KARACHI – Germany’s renewable energy technology sector is a success story and the country has the world’s largest wind power sector and one of the largest solar power markets. Germany is planning to boost this share to at least 30 percent by 2020.
This was stated by the German Consul General Dr Christian Brecht in his speech at the international conference on Alternative Energy and Power held at Karachi Expo Centre. He said the topic of alternative energy has emerged as a very important issue worldwide. This is mainly due to rising energy prices and the growing question mark over the nuclear option in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan after it was hit by the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster.
He added it was high time the world looks at the challenges posed by climate change which affects the world and will also eventually influence the weather patterns in Pakistan, including a possible melting of the glaciers in the north of the country which provide most of the water supply to the whole subcontinent.
In a country like Pakistan with its growing population and need for developing agriculture and industry, the demand for more energy is readily apparent. He opined that Pakistan cannot rely only on oil and gas or on projects like the Thar coal project which has been in the pipeline for years but has not produced a single kilowatt of energy. Therefore he stressed that alternative energy will play a significant role in the future energy mix of Pakistan.
There is an enormous range of possibilities regarding the usage of alternative energy according to the different needs and different circumstances. These include wind power, onshore wind, offshore wind, solar power, photovoltaic solutions, water for rural areas through photovoltaic, solar energy, biogas, hydroelectric power and the tapping of geothermal energy.
At this juncture, the German Consul General urged the participants and stakeholders of some other key words, namely energy efficiency and energy conservation which are very important elements to save energy and reduce energy consumption bills. Pakistan and Germany, like many other countries all over the world, are increasingly dependants on energy imports, especially on fossil fuel. Due to this dependence, Germany and other countries are facing quite often economical and political crises, even wars.
And the whole world has to address climate change concerns. He pointed out that Germany has the world’s largest wind power sector with more than 20,600 MW of installed energy, and one of the world’s largest solar power markets with 750 MW peak capacity. Renewable energy provides some 16 percent of the power consumption in Germany, and Germany is planning to increase this share to at least 30 percent by the year 2020.
He highlighted Pakistan’s suitability for alternative energy by underlining that it is blessed with sunshine the whole year round, which is not the case in Germany. In Sindh, the Garo Keti wind corridor is particularly attractive in a region where across the border in India, wind turbines are producing electricity for some time. High mountain ranges in northern Pakistan have enormous potential for hydroelectric power.
Therefore, Pakistan has huge potential not only for alternative energy, but also for energy conservation and better energy efficiency. The German Consul General hoped that the conference would give fresh impetus to the issue in Pakistan, helping in the long run to alleviate the energy shortcomings and overcome the crippling power shortage faced by the business community in the country and Karachi.
He said the German government supported the transfer of German alternative energy expertise and further cooperation in the field. Experts from the German International Development Office in Islamabad are, for a long time, cooperating and advising the Alternative Energy Development Board and were also participating in this conference.
Germany promises to help with alternative energy projects
