KARACHI: The US Consul General in Karachi JoAnne Wagner on Monday visited the wind corridor in Jhimpir to review US government’s investments in the area.
She visited the Jhimpir-1 grid station financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Hawa Wind Power Project financed in partnership with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
The United States and Pakistan have a long history of cooperation in the energy sector and are working together to help attract private sector investment in clean energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro.
Consul General Wagner was pleased to note the progress made at the sites and commended the results of the public-private (PP) partnership which had transformed the area.
The United States Government has supported the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) for a transmission system that connects 780 megawatts (MW) of wind energy to the national grid, which is said to be enough to power over 150,000 homes.
Recognising the potential for private sector investment in the area, OPIC, the investment arm of the US government, has invested in five wind power projects in the Gharo-Jhimpir corridor.
Compared to conventional sources of energy, wind is a clean and economically competitive alternative.
Sindh and parts of Balochistan hold tremendous potential for wind power, an estimated at 50,000 MWs, approximately twice the country’s current generation.
To harness the full potential of the wind corridor, Pakistan requires additional transmission lines to connect wind power plants to consumers.
This $43 million investment from USAID has already leveraged approximately $1.56 billion in private sector investment into wind projects.
