The Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has approved $ 95 million in financing for a wind power project poised to deliver much-needed electricity to Pakistan. The credit facility will help build a 50-megawatt wind power plant in southeastern Pakistan’s Ghoro-Keti Bandar Wind Corridor designed to generate 133 gigawatt hours of emission-free electricity annually.
Using General Electric Wind turbines, the Sapphire Wind Power plant supports a mutual U.S.-Pakistan goal to diversify Pakistan’s power generation beyond reliance on high-priced fuel oil by tapping Pakistan’s vast renewable energy potential, said OPIC, which is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution.
“The provision of clean and reliable electricity is an essential building block of any economy,” said OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth L. Littlefield.
A recent study funded by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the U.S. Agency for International Development estimates that Pakistan possesses 132,000 MW of potential installed wind capacity – virtually equal to the world’s entire installed wind capacity for 2010.
