project included a study aiming to identify the existing impediments the use of renewable energy sources in Pakistan, probing suggestions on how to overcome them, and conducting the requisite planning for initial demonstration projects.

WIND CORRIDOR

Pakistan is lucky in that it has enormous wind potential. A wind corridor that runs along the Sindh coast through Keti Bandar and to the Indian state of Gujarat is highly suitable for the installation of wind farms. The speed of wind in this corridor is double the speed required to run a wind turbine. Gujarat, which lies at the end of this corridor, already has a number of wind power projects running successfully. It's estimated that this coastline corridor, which is 60km wide and 180 km long, is capable of generating 50,000 megawatts of electricity. Given the success of projects in Gujarat, one can expect that projects in Pakistan, which come before Gujarat in this corridor, will be even more successful. The Government of Pakistan, through AEDB and the MET Office, has collected data in the region through more than 40 wind measuring stations and identified the Gharo-Keti Bandar-Hyderabad region as prime location for the installation for wind power farms in Pakistan. The following maps and illustrations indicate the location of this corridor: