Following photo appeared in both Jang and Dawn of May 29, 2008. It shows residents of Baldia Town Karachi have resorted to harnessing Wind Energy to produce electricity. We’ve discussed Electricity shortage and alternate ways to produce electricity in Pakistan in several posts here. I am happy to see this indiginous effort on part of a middle-class community to control their own destiny where Government has failed to provide for them. Wind is usually in abundance in coastal areas of Pakistan. More communities may emulate this example.
Bilal–I am not deeply familiar with the technology, esp. the modern wind electrical generators–but on our farm, we had the option of shutting the wind pumping unit down during storms and bad weather. Would there be any reason the local residents would not be able to do the same?
The economics of wind-farms is fairly well understood (thanks to the German demand over the past few years). I highly doubt a windmill of this size is either safe, or economical. Small wind-turbines are expensive if installed with all the safety procedures taken care of. The energy generated increases as square of the radius of the turbine and cube of the air velocity. Hence, one can easily see that the energy generated at low wind speeds is very low but rises rapidly at high air velocities. Unfortunately it is under those conditions when small turbines would either crash and burn (causing significant damage), or the gearboxes will suffer great damage.
But regardless – there is a a very large community doing significant research on understanding the wind profiles and the solar insolation over various parts of the world, including Pakistan. I am personally a bigger fan of solar thermal for medium-to-utility scale installations at a place like Pakistan.
This is an excellent option and Pakistan’s dry areas are also suitable for wind pumps (wrongly called windmills) for drawing water, similar to the ones used in USA and Australia that are such a familiar part of the rural landscape there.
They are inexpensive, less than $10,000 and their technology is simple and easy to maintain and repair–any farmer can do it. However I only know of one such wind pump in Pakistan! It’s on an experimental farm in Balochistan. There may be more but I’ve never seen them……? It would seem some NGO or other would be installing them all over the place.
As for electrical wind generators, there is no reason they shouldn’t proliferate–certain parts of the coastal areas may be good for large wind farms and in rural areas they could provide an independent source of electricity.
Wind energy has great potential and the industry/installation must be strictly regulated. A run-away wind turbine in high winds can be fatal and disastrous to the neighborhood.
I am not sure if energy can be sold back to the corporations in Pakistan – it will open up another avenue of corruption – just imagine people being paid back for non existing machines or fake machines on rooftops….
Although i admire that, but the question arises that if we have to solve such a major issue like this, ourselves? Then what are governments for? What makes me sick is the snail like approach of our government to these problems while everybody seem so charged when talking of justice and musharaf? Zardari said ” i’ll look to the economical issues once the political pressure calm down” Nawaz is telling that he will accompany the lawyers in bus to islamabad, and for asfandyar they have come up with a new name for NWFP. Good goings.