The News reported that the Ministry of Water and Power has decided to merge Alternate Energy Development Board which failed to add anything to the country's power generation capacity in eight years with Private Power Infrastructure Board.
Mr Naveed Qamar Federal minister of water and power said that from now onward, PPIB will deal with all the renewable energy projects. The AEDB is no more functional, but it is still in place under statutory order.
Official sources said that AEDB has sucked PKR 4 billion to PKR 5 billion of taxpayers' money without producing any results.
According to the Auditor General of Pakistan, the AEDB failed to produce a single megawatt of electricity since its establishment in 2003 and is plagued with scams of PKR 4 billion to PKR 5 billion.
Mr Qamar said that The PPIB has worked out the upfront tariff of 13 cents per unit for the parties which will establish windmills and produce electricity through geothermal ways.
Sources said that the government decided to merge the two boards in a bid to restore the confidence of donor agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development and gain funding for renewable energy projects. International and local consultants had recommended to the ministry to revamp AEDB, so that the mistrust between it and donors and investors could be removed.
They said that the USAID was reluctant to extend USD 320 million for the proposed Gharo windmills to AEDB in its current shape. USAID is ready to fund renewable energy projects through its Trust Fund so that the USD 320 million is spent in a transparent manner.
The minister said that he has set a target to generate 1,500 MW of electricity through renewable resources by December 2012. I am going to meet within days a group of investors from Scandinavian countries who are keen to generate 250 MW of electricity through geothermal methods. PPIB has started work on the establishment of windmills in coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan. The ministry will seek intervention from the presidency to get hold of land in Sindh required for the windmills.
Resources of geothermal energy include hot rocks found a few miles beneath the earth's surface and molten rock called magma. Almost everywhere, the shallow ground or upper 10 feet of the earth's surface maintains a nearly constant temperature between 50 and 60 degree fahrenheit. Geothermal heat pumps can tap into this resource to heat and cool buildings.
