IT is really heartening to note that the government is focusing on renewable energy which is not only environment friendly but will also go a long way in reducing the cost of electricity production. Currently the ratio of renewable energy in the energy mix is mere six percent which according to the renewable policy formulated by the government envisages increasing it up to 20% by 2025 and 30% by 2030.
Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan and Special Assistant on Energy Nadeem Babar needs to be commended for the effort they have put in to formulate a much needed renewable energy policy. A detailed briefing was also given to Prime Minister Imran Khan at a meeting on Friday who was confident that the new policy would prove fruitful for the country as soon as the problem of supplying costly electricity would be overcome using the widely available renewable energy resources. Indeed the presence of coal, sunlight, wind and valuable river system enable Pakistan to use its renewable energy resources to end dependence on imported fuel and save valuable foreign exchange reserves. Exploiting these resources in sufficient quantity will also help the government provide cheap electricity to domestic and most importantly industrialist sector which will make our export products competitive in the international market. It is only through providing cheap energy to the industrial as well as agriculture sector we can make the country attractive for investment and enhance our exports substantially. As the renewable policy has been framed, we expect that it will not remain only on papers but practical steps will also be taken in order to achieve the set targets within the given time frame. Investors should be fully facilitated to make investments in the renewable energy sector with focus that all the machinery and parts especially those related to solar energy are also manufactured locally. Then in our view, the first priority should be given to producing electricity from hydel sources as building reserves and dams have become all the more important for Pakistan to meet the issue of water shortage as well as to cope with flood-like situation in monsoon season.
