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“Jhakkar, Aandhi, Toufaan aur Hawa”: Some giant steps of the Alternate Energy Development Board of Paksitan:

Earth wind fire and water were considered the prime elements. Today all four create electricity. Geothermal power uses the energy from the earth’s core and is utilized extensively in many countries like Germany. Electricity from tidal power is used in France and Canada. Pakistan has typically banked on Hydroelctrical power and more recently by burning very expensive fuel. The first windmill was developed by the Arabs. Muslim windmill technology was used for industrial use in Holland. When one drives down from San Francisco one sees “forests of windmills” generating electricity. If the vision is correct Pakistan may see thousands of windmills in Baluchistan, Punjab and Sindh and Sarhad and Kashmir. Pakistan has great wind.

“The windmill was invented in 634 for a Persian caliph and was used to grind corn and draw up water for irrigation. In the vast deserts of Arabia, when the seasonal streams ran dry, the only source of power was the wind which blew steadily from one direction for months. Mills had six or 12 sails covered in fabric or palm leaves. It was 500 years before the first windmill was seen in Europe.”

Maybe this was the reason that Don Quixote was chasing Windmills thinking it was a Turkish army!

Good news and bad news from Pakistan is not exclusive of each other. When bad things happen in Pakistan, people forget that there are always good things that are happening. Of the best things that has happened over the past decade is the self-confidence of Paksitanis who do not bank on the government for doleouts. Private companies and individuals read and research and build alliances. Karachi has many development plans that were funded directly by foreign and domestic donors. The Emar project is a shining example of this.

Pakistan and Pakistanis are working on the latest technolgies to bring electricity to the nook and corner of the country.

What is a wind farm?

• Large modern wind turbines have glass-fibre rotor blades up to 65 meters diameter.
• The grey tubular steel towers are 25 to 80 meters high.
• Most wind turbines have three blades which face into the wind; the wind turns the blades round, this spins the shaft, which connects to a generator where the electricity is made.
• Wind turbines operate in wind speeds of 4 to 5 metres per second (around 10 miles an hour). Maximum power output is at 15 meters/second (around 33 miles per hour).In gale force winds, (25 metres/second, 50+ miles/hour) wind turbines shut down.
• A wind turbine lasts around 20-25 years.
• A typical wind farm with 20 turbines takes up 1 square kilometre, using 1% of the land. The remaining land can be used for other purposes, e.g farming or as natural habitat.
• One 1.8 MW wind turbine produces enough electricity to meet the needs of approximately 1,000 households each year.
• Wind energy is one of the cheapest of the renewable energy technologies. A new onshore wind farm in a good location costs 3-4 pence per unit, [new coal (2.5-4.5p) new nuclear (4-7p)]. Electricity from smaller wind farms are more expensive.

The Pakistani economy is booming despite the negative press the country recieves.

Read this http://tinyurl.com/2ftzt6 

Here is an example of the forward thinking of the Paksitanis. Wind farms will solve many of the problems associated with “growing pains” of a soaring economy 

Wind energy project: AEDB contacts Denmark lab for data validation

ISLAMABAD: The Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) has contacted Rise National Laboratory of Denmark for data validation to identify wind energy generation potential in coastal areas of Pakistan, sources told Daily Times on Sunday.

Pakistan Meteorological Department has conducted a detailed wind power potential survey of the coastal areas of Pakistan to identify potential areas where economically feasible wind farms could be established. The National Laboratory of Denmark will validate the data confirming the opportunities of power generation through wind.

Dr Irfan Younis, Institute of Information Technology director at Arid University, told Daily Times that the country had potential of generating 50,000 MW power through wind on 1046 km long highway in Balochistan and wind was the best alternative source of generating energy when the country was facing a power deficit.

Dr Younis, who is also a research fellow in energy sector, said Pakistan would be facing acute shortage of gas by 2011. “At present the wind energy is being used for the electrification of remote villages in the southern coastal areas of Pakistan. So far more than 18 villages have been electrified using micro wind turbines. The gross wind power potential in Sindh is 43000 MW. However, the exploitable electric power generation potential of this area is estimated to be about 11000 MW,” he added.

The AEDB has issued Letter of Intents to 93 companies to generate 4650-megawatt wind power. Large wind turbines for power generation have not been installed in Pakistan so far, however, about 30 windmills for pumping water have been installed on experimental purposes in different parts of Sindh and Balochistan.

Details about the Stealth Asian Tiger-Pakistan:  http://tinyurl.com/2ftzt6