In case you haven’t noticed, there is a global crisis far greater than the financial challenge. Perhaps it isn’t felt as much in Pakistan or the emerging markets because we have been a part of the ‘power load shedding” phenomena for years but global warming impacts each one of us. And companies who are making a conscious effort to ‘go green’ and tweak technology that has smarter, more efficient electricity demands, are the ones who are getting the airplay.
In addition to how tech savvy companies are using power resources more responsibly, it is of critical importance to take a look at how efficient (or innefficient) the power grid is that actually supplies us with the juice. And that’s why we decided to take a trip out to the Landhi area in the heart of Karachi, to take a look at Sohail Ahmad’s wind turbine pilot project.
Alternate power generation is something that private enterprises have been looking at for years, but not until recently (when the devaluating rupee made prices skyrocket into a whole other dimension) did the AEDP actually take a more serious look into the matter.
Pakistan is so well placed on the world map that we have answers to most of our problems from within our own resources. All it needs is a little attention and hard work. Considering the worsening economical and environmental conditions, it is about time authorities look for alternate power generation methods. Such resources which will not even cost much and are environment friendly as well. In Pakistan, there are several alternate power generation methods. One of them is solar energy. Pakistan gets about 10 months of bright sunshine and sunlight is available at a rate of 1000 Watts per square meter in the country. This can be converted to DC electricity with the help of Solar Photovoltaic cells, which may be used directly during daytime. The electrical energy generated during the daytime can also be stored in deep cycle lead acid batteries, which can be used at night to provide power. But there is another power generation method that helps to encapsulate the strong breeze that runs its natural course through much of Karachi. And that’s how wind turbines entered Sohail’s business space.
“Wind turbines can generate 100% more power as compared to solar energy and costs three times less as far as its installation is concerned. The coastal belt of Pakistan has a wind corridor that spans 60 km wide (from Gharo to Kati Bandar) and is 180 km long going up to Hyderabad. This corridor has the potential of 50,000 mW of electricity generation through wind energy,” starts off Sohail. In fact, it is estimated that more than 5000 villages can be powered through wind energy in Sindh, Balochistan and the Northern areas.
Sohail is the CEO of SanFarina, a company he established to help turn renewable energy to generate an abundant power source. “We have a vision to make renewable energy as common and widely used so that the average man can reap its benefits.” He initiated this as a pilot project with a German wind turbine, which was officially inaugurated in January 2007, and can generate up to 150 KW of energy, if provided with the ideal conditions
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Since power in your country is relatively expensive then wind works for it, since you have windy corridors that other countries lack. But since most of your country is not electrified then wind use is still limited. And the lead acid batteries are relatively expensive. I bet Pakistan's power grid is largely subsidized.
So it works for your poor, agrarian part of the world for small projects that have a lifespan of about 20 years and a very modest consumer power consumption. And then there's the question of the life cycles of lead acid batteries. The deeper they are cycled, the shorter the lifespan.
In a socialized country like yours, where the standard of living is low and population sparse, then green, renewable energy makes sense. For the US, it has a long way to fall before the average world quality of life becomes acceptable. Hell, the US would have great difficulty adjusting to the average European lifestyle.
And where are these turbines developed and manufactured? Could it be from fossil fueled countries? Even Denmark with 20% alleged capacity can only utilize 7 to 8% of the generated wind with the bulk coming off of the rest of the European grid. And Denmark is only half the size of Connecticut, US. And the price will go up as coal and oil become scarce.
There is not yet an effective way to replace the energy density of fossil fuel except by nuclear. All you have to do is look at the chemistry of hydrogen in bio sources or current hydrogen production rates.
As I mentioned before, conventional sources are being technologically advanced by the year. It's just a matter of getting politicians and greedy investors to realize that. It's a matter of real bang per buck, and getting the government bureaucrats out of energy production mandates. So for large technological countries cleaner methods of coal and advance 4th to 5th generation nuclear reactors remain the mainstay, unless you can somehow conveniently and humanly reduce the world population to half.
And I see you got your article from mostly from here:
Blowin' in the Wind
Rabia Garib, The Industry Standard 12.05.2008
This post is wrong on so many different levels that I do not exactly know where to start. Part of me wants to deal with the factual errors and misstatements that you've made. And the rest of me is angry over your arrogance and embarassed that a fellow countryman would insult visitors to this site whose only sin is trying to reach and communicate with their colleagues in other countries to get some answers on how to live better and lighter on the land.
You are basically saying that Americans are too stupid and/or too lazy to find solutions or change their lifestyles in these trying times. I don't think that either is true. Further, I think that this last election showed that most Americans are tired of this type of negative and mean-spirited rhetoric. We want to move forward and build a new future, because the past is not working for most of us.
Bob Ferris
thank u mr bob ferris for sopporting.
as far as he concerned he dont have idea about tecnology advancement in pakistan, so let him go.
"Think 100 times before you take a decision, But once that decision is taken, stand by it as one man."
— Muhammad Ali Jinnah
He does not speak for all Americans but is part of a bitter minority who are mad at the world and cannot understand why they lost the last election so badly. The rest of us are hopeful about the future, glad that the new administration is helping improve foreign relations, and understand that survival/thriving in the future is going to take change, intelligence, and a willingness to rebuild communities and interdependence with neighbors.
Good luck with your studies and efforts in your country.
Bob Ferris