Pakistan to Pay $0.146628 per kWh to Wind Energy Producers

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has approved Rs12.61 per kWh upfront tariff for the foreign financed wind farm projects while Rs17.28 per kWh for locally financed wind turbines projects.

An official source said NEPRA approved feed in tariff, has been submitted to the Ministry of Water and Power for approval which will be finally notifying the tariff for implementation. He said upfront tariff was the main demand of the foreign and local investors as the reverse calculation mechanism adopted by NEPRA was quite expansive for investors. Pakistan has set targets, to generate 1500 MW from the wind energy with in the next three years.

The approved feed in tariff will be applicable for the wind farm projects, which will complete their financial close before December 2012. However, the government has decided not to offer wind risk guarantee to the investors as the required data will take four years for completion.

In the 2004 Medium Term Development Plan, the government had envisaged generating 900 MW of electricity from renewable energy by end of June 2010. The Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) was given this responsibility but the institution failed to add any single megawatt on the national gird. The interest shown by Turkish, Chinese and Norwegian investors forced the government to opt for upfront tariff.

Initially these wind farm investors are planning to invest for 300 MW wind power projects with the coastal belt of Balochistan and Sindh, since these are termed ideal for wind power projects. This initiative will also attract investment for the manufacturing of wind turbines in Pakistan.

By José Santamarta, www.nepra.org.pk/