India initiates plan to generate 20000 mw from solar energy:PEW

Lahore: The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Sunday said a new energy landscape is unfolding before us with exciting prospects which calls for extra caution for policymakers.

A mistake of judgement at this critical juncture can result in heavy price for the economy and nation, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW. He said that all the oil importing countries are happy over reduction in oil prices including Pakistan which is also questing after import of LNG. But, he said, government shouldn’t ignore critical sectors of energy like coal, solar, wind, and nuclear power as uncertainty looms over oil and LNG markets.

Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that the demand-supply gap in the LNG market has tilted in favour of buyers who are now dictating terms which is not a positive sign for producers. Despite slump, the global LNG supply would get a boost of 10 percent during ongoing year and a 30 percent jump within five to seven years, he informed.

He said that oil price collapse has left many fracking, deep sea and other oil extraction projects economically unviable which will have an impact on situation in the long run. Due to the uncertainty many countries have started taking interest in the coal, solar and nuclear power again and our policymakers should also follow the suit, he opined.

Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that India is generating 3000 mw from renewable sources but it has started a project to generate 20,000 mw from solar energy and 100,000 mw of renewable energy by 2022 which is a step towards energy self-reliance. On the other hand, Pakistan where 38 percent population lacks electricity, solar market remains underdeveloped due to technical, economic and institutional barriers which calls for a policy review.