ISLAMABAD – The second wind energy pilot project has become operational in the federal capital after the installation of indigenously developed two kilowatt wind turbine at Daman-e-Koh on the Margalla hills. The wind energy vertical turbine designed by a local firm Associated Gas and Electric Company (AGECO) operates at the availability of wind in the range of 2.1 meters to seven meters per second against the maximum required range of 3.5 meters per second to generate 1.5 to two kw of energy in 24 hours.
The locally designed wind energy turbine will cost Rs 200,000 per kw as compared to the imported turbine costing Rs one million per kw. The wind turbine has a life of 20 years and is financially viable as it covers its cost in the first year of operation. The firm had earlier installed an experimental wind turbine on the Jinnah Avenue for generating energy by the flow of traffic and supplying it to the traffic signals on the main Blue Area, a commercial hub of the federal capital.
The firm plans to utilise wind energy for supplying electricity to street lights and traffic signals of the capital. The Ministry of Industries’ Engineering Development Board has taken up their case with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for meeting their demand of enough suitable sites as the firm plans to light up Islamabad-Lahore Motorway with the similar projects.
