Minister for Water and Power, Ch. Ahmed Mukhtar has approved the
Draft National Policy for co-generation by utilizing Bagasse and Biomass and
asked the Ministry to submit it to the relevant forum for formal approval.
He said this while presiding over a meeting on fast track
development of bagasse based power generation projects held here today in the
office of AEDB. MD PPIB, MD NTDC, CEO
AEDB, JS Power, JS Entities, a delegation of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association
(PSMA) headed by Shunaid Qureshi, senior officials of AEDB, Ministry and Food Security
attended the meeting.
It was recommended that up front tariff will be given for
fast track power generation projects. The power producers shall have the option
to offer energy to the respective DISCOs or to the CPPA. The meeting also
proposed simplified procedure and reduction in the time line. It shall be
mandatory for the power purchaser to buy all the energy offered it by power
producer. All general, financial and fiscal incentives available to renewable
energy projects of RE policy 2006 will be applicable to the Bagasse based
projects.
The Minister said that the government is utilizing all the
resources to end the energy crisis and the power generation from bagasse would
be another step to produce electricity from indigenous resources. He
appreciated the PSMA for taking interest in the bagasse based power projects
and assured to provide full cooperation. It is also the desire of the President of
Pakistan Asif Zardari that sugarcane bagasse should be utilized for cheaper
power generation. Initially 1000 mw would be completed on fast track basis, he
added.
Earlier, the meeting was briefed by AEDB and PSMA that Pakistan is the
5th largest producer of sugarcane, produces 50 million tons of
sugarcane annually, yielding over 10 million tons of bagasse. Power generation
from bagasse would not only reduce the furnace oil import even save 33 billion
of foreign exchange per annum. The country has 87 sugar mills with a capacity
to generate 3000 MW electricity from bagasse in winter season. ENDS.
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