When the country was going through a severe energy crisis last year, the president had called for stepping up the search for out-of-the-box, imaginative and bold solutions based on alternative energy to meet the country’s needs. One such solution that has emerged is a wind-powered turbine for road illumination. As reported in this paper, a locally designed pilot wind turbine has been installed on a streetlight in a major thoroughfare in Islamabad. The privately developed turbine harnesses energy from natural as well as traffic wind and stores it in a battery that can power the streetlight’s bulbs for 48 hours. The potential of this environmentally friendly innovation for saving expenditure on electricity generated from fossil fuels for urban public lighting — including highway illumination — is tremendous. This concept in amenity lighting can also provide illumination at locations that are remote from the electricity grid. It is a cost-effective outdoor lighting system that is simple to install almost anywhere without the need for digging, wiring or electricity. And the locally designed turbine costs much less than imported ones.
But all these advantages can only be reaped if there is official facilitation of the pilot turbine’s manufacture on a large scale and its widespread deployment by municipal authorities in their localities. In this respect, the interest and cooperation of agencies like the Capital Development Authority and the Engineering Development Board of the Ministry of Industries and Production in promoting the turbine is important. The widespread application of renewable energy — both wind and solar power — in government buildings and urban and highway lighting instead of using fossil fuels and gas will help the country save the latter two resources for more productive uses. Besides, foreign investors may be keen to cooperate in Pakistan’s renewable energy sector. There is, therefore, nothing to lose and much to gain from redoubling efforts to develop our renewable energy resources.
FATIMA MOTALA
Karachi
