Transfer of China's renewable energy expertise to Pakistan urged

'Cooperation between China and Pakistan can help Pakistan benefit from China's expertise in renewable energy, including solar and wind energy. Sino-Pak cooperation opportunities lie in renewable energy assessment, project investment and development, technology training, etc,' said Qin Haiyan, secretary-general of the China Wind Energy Association.

In a webinar titled 'Pakistan's Green Energy Pathways - Inspirations from China' hosted by energy and environment thinktank Renewable First (RF), Qin attributed China's wind power market growth to factors such as the Renewable Energy Law and a stable domestic market.

He added that China has significantly reduced the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for onshore and offshore wind projects over the past decade, with a 60% reduction in offshore projects.

As the world's largest market for wind power for 14 years running, China is sharing wind power technologies such as wind turbines with Pakistan, contributing to cost reductions in electricity generation in the country.

By the end of 2022, China's cumulative installed wind power capacity had exceeded 396 GW, the secretary-general said.

China has built more than 20 power plants in cooperation with Pakistan and trained thousands of local wind energy professionals, claimed Leo Deng, a Pakistan-based consultant on the power project, in an interview with Gwadar Pro.

According to Gwadar Pro, he further said, wind and solar power are the cheapest new forms of electricity generation and possibly could dramatically reduce Pakistan's dependence on expensive imported fuels.

The Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2047, issued by NEPRA, forecasts Pakistan's total power generation to increase from 33,000 megawatts in 2020 to approximately 168,200 megawatts in 2047, with wind and solar power accounting for 23% of the energy mix by 2030, up from around 3% in 2020.