The world is already making a rapid transition towards renewable energy technologies.
Denmark has already passed a legislation ensuring the supply of 100% electricity through renewable energy sources by 2050. On 22 March 2013, it already generated more than 100% of its electricity demand through windmills. On 22 May 2012, Germany made a world record by producing 22 GW(s) of electricity through solar photovoltaic panels, which was equivalent to 40% of the country's total electricity demand. Saudi Arabia is planning to invest USD 109 billion over coming decades for the promotion and development of renewable energy technologies with a special emphasize on establishing concentrated solar power plants (CSP) and solar photovol taic capacity. In 2006,Emirates launched "Masdar City " a carbon neutral project with a total investment of USD 22 billion respectively. It has the ability to serve as a global hub for the promotion and development of clean technology. Grameen Shakti, a renewable energy company in Bangladesh has already installed one million solar home systems in order to improve the rural population's access to electricity. The project was initiated with the financial support from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and many other stakeholders and has improved the quality of life of 8 million people in Bangladesh. The company now plans to install its second millionth solar home system by 2016. In Australia, electricity generation through windmills is already cheaper than coal and oil. The Indian government is planning to enhance its solar electricity generation ability up to 20 GW (s) by year 2022 via Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNSM). Similarly, Chinese government announced that it would add 10 GW(s) of solar electricity generation ability to its already existing solar potential during year 2013.
All these examples highlight the dire need for Pakistan to make a gradual transition towards renewable energy technologies first by adding renewable energy generation infrastructure to its already existing one and then by its rapid expansion in order to increase the share of renewable energy in the total energy mix. It will enable us in mitigating climate change by reducing our carbon dioxide emissions over a period of time and will also transform our economy into green economy. It will not be out of place to mention here that a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions is basically a hidden challenge, which will reveal itself as soon as we will start making socio-economic progress. As far as generating finance is concerned, we can seek help from our Chinese counterparts. Alternatively, we have an estimated population of 180 million; if every citizen donates 2 rupees per day for over 10 years we would be able to generate USD 12 billion which would be sufficient enough to start a chain of renewable energy projects. Last but not the least, National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) - US.
Department of Energy's research revealed that almost 100% of geographical area of Pakistan is suitable for generating electricity through solar means and almost 9% of geographical area can be used to generate electricity through windmills. Similarly, according to Earth Policy Institute, Pakistan has the ability to generate over 350,000 megawatts of electricity through wind which would be sufficient enough to satisfy our total electricity demand up to 10 times.
Moreover, we can utilise waste and begasse, a byproduct of sugarcane for the sake of electricity generation. It is pertinent to keep in mind that our total electricity demand is likely to increase rapidly in coming years due to exponential growth in population. Thus if we manage our available renewable energy resources wisely, we can easily produce fair and square share of electricity through renewable resources. As a result we can save financial resources, which can then be invested to improve the quality of life of masses in Pakistan. Now it is upon us that how quickly we anticipate this and take appropriate actions accordingly.