Gul Ahmed starts 50MW wind power production

Karachi: Gul Ahmed Wind Power Limited kick-started generation from its 50- megawatt wind power project in Jhimpir of Thatta district. 

The company said the project will distribute electricity to the Central Power Purchaser Agency as an independent power producer.

“It aims at providing a sustainable tariff at a fixed price for 20 years, by installing 20 state-of-the-art German-manufactured wind turbines of 2.5MW each by Nordex,” the company said in a statement. 

The project’s sponsors include Gul Ahmed Energy Limited, one of Pakistan’s paramount business groups, the InfraCo Asia Indus Wind Pte. Ltd of Singapore and International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group.

“This is the first of many wind projects of the group to tackle the electricity shortage,” the statement quoted Iqbal Alimohamed, chief executive officer at the company as saying. “This is a remarkable effort by the private sector to come forth to face the challenges, currently being encountered by the country.”  Gul Ahmed Energy is already supplying 136MW of electricity to K-Electric from its furnace oil-based power plant. 

The wind corridor of Jhimpir, 120-kilometre north east of Karachi, is luring investment from local as well foreign investors.   Most of the operational wind power projects are located in the region. 

APP adds: Around 12 wind projects of 587.2MW are already supplying electricity to the national grid, officials said. The officials at the Alternative Energy Development Board said as many as 35 wind power projects, with a cumulative capacity of 1,749.2MW, are at different stages of development and will become operational by 2018.   The projects include 50MW FFC Energy Limited, 56.4MW Zorlu Emerji Pakistan, 49.5MW Three Gorges First Wind Farm Pakistan, 50MW Foundation Wind Energy II, 52.8MW Sapphire Wind Power Company, 50MW Yunus Energy, 50MW Metro Power Company, 49.5MW Tapal Wind Energy, 30MW Tenga Generasi, 50MW Master Wind Energy and 49.5MW Gul Wind Energy.

The officials said five projects, having 298MW capacity, have achieved financial close and are under construction. They said 49.5MW Hydro China Dawood Power (Thatta) will be ready by November, 49.5MW Sachal Energy Development in May 2017, 99MW United Energy in September, and 50MW Jhampir Wind Power and 50MW Hawa Energy will be ready by February 2018.

Some 18 wind projects of 864MW are at different stages of development and expected to be completed by 2018. These projects include 50MW each Three Gorge Second Wind Farm, FFC Energy, Tricon Boston Consulting Corporation, Western Energy, Hartford Alternative Energy and Zephyr Power as well as the 14 MW BurjWind Energy project.

The officials said all these projects are being set up in district Thatta.