A perfect storm of inflation, supply chain disruption, spiralling interest rates and delays in connection to the UK’s national grid means that the swathe of solar farms approved and going through planning permission in the UK are likely to be severely delayed or cancelled undermining any hopes of achieving a government target of a fivefold increase to 70GW by 2035.

A new study by Huw Evans, an Energy Consultant and former Head of Global Economics for BG Group suggests that under the current macro-Economic conditions and impasse at obtaining connection to the National Grid, any chance of these solar farms being viable in the near future is negligible.

The UK government has gambled heavily on promoting solar energy to achieve its stated goal to be carbon neutral by 2035, he says.

In his report, Evans goes on to say that despite greatly increased prices offered by the Government in their Contract for Difference (CfD) allocation round, to encourage Renewable Energy, where prices have been increased by 30% for Solar Energy, solar developers will still struggle to make any return on their investment.

That is before you take into any account delays in connecting to the national grid. “The UK Government has vastly underestimated the increasing costs to develop solar farms, where their assumptions suggest the UK can develop Solar Energy cheaper than anywhere else in the world; based on published data, which is clearly unrealistic!” he says.

The UK not ideal for solar power

Within the report, Evans points to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) data that shows that given the UK’s climate, solar energy is within the worst 5% areas in the world to develop solar electricity, as only 10%-11% of the capacity of Solar Farms will ever be generated annually compared to double that in places such as Spain, Australia and parts of the US.

For Grid connection, as of November 2023, there are 1,300 projects that are awaiting connection to the grid which amounts to 400 Giga Watts (GW) of Grid access requirements. Companies applying for Grid access have been told they have to wait 15 years before any electricity they produce can be sold.

New rules issued by The National Grid to alleviate the backlog of connections which effectively are “get on, get back or get out of the energy queue” are in danger of creating thousands of acres of White Elephants, as grid connections continue to be delayed with diggers tearing up the landscape and then being suspended as projects are put on hold pending a grid connection date.

Evans points out that this as already happened in Torquay Devon where diggers have already cleared the site only to be told that Grid connection will be at least 5 years and there are indications that that could slip into the mid 2030s.

He further notes that Centrica have said that approximately 80% of the 300 substations across England and Wales need upgrading and “supergrid transformers are huge bits of kit that weigh several hundred tonnes, and it takes years to install them.

“We’re talking five to eight years for each one of these.”

For projects to progress they will probably need an allocation of a Contract for Difference (CfD) in the auction rounds, which come with a deadline of when the project needs to come on stream, a date from The National Grid to be connected which may or may not be in line with the deadline set by the CfD and provide the investor and financiers with a viable return on their investment which in the current climate is very doubtful.

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The World Wildlife Fund and the Cleantech Group recently published a report saying that Israel is the second best place in the world to develop green technologies, second only to Denmark. Israel has long been a major exporter of such innovations, a leading developer of water-saving technology, such as its agricultural inventions, and solar power. Now Israel is starting to bolster its own energy infrastructure, utilizing that world renowned expertise at home.

The recently unveiled Heliofocus Dish pictured above is a prime example. A secondary large scale solar project, Project Halutziot (“Pioneering”), will soon construct a 55 Mega Watt power plant as part of a joint venture with the settlement Bnei Nezarim, established by families evacuated from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

Prime Minister Netanyahu declared this project in the western Negev is “a project of national importance” and promoted it within the National Infrastructure Committee. In March 2012 alone Israel’s Public Utility Authority issued licenses for nine large solar fields.

Among those projects is a 150-acre site at Ketura that will eventually meet a third of the peak daytime electricity used in Eilat. According to Yosef Abramowitz, co-founder of Arava Power, a solar power company at the Ketura kibbutz in southern Israel, conditions in the nation’s expansive Negev desert are perfect for harvesting solar energy. Ketura, for example, gets up to 14 hours of sunlight in the summer and on average has only 15 cloudy days a year.

Gershon Baskin, of Israel’s Green Movement Political Party, recently recommended that the Jewish nation turn to its bounty of solar energy to compensate for deteriorating gas supplies from neighboring Egypt. But there’s been no word from Prime Minister Netanyahu so far about wide scale government subsides for renewable energy being on the horizon.

::Haaretz

Image via David Shankbone

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Cash from Canada will be funding clean technology companies in Israel. A new Canadian fund called Greensoil looks to build Israeli agritech companies with the launch of a $12 million CAN fund. Greensoil investors say they will invest in Israeli companies whose technology innovations help the world feed its population with less water and less arable land. It will uniquely focus on food and agricultural innovation from Israel. The company will invest in agro and food technologies with existing or near-term revenues and plans for international expansion. There are no specific announcements on who the fund will be investing in, but a PR rep told me announcements will come soon.

The focus will be Israeli clean tech, innovation that can help feed our growing world of 7 billion. A focus on Israel is not unusual and it has an enormous clean tech cluster in agritech companies, companies that can save water, enhance output, and use less pesticides or no pesticides during crop cultivation.

Greensoil says it will focus on companies whose technology can help produce unique foodstuffs, additives, seeds, irrigation and agricultural management systems. Investing in new crops, methods and better yields will lower the inputs required for food production, such as reducing fertilizer and water use, they hope.

Investments by the fund will be in early growth stage, Israel-based, companies with revenues or close to first revenues. The fund is organized as a pledge fund, consisting of a number of partnerships, each investing in a limited number of companies.

Greensoil’s co-founders are Alan Greenberg, the fund’s chairman, a successful and well respected Toronto-based real estate developer and managing partner Gideon Soesman, formerly a senior executive at Royal Philips Electronics and a seasoned investor at Philips Corporate Venturing and Philips M&A.

More crop per drop

Asked why Greensoil has chosen to establish its fund, Greenberg said “We are focused on an area where the global problems are pressing – less arable land per capita, less water, more mouths to feed – and where the need for disruptive innovation is great.”

Why Israel? “Israel is unique as a hotbed of food and agro innovation –drip irrigation and many hardy plant varieties were developed here – and these let us grow more food on less land with less water.”

The fund’s investors are made up primarily of Canadian individuals that see the potential of Israeli food and agro innovation. GreenSoil has completed its first closing and expects the final closing of the first partnership of the fund within 6 months.

::Greensoil
Image via mona_q

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BrightSource Energy announced this week that they could chop down the size of their giant 750 MW project in California by 200 MW and yet still make the same 4,000 gigawatt-hours a year of power they are contractually required to produce for California, by adding their proprietary SolarPlus night time storage.

The seven-plant power tower project is under a power purchase contract with Southern California Edison which supplies electricity to customers in Southern California. But BrightSource spokesman Keely Wachs told Todd Woody on Monday that by adding storage for use for several hours at a time that only six of the seven planned solar “power tower” stations will need to be built, saving some 1,280 acres of desert land.

Since land-use has become a contentious issue with some California conservationists, this should be a win-win.

(Earlier: Now 39 Tortoises Halt Phase 2 and 3 of the BrightSource Ivanpah Project)

If approved by state regulators, the amended contracts with Southern California Edison will also result in lower costs for utility customers.

The change trades on the competitive advantage of solar thermal, that it can include night time storage, which solar PV cannot.

Unlike traditional solar PV, which makes electricity directly, the various kinds of solar thermal all create heat by reflecting sunlight using mirrors, making steam to drive turbines which then generate power, just like any other thermal power such as gas, coal or nuclear. There are many designs, and improvements are constantly being made as the technology moves to utility-scale.

Even just a year or so ago, when PV was expensive, and most of these solar contracts were signed, solar thermal, using mirrors, was the cheaper option.

Making polysilicon for PV out of sand sounds cheap and easy, but it is an extremely finicky process, and so making PV was intitially an expensive, almost artisanal procedure. But, as more factories have been automated for its mass production in China, solar PV prices have now bottomed out.

(Related: Which Solar Technologies Will Have the Most Investment Appeal?)

But on the other hand, solar thermal electricity can store part of the heat it makes, for use later,because it creates heat to make power. Heat can be very efficiently stored in salt solutions (keeping almost 100% of the heat) and tapped later on demand.

For Southern California Edison, BrightSource now suggests it add a newly developed proprietary technology that can store solar heat so it can be released to create steam after dark or when electricity demand spikes, making it a more reliable electricity source than PV.

If the California regulators agree to the updated project including salt storage, this could develop into the standard for solar thermal, and solve a problem of solar intermittency. This breakthrough would be yet another way that the originally Israeli company is creating a first for world solar. BrightSource’ parent company, Luz, proved the efficacy of solar themal  in the California desert for several decades – as the world’s only solar project.

Earlier stories:

Israel’s Luz Rises Again as BrightSource for California
BrightSource Energy One Step Closer to World’s Largest Solar Plant
California Desert Tortoises Will Be Relocated To Make Room For Solar

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With the launch of the first nationwide electric car networks rolling out in Israel and with Denmark just months away, the electric car company Better Place today reports that it has secured another $200 million in financing, on top of the $55o million already invested in it. The company which is developing infrastructure for electric cars and thus speeding up the process of getting a quick “charge” needed for electric cars, says it will use the money to expand its business in Western Europe. It will also build on projects in Northern California, Southern China, Japan, Ontario, Canada, and Hawaii.

According to a recent press announcement the company will go fully commercial in both Israel and Denmark early in 2012, although a pilot run of the Better Place charge stations around Israel is supposed to be in effect. By the second quarter of 2012, Better Place expects to go commercial in Canberra, Australia.

“We’ve worked hard over the past four years to engineer and build a technology solution that competes with oil-based transportation,” said Shai Agassi, the founder and CEO.

Investors in the Series C round include General Electric, and UBS AG, among others, with existing shareholders including Israel Corp., HSBC Group, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, VantagePoint Capital Partners, Ofer Group and Maniv Energy Capital.

We get a lot of announcements and updates from the company. Here’s what’s happening on the ground:

In Israel, Better Place has seen a demand from both fleets and consumers, as over 400 corporations, representing a potential of 80,000 employee cars, have signed letters of intent to begin switching their fleets to Better Place as the cars and the service become available.

In Denmark almost 7,000 people have come to the Better Place Center in Copenhagen, opened earlier this year, with 90 percent expressing an interest in buying an electric car in the future. The company has received over 1,000 pre orders from both private and business customers. Better Place also has been successful in reaching agreements with 50 of the country’s 98 municipalities, covering 69 percent of the population, related to infrastructure deployment and fleet transitions.

In Australia, the company’s first large country deployment, Better Place has announced a series of agreements with multi-national companies, including Renault and GE, and leading local companies including ActewAGL, Lend Lease, and the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), for the introduction of electric cars and the rapid deployment of an electric car network.

By the end of 2013, Better Place expects to have the largest electric car network in the world in Australia, rivaling other competitive efforts underway in the US and China.

Would I drive a Better Place car? With the roads getting tighter, and air pollution getting worse everywhere, I think that this might be one of the only fully electric car solutions that could work –– at least for the people who are commuting to work and who need to know they can get a quick charge while out on the road. People like myself who drive short distances only would be fine buying an all electric car that can be charged at home.

::Better Place

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The UK is making a bid to leverage investment in Israeli tech start-ups. Ambassador Matthew Gould has launched a Tech Hub in Tel Aviv. This endeavor will foster the growth of Israeli companies in their nascence and connect them to markets in London.

Israel has made a name for itself in recent years for its innovation in emerging fields such as biotech, telecommunications and cleantech. In the book “Start-up Nation,” Dan Senor and Saul Singer discuss how “Israel has beaten the odds to become a major player in the global business world, especially in the technology sector.” They explain that the country has achieved this “economic miracle” notwithstanding its decades-long regional conflict and lack of natural resources. And entrepreneurs there are just getting started.

Many of Israel’s innovations have benefited the environment while building profit, which is of great interest to investors and supporters of green technology.

For example, Israel pioneered a type of drip irrigation technology that is widely used throughout the world. This system dramatically reduces the water needed for crops by slowly releasing “drips” in amounts plants can accumulate.

Another important recent development is Orion Solar’s (now known as 3GSolar) nanotechnology solar panels. Unlike current solar panels, 3GSolar’s version uses nano-sized cells, coated with an organic dye engineered to react when hit by sunlight. The process could generate energy more efficiently and cost-effectively than conventional systems.

The cleantech companies I met:

Several start-ups were in attendance recently during a cocktail reception at the Ambassador’s home. TaKaDu, in the water sector, provides a Software-as-a-Service solution for monitoring water distribution networks. This unique approach, which gives water utilities real-time control over network events, could help locate leaks, bursts, zone breaches and other network inefficiencies.

InnoSave uses an energy saving drive that saves energy in industrial motors. Companies that use large motors for concrete mixers, elevators, fans and other machines can install the device and realize up to 50% reductions in energy use, according to Innosave. This technology has the potential to both reduce emissions and increase profits, making it particularly attractive.

So what accounts for this extraordinary innovation in such a tiny, embattled country? First, Israel has the highest number of engineers in the world as a percentage of its workforce. And Israeli scientists publish more articles per capita than any other country. Many engineers learned their trade in Israel’s highly sophisticated military.

The government makes its own efforts to assist the extraordinary start-up growth. Several agencies, including the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor and the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute, offer grants, loans and tax benefits. The government has enthusiastically supported and funded “Start-up Incubators,” making technological innovation a reality for many fledgling companies.

Israeli companies benefit from the country’s economic ties with the world’s biggest economic powers and trading blocs. And investors are never in short supply. Over 150 venture capital firms operate in Israel. In 2005 alone those firms invested $1.2 billion in Israeli start-ups.

These factors have led to the current tech boom in this seemingly underdog country. And the UK has been paying attention. Most Israeli start-ups have understandably flocked to Silicon Valley. That region may have the highest concentration of capital and technological expertise in the world.

But the British government would like to level the playing field. In a recent interview, David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, sang his country’s praises. He cited Britain’s network of venture capital firms, concentration of outstanding universities, and top-notch financial and legal services. Willetts downplayed the prospect of Israeli economic boycotts in his country, saying simply that Israeli companies are “warmly welcome” in the UK.

The world has quickly realized that green technologies are good for the environment and good for business. It seems that with Western countries competing to invest in Israeli tech startups, their growth isn’t likely to slow anytime soon.

The post Green Prophet at UK-Israel High Tech Hub Launch appeared first on Green Prophet.

Even as Israel’s cabinet approved a national action plan for the promotion of clean technology growth, Israel’s government is also considering slashing incentives for mid-sized solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants due to fiscal constraints.

The inconsistent policies represent what has been a choppy and uncertain legislative environment for Israeli cleantech companies. With various solar incentives due to expire at the end of 2011, Israeli solar PV companies–which have been profiting since 2008 from the global drop in solar panel prices–are starting to get nervous.

“People will avoid private power production in Israel if the rates the entire industry relied on are changed,” said Association of Renewable Energy of Israel CEO Eitan Parnass.

But Israeli national electricity prices have been on the rise in recent months, a factor that could push some homeowners and develops to invest in solar without government support. On October 25, Israel’s Public Utility Authority – Electricity approved a 4.72% increase in electricity prices citing the rising price of coal (6.5% increase) as well as rising prices of other electric generating commodities. Indeed, some Israeli solar companies, including SolarEdge Technologies and Arava Power have been successfully raising venture capital and increasing sales in Israel and abroad.

The cabinet’s approval of the proposal to create a transparent national action plan for cleantech growth may be a sign however that Israel’s government is ready to clarify incentives and create a more stable legislative environment for the industry. It may also be a concession to international pressures. Israel is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which in June 2009 outlined a Declaration on Green Growth that requires member countries to transition to low-carbon economies.

“We are resolved to make further efforts  to use efficient and effective climate policy mixes, including through market-based instruments, regulations and other policies, to change behaviour and foster appropriate private sector responses. We will consider expanding incentives for green investment, in particular in areas where pricing carbon is unlikely to be enough to foster such private sector  responses,” the 2009 OECD declaration says.

Proposed the Environmental Protection and Industry, Trade and Labor ministers, the legislation will create a government task force that over the next six months will study Israel’s various economic, national security and environmental issues at hand and will submit a detailed action report in May 2012.

“What interests us is the quality of life of the country’s citizens, and economic growth that destroys and depletes natural resources does not improve quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to advance green growth, taking into consideration public health and the environment,” said Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan in a statement. “Everyone will benefit from this green growth: the market and the environment.”

Image via travelpod

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In an ambitious effort to screen the best of the best sustainability projects that can radically change our world, quickly, our friends at Katerva have announced its competing finalists, a list of 8. “We are pleased to confirm the Katerva Award Category Winners have been identified following rigorous review by our expert panelists,” announces the organization set up to radically change the deteriorating course of planet earth: ” These winners were chosen from a field of very strong candidates after undergoing a year-long nomination and review process involving roughly 500 experts, researchers, business and thought leaders across 50 countries.

A number of the 8 have been featured on Green Prophet as vehicles for change in the Middle East. Who are Katerva’s Top 8? Read on.

Behavioural Change:
350.org (read our interview with founder Bill McKibben) is creating a global movement to stop the climate crisis through online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions that are led from the bottom up by thousands of volunteer organizers in over 188 countries.

Food Security:
The China Study is the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted. This exhaustive presentation of the findings from the China Study conclusively demonstrates the link between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Economy:
Worldofgood.com: EBay’s WorldofGood.com is the world’s largest multi-seller marketplace for socially and environmentally responsible shopping, which features thousands of products from around the world and combines trust and transparency with the online shopping experience.

Materials and Resources:
Sanergy, which was founded by MIT alumni, provides low-cost, sustainable, franchised sanitation centers throughout Kenya to address one of the biggest problems in developing economies today—poor and inefficient access to clean and safe sanitation.

Human Development:
The Solarclave is a low-cost, solar-powered device used to safely and reliably sterilize surgical instruments in developing country clinics that lack the necessary infrastructure and tools to perform much-needed surgical procedures.

Energy and Power:
Barefoot Power: More than $10 billion is spent each year on kerosene for lighting the homes of the poor in developing countries. Barefoot Power helps poor families stop spending their scarce cash by providing a safer and cheaper option. Read our interview with a woman in Jordan who has brought solar power to her village.

Transportation:
Nissan Leaf: The Nissan LEAF is zero-emission, all-electric vehicle with an ambitious mission. The LEAF acronym promises a vehicle that is a leading, environmentally-friendly, affordable, family car. Read about the Nissan Leaf in the Middle East.

Urban Design:
Freshkills Park: A former marshland and landfill, New York City’s Freshkills Park (FKP) is being transformed into a productive and beautiful landscape, exemplifying the ability to restore our natural environment. Read our coverage on Freshkills. The story links to an interview with the design duo based in the United Arab Emirates.

The grand prize winner of the Katerva Awards will be announced at a press event in the Lincoln Center of New York City on December 7, 2011.

::Katerva

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Asian Development Bank has provided a loan of $36.8 million to Pakistan’s first privately owned wind farm by the Turkish company, Zorlu Enerji Electrik Uretim, that is utilising it to raise the power output from the current 6 megawatts (MW) to 56.4 megawatts.

A statement issued by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) said the total cost of the project is $159 million, out of which 30% is being financed through equity provided by Zorlu Enerji and the rest through loans from Asian Development Bank (ADB), and ECO Trade and Development Bank, as well as a Pak Rupee loan from Habib Bank.

The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, is also investing $38.1 million in Zorlu Enerji Pakistan Limited to support the construction of the only wind power project in the Sindh Province.

South-Asia’s first wind turbine
The 56.4 megawatt Zorlu Pakistan wind project is the first internationally financed wind-power development in Pakistan, which will increase the country’s much needed capacity to provide renewable-energy. When constructed, it will be one of the first two commercial wind-power projects in Pakistan.

Zorlu Enerji is a key IFC eco-client in the renewable energy sector, dating back to 2009, when IFC financed the firm’s 135MW wind-power project in Turkey.

Gulrez Hoda, IFC Director for Infrastructure and Natural Resources in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa, said,

“IFC’s partnership with Zorlu Enerji, one of our key clients, enables us to extend additional support to the renewable energy sector in Pakistan. We hope this project will stimulate the interest of other investors in harnessing the country’s favorable wind resource,”

The project will help to alleviate Pakistan’s power deficit by developing an indigenous, renewable resource for generating power.

It will also contribute to reducing the country’s reliance on imported fuel for power generation. IFC says it is “the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets”.

Environmental benefits to wind turbines in Pakistan
Senior Investment Specialist at ADB Siddhartha Shah said, “We estimate that five to seven projects will come on line following ADB’s support for Zorlu Enerji’s wind farm.”

“The project will have multiple benefits including helping realise the government’s target of 6 per cent renewable energy by 2030, while contributing to employment opportunities and economic growth in one of the poorest regions of the country.”

Pakistan’s government is undertaking a major drive to expand its energy sources, including tapping renewable energy resources. There is around 50,000 MW of wind power capacity available in the south of Pakistan alone.

Pakistan’s environmental-track record
Zorlu Enerji, listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange, owns and operates Turkey’s largest wind farm.

Asian Development Bank has taken the lead in supporting the Pakistani government’s efforts to attract private sector capital into the power sector. Initiatives include,

• Financing Pakistan’s first run-of-river hydropower project, the New Bong Escape Project in 2009, and
• The funding of three combined cycle power plants using domestic gas ― Fauji Kabirwala Power Company Limited, Foundation Power Company Daharki Limited and Uch-II Power Private Limited.

In fiscal year 2011, amid uncertainty for environmental performance, IFC invested over $500 million in renewable-energy projects, representing over 60% of IFC’s financial commitments in the power sector.

“Pakistan’s first wind-power plant project to be built with international finance was made possible by the support we received from IFC,” said Zorlu Energy General Manager Arif Özozan. “By demonstrating the viability of Pakistan’s local and renewable resources, this project is expected to have a considerable impact on the economy.”

How will Pakistan gets its wind power?
The existing power generated by the wind farm is currently being dispatched to the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company.

Once the second construction phase is complete – expected in 2013 – the farm will supply power to the national grid through a conditional 20 year purchase agreement with the National Transmission and Dispatch Company.

Potential for economic growth
Director in ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Michael Barrow said in a statement, “Acute energy shortages, caused by low investment, are cutting into Pakistan’s economic growth. This deal should provide a bankable template for future privately funded wind projects and send a signal that Pakistan’s wind sector is attractive for private sector investment and financing.”

Pakistan’s stretched fossil fuels reserves
Currently, Pakistan relies heavily on imported fossil fuels for the bulk of its energy needs. However, this is costly, puts a heavy burden on its foreign exchange reserves, and leaves the country vulnerable to supply disruptions and global price fluctuations.

Investment in new potential capacity has lagged the demand which has surged by over 40% over the past five years, resulting in regular brownouts – a drop in electrical power supply – in all major urban centers and the introduction of power rationing.

This has forced shops and industries to close early, undermining Pakistan’s economy. The extra 50.4MW output will provide much-needed electricity, improve security of energy provision, and lower reliance on fossil fuels.

News source :: Associated Press of Pakistan

Image:: Developing8

Read more on Pakistan and wind energy:
Hidden Costs of Constructing Wind Farms in Turkey
Meet the “Miss Pakistan” of Renewable Energy
Palestinian and Israeli Wind Companies Create Energy Venture for Peace
Turkish Village Goes Off The Grid With A Wind Turbine

The post Landmark Wind Power Plant To Be Built In Pakistan appeared first on Green Prophet.

Iran, finding itself increasingly isolated due to US-backed sanctions, has been pressing energy-deficient Pakistan to connect with Iran’s natural gas “peace pipeline“. Natural gas is better than coal (which is killing miners) and dirty fuel that Pakistanis use in their households, but it is not the greenest. We laud a new announcement by the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, which is investing $38.1 million in the company Zorlu Enerji Pakistan Limited, a Turkish energy firm to build what it is calling a landmark wind energy project in Pakistan, the Associated Press Pakistan reports.

The Zorlu Energy Companies Group today has a total installed capacity of 603 MW electricity and 192 tons/hour of steam produced by fourteen power plants – five natural gas, seven hydroelectric, one geothermal, and one fuel-oil –  located in different parts of Turkey. The new wind power plant it will build will be located in the Sindh Province, which is still a region risky for investments, due to armed guards attacks.

However, if security needs are met, and we hope they are, the 56.4MW wind project is a step in the right direction in harnessing the global community’s financing dollars for green development. Other investors include the Asian Development Bank, ECO Trade and Development Bank, and Habib Bank which are financing the project which will cost $159 million USD.

Wikipedia editors say that Pakistan plans to produce 2500 MW of wind energy by 2015 to stop crippling power shortages.

In other news the Recharge blog is reporting that the Norwegian company NBT plans to build a 250MW wind farm in Pakistan, possibly in the first stage of what prove to be a $1 billion USD renewable energy scheme in Pakistan. Bring on the wind in Pakistan!

When the Zorlu Energy wind farm will be built it will be only one of two commercially operating wind power projects in Pakistan, and according to the report the deal supports Turkish power entities and their interest entering Pakistan’s renewable energy market.

“IFC’s partnership with Zorlu Enerji, one of our key clients, enables us to extend additional support to the renewable energy sector in Pakistan. We hope this project will stimulate the interest of other investors in harnessing the country’s favorable wind resource,” said Gulrez Hoda, the IFC Director for Infrastructure and Natural Resources in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa in a press announcement.

The project will help to alleviate Pakistan’s power deficit by developing a local, renewable resource for creating power. It will also contribute to reducing the country’s reliance on imported fuel from countries like Iran for power generation.

::Associated Press Pakistan

Read more on green Pakistan:
Meet the Miss Pakistan of Renewable Energy
Iran Forges Ties With Pakistan for Energy Business

Image of Pakistani boy flying kit via  o_O

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