The announcement to this effect was made by Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh while speaking on Wednesday as the chief guest at the inauguration of 17th World Wind Energy Conference-2018 here at local hotel on Wednesday.
The three-day conference was organized by World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) with the theme "Re-energizing the developing world".
The provincial minister said on the occasion that the proposed grid company would serve as the cornerstone of the Sindh government's energy policy being pursued to harness the massive potential the province had to produce clean electricity on basis of its untapped renewable resources of power generation.
He said that Sindh government would establish its own grid company in pursuance of the same policy spirit, which had been earlier utilized to set up its own transmission and dispatch company for transmitting electricity from 100 MWs Nooriabad power plant-provincial govt first own power plant under PPP mode-to Karachi.
Shaikh said that Sindh government had reserved 60,000 acres land in the province to develop renewable energy projects showing well its outstanding commitment to generate electricity using the alternative resources.
He said that 23 wind energy projects had started functioning in Gharo-Jhimpir corridor of the province while another 30 to 40 such projects were under different stages of completion.
The Energy minister hoped that the federal government would readily grant permissions to the upcoming wind energy projects of the province much like the spirit shown by Sindh government to promote usage of renewable energy generation in the country.
He said that Sindh government would soon launch a $ 100 million solar power project in the province with the assistance of World Bank as this would benefit the residents of off-grid areas in rural areas.
He said that renewable energy generation at present stood for mere 5 per cent of the national energy mix as this had to be maximally enhanced as electricity so produced was clean and economical, while it didn't require any imported source of fuel as completely indigenous energy resources would be utilized for the purpose.
"Sindh government will do whatever it can do best and will fight for your cause to promote utilization of clean generation resources in the country," said the provincial minister while addressing audience of the conference comprising investors doing wind energy projects in the country.
Also speaking on the occasion, WWEA President Peter Rae hoped that 17th edition of World Wind Energy Conference would go a long way to explore the potential of renewable energy resources globally to ensure a sustainable and better world for people.
He said the earlier editions of the World Wind Energy Conference had been organized in important cities like Istanbul, Beijing, Cairo, Bonn, New Dehli, and Shanghai, whereas its latest version being held in Karachi would be highly helpful in promoting renewable energy sector in developing nations of the world.
WWEA Honourary Vice President Air Marshal Shahid Hamid (Retd) said that Pakistan had been gifted with enormous untapped renewable energy resources whose proper utilization could not just be helpful to meet electricity demand of the entire country but could also generate surplus electricity.
He suggested that likewise the power generation sector, the transmission and distribution system in the country should be given to private sector for sake of expansion of arena of renewable resources for clean power generation.
He said that promotion of alternative power resources were compulsory to promote the cause of clean and green Pakistan, which was also the primary vision of the present federal government.
CEO of Alternative Energy Development Board Amjad Ali Awan said that so far 23 wind energy projects commissioned in Gharo-Jhimpir wind corridor of the province had been generating 1184 MWs of clean electricity for the national grid.
He said that present government should actively pursue the goal to massively expand the renewable power sector of the country while showing complete ownership and commitment to this cause for the sake of energy security of the country.
Sindh Energy Secretary Musaddiq Ahmed Khan said that it was high time for Pakistan to utilize the option of power generation through the means of alternative energy resources owing to the phenomenal incentives in terms of lesser tariff for power consumers and saving of precious foreign exchange reserves of the country as compared to other conventional resources of power generation, no matter how much efficient or cost-effective they were.
Jhon Smith, DMD of USAID in Pakistan, also spoke about dedicated financial support of USAID to wind energy projects being installed in the country including support for connecting them to the national grid on a priority.
Stefan Gsanger, WWEA Secretary General, also spoke on the occasion and shed light on aims and objectives of the Wind Energy Conference being held every year in different parts of the world.