Pakistan Eyes Thar Coal For Cheap, Abundant Power
Coal is the cheapest and the most common fuel used directly or indirectly to produce electricity and heat in the world today. Global coal consumption was about 6.7 billion tons in 2006 and is expected to increase 48% to 9.98 billion tons by 2030, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). China produced 2.38 billion tons in 2006. India produced about 447.3 million tons and Pakistan mined only about 8 million tons in 2006. 68.7% of China's electricity comes from coal. The United States consumes about 14% of the world total, using 90% of it for generation of electricity. The U.S. coal-fired plants have over 300 GW of capacity.
Thar desert region in Pakistan is endowed with one of the largest coal reserves in the world. Discovered in early 1990s, the Thar coal has not yet been developed to produce usable energy. With the devastating increases in imported oil bill and the growing shortages of gas and electricity in the country, the coal development is finally beginning to get the attention it deserves. Coal contributes about 20% of the worldwide greenhouse gas emissions but it is the cheapest fuel available, according to Pew Center on Global Climate Change. It can provide usable energy at a cost of between $1 and $2 per MMBtu compared to $6 to $12 per MMBtu for oil and natural gas, and coal prices are relatively stable. Coal is inherently higher-polluting and more carbon-intensive than other energy alternatives. However, coal is so inexpensive that one can spend quite a bit on pollution control and still maintain coal’s competitive position.
At the end of the decade of 1990s when the economy was stagnant, Pakistan had about 1200 MW excess capacity. Between 2000 and 2008, the electricity demand from industries and consumers grew dramatically with the rapid economic expansion that more than doubled the nation's GDP from $60 billion to $170 billion. The Musharraf government added about 3500 MW of capacity during this period which still left a gap of over 1500 MW by 2008. The economy has since slowed to a crawl, the electricity demand has decreased, and yet the nation is suffering the worst ever power outages in the history of Pakistan. As discussed in an earlier post, Pakistan's current installed capacity is around 18,500 MW, of which around 20% is hydroelectric. Much of the rest is thermal, fueled primarily by gas and oil. Pakistan Electric Power Company PEPCO blames independent power producers (IPPs) for the electricity crisis, as they have only been able to give PEPCO much less than the 5,800 MW of confirmed capacity. Most of the power plants in the country are operating well below installed capacity because the operators are not being paid enough to buy fuel. Circular debt owed to the power producers and oil companies is currently believed to be largely responsible for severe load shedding affecting most of the nation.
The circular debt has assumed alarming portions since 2008, resulting in the current severe power problems. Former finance minister Saukat Tarin recently told the News that “in real terms the circular debt has swelled to Rs108 billion which mainly includes non-payment of Rs42 billion by KESC, Rs21 billion by the government of Sindh and Rs15-16 billion from commercial consumers to the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco)". Just prior to leaving office, Tarin decided to raise Rs. 25 billion as a small step toward settling the swelling unpaid bills owed to power producers.
Per capita energy consumption in Pakistan is estimated at 14.2 million Btu, which is much higher than Bangladesh's 5 million BTUs per capita but slightly less than India's 15.9 million BTU per capita energy consumption. South Asia's per capita energy consumption is only a fraction of other industrializing economies in Asia region such as China (56.2 million BTU), Thailand (58 million BTU) and Malaysia (104 million BTU), according to the US Dept of Energy 2006 report. To put it in perspective, the world average per capita energy use is about 65 million BTUs and the average American consumes 352 million BTUs. With 40% of the Pakistani households that have yet to receive electricity, and only 18% of the households that have access to pipeline gas, the energy sector is expected to play a critical role in economic and social development. With this growth comes higher energy consumption and stronger pressures on the country’s energy resources. At present, natural gas and oil supply the bulk (80 percent) of Pakistan’s energy needs. However, the consumption of those energy sources vastly exceeds the supply. For instance, Pakistan currently produces only 18.3 percent of the oil it consumes, fostering a dependency on imports that places considerable strain on the country’s financial position. On the other hand, hydro and coal are perhaps underutilized today, as Pakistan has ample potential supplies of both.
The country's creaky and outdated electricity infrastructure loses over 30 percent, some of it due to rampant power theft, of generated power in transit, more than seven times the losses of a well-run system, according to the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank; and a lack of spare high-voltage grid capacity limits the transmission of power from hydroelectric plants in the north to make up for shortfalls in the south.
It does seem that Pakistan is finally getting serious about utilizing its vast coal resources to produce electricity and gas. Talking recently with GeoTV's Hamid Mir, Pepco Managing Director Tahir Basharat Cheema shared the following list of coal projects being launched:
1. The Sind Government has awarded a 1200 MW project to extract Thar coal and produce electricity to Engro Power.
2. A similar 1200 MW project is being undertaken by Pepco in Thar. The Pepco project also includes a 700 Km transmission line to connect Thar plants with the national grid.
3. An experimental project for underground coal gasification is being built by Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr. Mubarakmand to tap underground coal to produce 50 MW.
4. Another experimental 50 MW project using pressure coal gasification is planned by Pepco.
The coal and various renewable energy projects are expected to be online in the next 2 to 5 years. If these projects do succeed and more investors are attracted to the power sector, then Pakistan has the potential to produce about 100,000 MW a year for a century or longer. But these efforts will not help in the short or immediate term. What is urgently needed is decisive action to resolve the circular debt problems and restore power generation to full installed capacity immediately.
Here is a video clip of former president General Musharraf talking about the worst ever load shedding being faced by Pakistanis today:
Related Links:
Pakistan's Twin Energy Crises of Gas and Electricity
Pakistan's Load Shedding and Circular Debt
US Fears Aid Will Feed Graft in Pakistan
Pakistan Swallows IMF's Bitter Medicine
Shaukat Aziz's Economic Legacy
Karachi Tops Mumbai in Stock Performance
Pakistan's Electricity Crisis
Pepco Increases Load Shedding By 5 Hours
Pakistan's Gas Pipeline and Distribution Network
Pakistan's Energy Statistics
US Department of Energy Data
China Signs Power Plant Deals in Pakistan
Pakistan Pursues Hydroelectric Projects
Water Scarcity in Pakistan
Energy from Thorium
Comparing US and Pakistani Tax Evasion
Zardari Corruption Probe
Pakistan's Oil and Gas Report 2010
Circular Electricity Debt Problem
International CNG Vehicles Association
Lessons From IPP Experience in Pakistan
Correlation Between Human Development and Energy Consumption
BMI Energy Forecast Pakistan
Thar desert region in Pakistan is endowed with one of the largest coal reserves in the world. Discovered in early 1990s, the Thar coal has not yet been developed to produce usable energy. With the devastating increases in imported oil bill and the growing shortages of gas and electricity in the country, the coal development is finally beginning to get the attention it deserves. Coal contributes about 20% of the worldwide greenhouse gas emissions but it is the cheapest fuel available, according to Pew Center on Global Climate Change. It can provide usable energy at a cost of between $1 and $2 per MMBtu compared to $6 to $12 per MMBtu for oil and natural gas, and coal prices are relatively stable. Coal is inherently higher-polluting and more carbon-intensive than other energy alternatives. However, coal is so inexpensive that one can spend quite a bit on pollution control and still maintain coal’s competitive position.
At the end of the decade of 1990s when the economy was stagnant, Pakistan had about 1200 MW excess capacity. Between 2000 and 2008, the electricity demand from industries and consumers grew dramatically with the rapid economic expansion that more than doubled the nation's GDP from $60 billion to $170 billion. The Musharraf government added about 3500 MW of capacity during this period which still left a gap of over 1500 MW by 2008. The economy has since slowed to a crawl, the electricity demand has decreased, and yet the nation is suffering the worst ever power outages in the history of Pakistan. As discussed in an earlier post, Pakistan's current installed capacity is around 18,500 MW, of which around 20% is hydroelectric. Much of the rest is thermal, fueled primarily by gas and oil. Pakistan Electric Power Company PEPCO blames independent power producers (IPPs) for the electricity crisis, as they have only been able to give PEPCO much less than the 5,800 MW of confirmed capacity. Most of the power plants in the country are operating well below installed capacity because the operators are not being paid enough to buy fuel. Circular debt owed to the power producers and oil companies is currently believed to be largely responsible for severe load shedding affecting most of the nation.
The circular debt has assumed alarming portions since 2008, resulting in the current severe power problems. Former finance minister Saukat Tarin recently told the News that “in real terms the circular debt has swelled to Rs108 billion which mainly includes non-payment of Rs42 billion by KESC, Rs21 billion by the government of Sindh and Rs15-16 billion from commercial consumers to the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco)". Just prior to leaving office, Tarin decided to raise Rs. 25 billion as a small step toward settling the swelling unpaid bills owed to power producers.
Per capita energy consumption in Pakistan is estimated at 14.2 million Btu, which is much higher than Bangladesh's 5 million BTUs per capita but slightly less than India's 15.9 million BTU per capita energy consumption. South Asia's per capita energy consumption is only a fraction of other industrializing economies in Asia region such as China (56.2 million BTU), Thailand (58 million BTU) and Malaysia (104 million BTU), according to the US Dept of Energy 2006 report. To put it in perspective, the world average per capita energy use is about 65 million BTUs and the average American consumes 352 million BTUs. With 40% of the Pakistani households that have yet to receive electricity, and only 18% of the households that have access to pipeline gas, the energy sector is expected to play a critical role in economic and social development. With this growth comes higher energy consumption and stronger pressures on the country’s energy resources. At present, natural gas and oil supply the bulk (80 percent) of Pakistan’s energy needs. However, the consumption of those energy sources vastly exceeds the supply. For instance, Pakistan currently produces only 18.3 percent of the oil it consumes, fostering a dependency on imports that places considerable strain on the country’s financial position. On the other hand, hydro and coal are perhaps underutilized today, as Pakistan has ample potential supplies of both.
The country's creaky and outdated electricity infrastructure loses over 30 percent, some of it due to rampant power theft, of generated power in transit, more than seven times the losses of a well-run system, according to the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank; and a lack of spare high-voltage grid capacity limits the transmission of power from hydroelectric plants in the north to make up for shortfalls in the south.
It does seem that Pakistan is finally getting serious about utilizing its vast coal resources to produce electricity and gas. Talking recently with GeoTV's Hamid Mir, Pepco Managing Director Tahir Basharat Cheema shared the following list of coal projects being launched:
1. The Sind Government has awarded a 1200 MW project to extract Thar coal and produce electricity to Engro Power.
2. A similar 1200 MW project is being undertaken by Pepco in Thar. The Pepco project also includes a 700 Km transmission line to connect Thar plants with the national grid.
3. An experimental project for underground coal gasification is being built by Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr. Mubarakmand to tap underground coal to produce 50 MW.
4. Another experimental 50 MW project using pressure coal gasification is planned by Pepco.
The coal and various renewable energy projects are expected to be online in the next 2 to 5 years. If these projects do succeed and more investors are attracted to the power sector, then Pakistan has the potential to produce about 100,000 MW a year for a century or longer. But these efforts will not help in the short or immediate term. What is urgently needed is decisive action to resolve the circular debt problems and restore power generation to full installed capacity immediately.
Here is a video clip of former president General Musharraf talking about the worst ever load shedding being faced by Pakistanis today:
Related Links:
Pakistan's Twin Energy Crises of Gas and Electricity
Pakistan's Load Shedding and Circular Debt
US Fears Aid Will Feed Graft in Pakistan
Pakistan Swallows IMF's Bitter Medicine
Shaukat Aziz's Economic Legacy
Karachi Tops Mumbai in Stock Performance
Pakistan's Electricity Crisis
Pepco Increases Load Shedding By 5 Hours
Pakistan's Gas Pipeline and Distribution Network
Pakistan's Energy Statistics
US Department of Energy Data
China Signs Power Plant Deals in Pakistan
Pakistan Pursues Hydroelectric Projects
Water Scarcity in Pakistan
Energy from Thorium
Comparing US and Pakistani Tax Evasion
Zardari Corruption Probe
Pakistan's Oil and Gas Report 2010
Circular Electricity Debt Problem
International CNG Vehicles Association
Lessons From IPP Experience in Pakistan
Correlation Between Human Development and Energy Consumption
BMI Energy Forecast Pakistan
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KARACHI: Ten nuclear power plants will be established in the country by 2030 to help resolve the worsening electricity crisis, said Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Chairman Dr Ansar Parvez on Tuesday.
He added that the government had assigned to the PAEC a target of generating around 8,800 megawatts by 2030. “We are optimistic about achieving this target within the stipulated period as all the requisite projects and plans are in place for this purpose,” he said.
Dr Parvez expressed these view while speaking as a chief guest at the 11th annual convocation-2011 of the Karachi Institute of Power Engineering in the vicinity of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant.
He said that the PAEC was striving hard to enhance its role in power generation, while in the area of defence, “we are following a well-defined path that ensures that the country has a strategic capacity which is strong enough to deter and frustrate the evil designs of anyone”. He added that an immense contribution had been made by the graduates of Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) and Karachi Institute of Power Engineering (KINPOE) to the country’s strategic programme.
In addition to the defence and power sectors, the PAEC had also been contributing to the socio-economic sector, he said. It had 14 medical centres in different cities and four more were being built. “Similarly, our agricultural centres and bio-technology institutes are also making a contribution towards the agriculture sector,” he added.
Dr Parvez, who is also the chairman of the board of governors of the PIEAS, later conferred MSc degrees in nuclear power engineering on 49 graduates along with medal and merit certificates to the position holders. He congratulated all graduating students and hoped that they would play their due role in the country’s development.
Earlier, PIEAS Rector Dr Mohammad Aslam said that the degree-awarding institute being run by the PAEC offered masters and PhD programmes in nuclear power engineering, material engineering, health physics and information technology. He said around 10 students were completing their PhD every year from the institute.
KINPOE Director Najmus Saqib traced the genesis of the institute which started as the Karachi Nuclear Power Training Centre in the early 80s and was upgraded to the masters level in 1993. He said this was KINPOE’s first convocation after its affiliation with the PIEAS.—APP/PPI
The News has an Op Ed today by Dr. A.Q.Khan titled "Projects We Cannot Handle" in which he attacks Mubarkmand without mentioning his name:
"...The Thar Coal Project was, until recently, a hot topic. We probably all remember that we were promised 50,000 MW of power for 500 years, plus hundreds of thousands of barrels of diesel. There were claims that we had 185 billion tons of coal reserves, while reliable estimates put this figure at only three billion tons, and that too of low grade. That balloon burst quite quickly....
...
I can say with authority that we do not have experienced and qualified engineers to handle such a complicated, giant project, to say nothing of my having had to cope with those who indulge in self-projection though they don’t have fundamental knowledge or qualifications in the required field.
In my earlier column of Nov 1 I had mentioned the statements made by Dr Ansar Parvez, chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in Vienna in which he claimed that 8,080 MW of power could be produced by 2030. In order for that to be produced, either 29 reactors of 300 MW each or ten reactors of 900 MW each would be required. A 300-MW reactor costs about $1 billion and requires eight to ten years for commissioning. A 900-MW reactor would naturally cost proportionately more and would take the same time, if not longer, to commission. I am at a loss to see how Dr Parvez aims to achieve this.
The PAEC has existed for more than 50 years and employs almost 20,000 people, but it has not been able to make a single power reactor, even of a small size. This is despite the fact that the technology itself is half-a-century old, and India and South Korea are among countries which have been producing reactors for years. The one at Karachi was supplied by Canada and the two at Chashma by China.
...
If important projects like those mentioned above are given to Pakistanis, they will become yet more PIAs and Pakistan Steel Mills. Nepotism, overstaffing with unqualified and inexperienced people, overabundance of persons of official cadre, fleets of land cruisers – you name it, it will be there. We have all heard details about the corruption related to the Agosta Submarine. Not only the fish’s head, but the whole body is rotten.
...
Disregarding the personal rivalry between two men, it's anybody's guess as to who is right.
KARACHI, June 11: Tormented by the power shortages the Sindh government focuses on developing indigenous coal reserves. In the next Annual Development Plan it has earmarked Rs3710.937 million for Thar coal project.
For energy sector a total of Rs1214.499 million has been kept in the ADP 2011-12. This include Rs1100 million for the coal gasification project.
Sindh Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah while explaining salient features of the budget for 2011-12 said: “Thar coal reserves of 175 billion tons are ample for provision of cost-effective energy for centuries”.
He said that once the reserves were properly exploited they could help in generating 20,000MW by 2020.
Recently, in international competitive bidding, two Chinese companies, an Australian company, and Pakistan Petroleum Limited participated.
As a result, two Chinese companies have been selected to undertake coal exploration, power generation and establishing petro-chemical complex at two blocks of Thar.
He said the bankable feasibility study for joint venture project of the Sindh government and Engro was created to boost the potential in a record period of eight months.
The Sindh government and the federal government have included this project in the list of projects to be taken up with the Pak-China Joint Energy Working Group (JEWG) formed during the last visit of the Chinese prime minister to Pakistan, he said.
Leading Chinese companies have shown strong interest in executing this project. The mining and power generation from this project is expected in 2015-16 depending upon the financing arrangements for the project.
The test burn at Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is expected during coming financial year. After successful testing, the project will be scaled up to produce 2x50MW electricity.
He said the government has made serious efforts to provide critical infrastructure for development of Thar coal.
A scheme for bringing water to Thar from Makhi Farash has been approved by ECNEC, feasibility studies for effluent disposal and laying of broad-gauge railway line are to be completed in June, 2011.
Work on improvement and widening of road for movement of heavy machinery from Karachi to Mithi-Islamkot is expected to start in next year.
According to rough calculations an amount of $1.20 billion is needed over a period of next five years to develop the required infrastructure for Thar.
Serious efforts are also in place to exploit the Gharo-Keti Bandar wind corridor.
During the Sindh chief minister`s recent visit to South Korea an MoU to generate 2000MW of wind energy was signed with Korea Southern Power Company.
The issue of electric power is of great priority for Sindh. The CCI has given approval to the removal of a limit on the ceiling of 50MW, which was earlier set at which provinces could construct power plants.
The Sindh government has signed a letter of intent with the Three Gorges Project Corporation, China`s premier electricity producer, to help explore the hydro power potential in Sindh.
A team from CWE, a subsidiary of the Three Gorges, recently visited Sukkur Barrage to gauge the potential for constructing a power plant.
Under the village electrification programme 446 villages were provided electricity during 2010-11, while the process for providing power to 350 more villages is underway.
KARACHI: National Assembly Standing Committee on Science and Technology has asked the federal and provincial governments to provide the allocated funds to Thar coal gasification project to speed up work on the power generation project.
Chairman of the committee Dr Abdul Kadir Khanzada, while speaking at the presentations of Thar coal and gasification projects here Saturday, said that any delay in Thar coal and gasification trial and pilot projects will further delay the addition of much needed electricity to country’s economy and industrial sector.
Representatives of Sindh Coal Authority, project coordinator Engro, Oracle Coalfield UK, PCSIR and coal gasification project gave presentations to the committee on the progress of their projects.
He said that both federal government and Sindh government should provide the committed share of the allocated funds for these projects. If you want to run the projects you need to fulfil your obligations and provide the necessary support to the on-going projects in Thar coal field.
He also asked the project runners to take media to the site to show the potential for coal gasification and power generation in Thar.
He also urged the federal Minister for Science and Technology Mir Changez Khan Jamali to provide support and funds to Pakistan Council of Industrial and Scientific Research (PCSIR) so that it can upgrade its laboratory test project of coal gasification to a pilot project and then lead to commercial production.
“You need to support them as the entire nation is now looking toward Thar coal projects as the only solution to existing power crisis”, he added.
Dr Khanzada noted that even the allocations for these projects were not sufficient.
He asked PCSIR to hold a meeting next week at its premises to demonstrate the trial production of gas and electricity based on Thar coal.
Other members of the committee Mir Changez Khan Jamali, Mrs Shamsul Sattar Bachani, Justice (rtd) Fakhar-un-Nisa Khoker, Zafar Beg Bhittani and Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk in their remarks also supported the projects and urged the government to extend wholehearted support to scientists so that Thar coal can be utilized for power generation.
The Minister Mir Changez Jamali assured the NA committee for removing all the difficulties hindering the projects and said all possible support will be provided to coal gasification projects and also to power generation projects under public-private partnership.
Earlier, Specialist Science and Technology of Planning Commission, Dr M Ashraf Moten in his presentation said that coal has to be declared as a matter of national security and strategic importance to attract investment from donors and multilateral institutions.
He said that total investment requirement for 100 megawatts of electricity through underground coal gasification is $ 115.6 million and added that only 7.48 million have been received so far.
Dr Moten said that 36 holes have been drilled and stuffed through 12” and 24 “ diameters carbon steel piping and cemented and tested for gasification.
Director General PCSIR said that the conversion of coal into diesel will cost only Rs 18 to 19 per litre and cost of power generation from coal gasification will is also lower and sustainable.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/03/na-committee-ask-for-funds-to-coal-gasification-projects.html
Renowned Scientist and Member Science and Technology, Planning Commission of Pakistan Dr Samar Mubarakmand on Tuesday said the development of Thar coal was the only viable long-term solution to energy crisis prevailing in the country.
“Only Thar Coal can provide guaranteed long-term energy security to Pakistan,” he said while speaking at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI).
He said that the solution to power shortage had to be found indigenously and in this regard the Thar coal was the best option.
He said the electricity generated through integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants would cost Rs7 per KWH. He said that coal could also be converted into coal gas above the ground in machines called surface gasifiers, and the efficiency of the conversion of coal gas to electricity is about 40 per cent.
Dr Samar said that Thar Coal reserves could play a pivotal role in meeting energy crises both in long term and short term which would enhance industrial competitiveness due to cost effectiveness.
He said that the industrial sector could not wait for long and the government should present quick solution to fill in the gap between demand and supply of energy
He said that the 41 per cent electricity of the world was being produced from the coal, adding that India was producing 64.6 per cent electricity from the coal, whereas Pakistan was only producing 2.27 per cent electricity from coal. He said that 95 per cent natural wealth was not being utilised, whereas not a single kg of coal was mined.
He said that the current energy crisis was causing loss of Rs230 billion and rendering 400,000 people jobless. Current dependable power supply hovers around 14,000MW in summer though it drops in the winter.
On the other hand power demand in 2030 would be more than 100,000MW, he added.
Meanwhile, Mahfooz Elahi, President ICCI said that energy was the key determinant of economic development of the country as Pakistan has been facing an unprecedented energy crisis for past few years.
The government must look towards building power plants and tap alternative energy resources for overcoming power shortage, he maintained.
ICCI President said that delay in fulfilment of export consignments has become a matter of routine due to power outages.
To meet the growing demands of energy, Government should exploit its domestic energy resources which would make the country self-reliant, he emphasised.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/06/solution-to-energy-crisis-lies-in-tapping-thar-coal.html
There is no place where the country's energy shortage isn't profound. Rural areas are without electricity for up to 16 hours a day while towns often go without for as many as 12 hours daily, forcing factories to close and plunging homes into darkness.
Natural gas supplies are rationed, with factories in the country's most populous province, Punjab, going without two days a week.
Pakistan's economic output is cut by at least 4 percent because of the shortages, the government estimates, something that hampers the country's hopes to battle extremism by creating more economic opportunities. The outages also feed political discontent, triggering frequent, if local, street protests.
Solving the energy problems is a top priority for the United States' aid program, with a State Department delegation here this week, led by Ambassador Carlos Pascual, the Obama administration's special envoy on international energy affairs.
But Pakistan's plans for a 1,700-mile natural gas pipeline from Iran, which would provide Pakistan with a cheaper source of fuel for electricity generation, is a stumbling block.
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Despite Pakistan's huge hydroelectric potential, it hasn't built a big dam project since the 1970s. Since the U.S.-backed government of President Asif Zardari was elected in 2008, a mushrooming chain of "circular" debt has enveloped the power sector.
The government has assumed $3.6 billion of the power industry's debt. The government-owned power grid owes another $2.5 billion to private-sector generators, even as the government, according to Finance Ministry figures, spent at least $7.4 billion on electricity subsidies during the 2008-2010 period.
Washington and international lenders such as the International Monetary Fund have repeatedly urged Pakistan to cut subsidies, which anemic government finances cannot afford.
Critics say that the government hasn't added to the electricity infrastructure in its three-and-a-half year term, while sinking billions of dollars into unproductive subsidies and taking on debt.
Of the $3.6 billion debt the government assumed, half were bills the government itself hadn't paid, said Ejaz Rafiq Qureshi, the spokesman of the Pakistan Electric Power Co., the state-owed national electricity grid. The rest is owed by private consumers.
At the end of August, a group of nine private power plants demanded that the government pay them within 30 days $540 million it owed for power generation.
Roughly half of Pakistan's current electricity output of 13,000 megawatts comes from the private generators. But there is more capacity that the government doesn't use. Government-owned equipment that could generate another 2,000 megawatts has been sidelined because of poor maintenance. Private equipment that could generate another 2,500 megawatts has been taken out of service because the government hasn't paid its bills, said Abdullah Yusuf, who represents the private producers. Combined, that amounts roughly to the entire immediate shortfall.
"If you had this capacity available, straight away your problem would be solved," said Yusuf.
A longer-term energy project is Pakistan's proposed $12 billion Diamer Basha dam, which would add 4,500 megawatts to Pakistan's electricity generating capacity. Washington is considering providing significant funding to the project. Separately, the U.S. Agency for International Development is currently working on projects that will add 900 megawatts to the Pakistani grid next year.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/16/2410787_p2/pakistan-search-for-energy-could.html#ixzz1YBKY4KxS
The international conference was told that Thar region of Sindh province is endowed with mammoth coal (lignite) reserves estimated to be 175 billion tonnes which can produce 100,000MW of electricity for next 300 years and can be a key to energy security and economic prosperity.
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“The government has started working on the policy of retrofitting 5300MW of furnace oil based power plants to coal-based initially on imported coal and then on indigenous coal when available,” he (Minister Naveed Qamar) informed the audience.
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Removing the misconceptions about Thar coal, Dr Marcos Leontidis, mining expert from Greece, said that the stripping ratio in Thar is around 6.6: 1, which is much better than many lignite mines in the world including Greece.
Dr Larry Thomas, coal expert from United Kingdom, said that sulphur content in Thar is acceptable being at 0.7%, which is lower than found in many other lignite resources already being used in the world and its moisture levels are same or even less than found in most of the lignite mines in the world. He further said the coal from Thar although may not be exportable to other countries but can be transported to be used in other parts of the province after drying.
Nigel Pickett from SRK-UK in his presentation said renewable energy cannot provide Pakistan reliable energy supplies due to its seasonal and cyclic nature. It has to be part of our energy mix to meet the peak demands and reduce fossil fuel consumption. Volatility of oil prices in 2007 brought heavy stress on the economy and indigenous coal provides the only option to achieve energy security for the country.
Zubair Motiwala, Chairman Sindh Board of Investment, briefed the forum about investment potential of Thar coal and said many international companies from China, South Korea, Germany, Czech Republic, Australia, UK and Turkey have shown their interest in investment in coal mining and power generation in Thar coal and also in the infrastructure projects. He also informed that the Government of Sindh is conducting 3rd International Competitive Bidding for blocks VIII, IX and X of Thar Coalfield and also blocks in Sonda and Badin for attracting international companies to develop coal mining and power generation projects in Sindh.
Mohammad Younus Dagha, Provincial Secretary Coal and Energy Development Department/MD Thar Coal and Energy Board stressed the need to create an ideal energy mix by replacing imported furnace oil to indigenous coal for power generation.
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Business/23-Oct-2011/5300MW-plants-will-be-converted-to-coal-Qamar
China’s state-owned Three Gorges Corp. plans to invest $10 billion by 2018 in Pakistan’s energy sector and a delegation is scheduled to visit Pakistan on February 7, officials said on Friday.
The Hong Kong-based United Energy Group Limited of China also intends to establish a 2,000 megawatts power project in Sindh as their delegation is also visiting Pakistan next month to hold further talks on setting up the power projects, they said.
Sindh Coal and Energy Department has signed memorandums of understating (MoU) with the two companies, which have shown interest in developing coal-fired power plants in Thar and Badin coal fields, as well, the officials said.
In an attempt to resolve the issue, the government is pinning hopes on Thar Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) pilot project, which contains the country’s largest coal deposits of around 850 trillion cubic feet spanning over 3,800 square miles, they said.
Overall, according to the World Energy Council, Pakistan has slightly more than 2,000 million tons of proven recoverable coal reserves.
Pakistan’s current electricity demand is around 25,000 megawatts per day, but the current electrical production is less than 20,000 megawatts per day, leaving a deficit of slightly more than 5,000 megawatts, and by 2015, domestic demand is projected to rise to 30,000 megawatts per day.
Currently, the country depends on oil and natural gas to generate up to 60 percent of its electricity needs, further impacting the country’s balance of payments as the price of oil rises and the ongoing power shortages are beginning to impact the country’s bottom-line exports, the officials said.
Member of the Science and Technology Planning Commission, Dr Samar Mubarakmand, has said that Thar coal project would be beneficial for common people and free from all defects.
The success of the Thar coal project would lead to investment from leading international companies, he said.
With the completion of coal-fired power generation project, the nation would get cheap and sufficient power supply, which would resolve the current energy crisis, he added.
Mubarakmand said that the country had enough coal reserves through which it could daily produce 50-60 million cubic feet gasifier, which would end gas shortage from the country.
It is for the first time that the coal gasification is being launched on commercial basis, which will help in abundant and cheap electricity.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=89763&Cat=3
Business Recorder reported that the government will launch Interconnection of Thar Coal based 1200 MW Engro Power Plant with National Transmission & Despatch Company system' project at a cost of PKR 22.04 billion with the objective of providing consistent power supply to industrial, agricultural, commercial and domestic consumers.
The cost includes PKR 14.845 billion Foreign Exchange Component and PKR 7.19 local component. The project is likely to be financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency or through Irish Credit Bureau on buyer's credit basis and sponsored by the NTDC.
The location of the project is District Matiari, Sindh and it is aimed at providing adequate facilities for reliable and stable transmission of electrical power, keeping in view the growing demand of domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers of Discos.
The project would disperse bulk power from 1200 MW Engro Power at Thar to up country by constructing 500kv D/C transmission lines, 250 kilometers long from the power plant at Thar to Matiari with extension at existing 500 KV grid station of Matiari.
Thar Coal Energy Board has been established to promote and facilitate the public and private sector coal industry. Thar coal deposits have been rapidly recognized as a major energy resource with the potential to transform the energy equations in the country. Therefore, initially the intent is to develop Thar coal mine for generation of electricity from two 1200 MW Power Plants one by Engro in private sector and another in public sector by PEPCO.
Ministry of Water and Power had decided in a meeting of Thar Coal Energy Board that NTDC would immediately prepare a work plan for providing the inter connection arrangements for dispersal of power of these power plants.
According to the document the NTDC has planned a transmission scheme for evacuation of power from 1200 MW Engro Power Plant with the following scope: considering that the proposed third 500 KV Jamshoro Moro RY.
Khan Transmission Line and 850 MW Wind Power plant is constructed before its completion. A MoU between PEPCO and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company for detailed feasibility study had been signed.
Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company has carried out detailed feasibility study for coal mining for both power plants. The expected date of completion of the coal mining project is December 2015 while the two Thar coal based power plants of 1200 MW each is 2015 to 2016.
According to official sources, High Voltage Direct Current transmission lines will be required for evacuation of additional generation at Thar in the year 2015 to 2016 and onward as well as the power generated from the proposed power plant.
They said that in case future generation at Thar does not mature during the next two years while AES imported coal power plant and 1000 MW import of power from Iran does mature then 525km single circuit AC transmission line from Matiari to RY Khan would be required in future for the dispersal of this power.
http://www.steelguru.com/middle_east_news/Pakistan_government_to_launch_interconnection_of_Thar_Coal_with_NTDC/252709.html
Yet it has one of the biggest, barely-touched, single coal reserves on the planet - the massive Thar coalfield in the northern Sindh province with 175 billion tonnes of extremely high water-content, low energy coal.
This kind of low-grade, watery coal is found in abundance in other countries, such as Indonesia, the world's biggest exporter, but it has not been economic to exploit in the past.
But high oil and gas prices, rising coal prices and new technology to dry out watery, gaseous coal or leave it in the ground but extract the gas from it instead, has prompted projects around the world.
The Pakistan government this year declared the Thar coal fields as a Special Economic Zone, with tax breaks and incentives to lure investors to develop coal gasification and mining as part of its strategy to fill the energy gulf.
"In five years, coal's contribution to the energy mix will reach 10 to 12 percent. It's minor at the moment," said Najib Balagamwala, Chief Executive Officer of Karachi-based trader Seatrade.
"The private sector is considering coal-fired plants very seriously, as there's margin there," he added.
Pakistan's energy mix has changed in recent years from mostly hydro to thermal, consisting of domestic gas and imported fuel oil, according to a report by the Asia Development Bank this month.
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"The private sector is considering coal-fired plants very seriously, as there's margin there," he added.
Pakistan's energy mix has changed in recent years from mostly hydro to thermal, consisting of domestic gas and imported fuel oil, according to a report by the Asia Development Bank this month.
The supply-demand power gap at peak hours reached over 5,000 MW in financial year 2011, the ADB report said.
"The need for coal to fuel the rising demand for energy in Pakistan is well understood," said Shahrukh Khan, Chief Executive Officer of Oracle Coalfields PLC, which is developing mines in Sindh.
Of the 10 coal blocks in Thar, four have been drilled and explored by Oracle, Cougar Energy, SECMC and another un-named gasification project company, according to the Sindh province website on Thar.
Two Chinese firms are also looking to build gasification and coal mining projects in Thar, industry sources said.
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The high water content of Pakistan's domestic coal makes it tricky to mine and transport long distances economically but mine-mouth power plants and coal gassification projects to capture and extract gas trapped in coal seams without mining it are much more viable, industry sources said.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/13/pakistan-coal-idUSL6E8FC45O20120413
Coal stocks are helping lead the way for energy shares, which is the best-performing sector of the S&P 500 today after getting repeatedly creamed amid renewed worries about coal’s future.
Some supporters, it turns out, haven’t fled town.
FBR recently reiterated its view that as cheap as natural gas is, it won’t come close to displacing coal in the U.S. power fleet any time soon. Most of the utilities that have the capacity to switch to gas already have, they argue.
And exports, seen as a potential safety valve for unwanted U.S. power-plant coal, nearly tripled in March from a year earlier, Nomura notes.
Strict federal air pollution regulations likely to limit new U.S. coal-plant construction will do little to cool growing appetites for the fuel in China and India. U.S. miners are scrambling to expand export facilities to take advantage of that.
Plus, some stocks were just starting to look cheap; shares of Patriot Coal and Alpha Natural Resources, each recently up more than 8%, had each sank by more than 70% throughout the last year. Peabody Energy, up 7.4%, and Arch Coal, up 6.8%, also catch the boost.
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2012/04/12/bargain-hunters-export-hopes-boost-coal-shares/
Pakistan has glimpsed its energy future, and it is brown – coal, to be exact.
Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co. is developing the $3 billion Thar Coal mining project in partnership with the government of Sindh. The Thar project is expected to produce 100 megawatts of electricity by 2016 using Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) technology. The Thar UCG pilot project is situated in the Tharparkar desert in Sindh eastern Pakistan.
UCG converts coal to gas while still in the coal seam, where injection wells are drilled and used to supply the oxidants to ignite and fuel the underground combustion process, with separate production wells bringing the resultant gas to the surface. The high pressure combustion is conducted at temperatures of 1,290–1,650 degrees Fahrenheit, but can reach up to 2,730 degrees Fahrenheit. The process produces carbon monoxide and dioxide, hydrogen and methane.
Boosters of the Thar UCG project note that Block Number 5 of Thar Coal Project contains 1.4 billion tons of low-grade lignite coal reserves. Overall the coal reserves at Thar are estimated at 175 billion tons of lignite coal.
The project is being driven by Pakistan’s dire electricity situation. With about 50 percent less electricity generation capability than the actual demand, Pakistan’s National Grid currently faces more than a 5,000-megawatt shortfall in power generation, leading to blackouts in both urban and rural areas of the country. Due to unscheduled shortages by the National Power Control Center, urban areas are now subjected to unscheduled minimum 8-hour power blackouts each day, while in some parts of the country, blackouts can last up to 22 hours.
So, where will the $3 billion financing come from? According to Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co. CEO Shamsuddin A. Shaikh, “The bulk of financing will be arranged from China - we may also seek funds from other places if need be.”
Interestingly, the Thar project may also improve relations with India. When asked about Thar's geographical proximity to India and the possibility of Indian participation in Thar Shaikh replied, “Yes, that's something we have in mind. India is supposed to develop an additional 100,000 megawatts based on coal in the next five years. India currently generates more than 50 percent of their electricity from coal, using about 450 million tons of coal every year. Most of that is indigenous and about 50 million tons is imported coal. They will need to import coal, we can utilize the railway line, which will be serving our own plants as well, to export coal to India. We can also put up a power plant at the mine mouth and export electricity to India. The economics are very much there, but India-Pakistan relations are always more delicate than just the economics. A plus point of working with Indians is that they have immense knowledge and experience of coal. They have been dealing with over 400 million tons of coal per annum for a number of years. It makes more sense for us to use their expertise instead of having experts from China or anywhere else.”..
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Coal/Pakistan-Bets-on-Underground-Coal-Gasification-to-Help-Relieve-Power-Shortages.html
..Since Pakistan came into being, people have been facing loadshedding due to shortage of power supply, with frequent outages affecting economy in many ways.
Uncountable working hours have been lost, leading to an increase in poverty and economic loss of billions of rupees to the country. Surprisingly, it is happening despite the fact that only about 60% of the population has access to electricity. According to the World Energy Statistics 2011, published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Pakistan’s per capita electricity consumption is one-sixth of the world average.
World average per capita electricity consumption is 2,730 kilowatt hours (kwh) compared to Pakistan’s per capita electricity consumption of 451 kwh.
According to the Pakistan Energy Year Book 2011, the country’s installed power generation capacity is 22,477 megawatts and demand is approximately the same. The country needs to redesign the electricity portfolio and substitute oil and gas with an abundantly available indigenous fuel source. It must develop indigenous energy resources to meet future electricity needs and can overcome energy crisis by utilising untapped coal reserves.
Fortunately, Pakistan has a very inexpensive source to get energy through coal. Coal is economically viable and a long-term solution to balance the demand and supply chain of electricity in the country, which has the fifth largest coal deposits in the world.
According to last estimates made in 2011, coal deposits in the country are up to 185 billion tons. The largest deposits are in Thar desert, which is about 850 trillion cubic feet spanning over 10,000 square kilometers, surprisingly more than the oil reserves in Saudi Arabia having a collective quantity of approximately 375 billion barrels.
At present, 40.6% of world’s electricity is being generated from coal and it is the single largest contributor to world electricity generation. By looking at the electricity generation mix of the countries that are blessed with coal, it is evident that coal is the largest contributor.
Countries like Poland, South Africa, China, India, Australia, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Germany, USA, UK, Turkey, Ukraine and Japan are generating 96%, 88%, 78%, 78%, 77%, 72%, 69.9%, 52.5%, 52%, 37%, 31.3%, 27.5% and 22.9% of electricity from coal respectively. In comparison, Pakistan generates only 2.27% of electricity through coal.
However, coal reserves of only Thar can generate 20,000MW of electricity for the next 40 years without loadshedding and at a rate Rs4 less than the current cost of electricity production. The government has given the task to experts to enhance energy efficiency by focusing on coal and ensure large scale power generation through this resource.
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At the International Coal Conference 2011, Pakistan had invited investors from around the world, encouraging them to pour money into coal power projects as the country initially requires $1.2 billion to build power generation infrastructure in Thar. Japan is keen to finance transmission lines from the Thar coalfield to the national grid and Chinese companies have expressed interest in developing coal-based power plants in Thar and Badin.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/467668/coal-powered-energy--the-best-substitute/
ISLAMABAD:
Engro Corporation President and CEO Muhammad Aliuddin Ansari has stated that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) does not object to financing the switchover of thermal power plants to Thar coal.
“The directors of ADB have met me and the chief minister of Sindh and said that they had no objection to the conversion of power plants to Thar coal and are ready to finance [such projects],” he told The Express Tribune.
The revelation comes on the heels of the Ministry of Water and Power’s claim that the ADB is not ready to finance the conversion of power plants to Thar coal, and that the lending authority would finance power plants that run only on imported coal.
Ansari also said he is ready to travel to Manila along with a delegation from the water and power ministry to meet ADB officials and negotiate a financing deal for such projects.
Ansari recalled that it had been decided in a special board meeting of the Thar Coal Energy Board (TCEB) on October 3, 2012, chaired by the prime minister of Pakistan, that existing oil-based power plants should be modified and redesigned to Thar coal specifications, and that new coal-based plants should also be designed keeping the same specifications in mind.
It was also decided in the meeting that agreements would be signed between power generation companies and the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) for the supply of coal for an existing 420 megawatt (MW) power plant in Jamshoro, as well as a new 600MW power plant to be built in the same location. These agreements were to be finalised and signed within a week, but never materialised.
Ansari said that Pakistan was facing a circular debt issue due to the poor energy mix employed by generation companies, and that conversion of power plants to run on Thar coal could address this issue. He claimed that Thar held the future of Pakistan, and reiterated that all future power plants should be designed on Thar coal specifications.
“Not only has the fuel mix shifted from gas to furnace oil, the price of furnace oil has increased four times in the last five years. This has increased the furnace oil bill by 461%, whereas power generation through furnace oil has increased by only 79%,” said a handout provided by Engro Corp as part of the interview.
Ansari said that Indonesia and India both held coal reserves that were similar in specification to the coal available in Thar. He remarked that India is expected to become a major market for coal by 2016: it already imports significant quantities to meet its needs....
http://tribune.com.pk/story/498215/engro-says-adb-has-no-objections-to-thar-coal-project/
ISLAMABAD:
Giving in to the pressure from an international lender, the government has reversed its decision on consuming domestic coal for power generation as the Council of Common Interests has approved using a blend of imported and Thar coal in power plants.
The move will pave the way for an early sanction of a $900 million loan by the Asian Development Bank that will go for the construction of a 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant at Jamshoro and for switching an existing 600MW power plant to coal.
According to sources in the finance ministry, further discussions on the $900 million loan will be held with ADB Director General of Central and West Asia Department Klaus Gerhaeusser, who was due to arrive on Wednesday.
During his two-day visit, Gerhaeusser will meet Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Water and Power Minister Ahmad Mukhtar. He will also hold meetings to review communication projects.
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf had placed a ban on imported coal-powered plants in a bid to encourage consumption of Thar coal in such projects. However, the ADB resisted the move and refused to extend loans for Thar coal-based power plants.
The bank was of the view that higher dependence on lignite would increase pollution, which was against the environmental policy of the lending agency.
Following the ADB’s decision, the federal government placed the case in a meeting of the CCI – a constitutional body headed by the prime minister with all chief ministers as members – on January 23. According to official documents, the CCI decided that “instead of using only Thar coal, a blend of imported and Thar coal will be used in the 600MW Jamshoro plant.”
In this meeting, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, who actively promotes mining and consumption of Thar coal, was also present.
CCI also decided that the Ministry of Water and Power would work out further details in deliberations with representatives of the ADB.
Apart from the ADB, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has also expressed interest in constructing power plants in Pakistan, besides laying a power transmission lines from Thar to Matiari.
In the past many years, heavy reliance on furnace oil has disturbed the country’s energy mix. Against a one-third share of thermal power generation earlier, the ratio has increased to three-fourths. The recent emphasis on the shift to coal is aimed at tackling the runaway circular debt that has plagued the entire energy chain, forcing the government to spend billions of rupees every month to prop up the energy system.
According to a government official, it was not yet clear whether Pakistan will again take up the issue of financing the Diamer Basha Dam with the ADB director general.
However, he said these days the dam, costing $11.3 billion, was not the top priority of the government, which has shifted funds meant for the dam to another project, the Neelum Jhelum hydropower plant. An amount of Rs1 billion has also been diverted to the PM’s discretionary funds.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/507021/coal-fired-power-plant-govts-about-turn-paves-way-for-900m-adb-loan/
Companies from the United Arab Emerites and China have inked an accord to develop the first phase of 500 (4×125) megawatts (MW) power plant at Port Qasim Karachi.
Burj Power, based in UAE, is a development and advisory firm focused on projects in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Harbin Electric International Co Ltd out of China is the technical partner.
The first plant is expected to become operational by 2016.
The Express Tribune reports that the total investment will be between $650 million and $700 million.
http://www.mining.com/coal-based-power-plants-in-pakistan-get-700-million-investment-89811/
http://tribune.com.pk/story/510774/planning-ahead-uae-company-to-set-up-coal-based-power-plants-in-karachi/
KARACHI - The Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) and Government of Sindh broke ground on Thursday to mark the beginning of coal extraction project at Thar Coal block II.
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah attended the groundbreaking ceremony, along with the other government officials and Senior Management of Engro Corporation, says a statement issued by Engro Corporation. Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company is a joint venture between Engro Corporation and Government of Sindh. The SECMC has completed the feasibility study on Thar Coal project, confirming the technical, commercial and environmental viability of the project.
All the required government approvals have been obtained and the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) has approved $700 million sovereign guarantee for the project. The mining project, which will cost US$ 1.3 billion, is likely to start later this year and is expected to take less than four years for completion. Speaking the occasion, Ali Ansari - President and CEO Engro Corporation said, “For over four decades Engro has been a part of Pakistan’s economic landscape sharing the various challenges and triumphs that the country has offered.
As a good corporate citizen, our investments in Thar Coal project today are a preliminary step towards building the capacity, which will foster a more developed and energy-efficient Pakistan. Investments in Thar Coal are not only the need of the hour but also make sound economic sense.” On the occasion, Shamsuddin A. Shaikh - CEO Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company said, “Thar has an enormous energy potential. SECMC’s Thar Block-2 can produce 4000 MW for next 50 years. Total foreign exchange savings for 4000 MW of Thar coal based power plants are estimated at more than US$ 50 billion for life of the project.
The strategic investment and development of the Thar Coal Block II will not only help alleviate the chronic energy crisis of the country but also usher in a new era of prosperity for the people of Sindh and ultimately the people of Pakistan.
The project will yield 4,000 new direct and indirect job opportunities for the local community. The SECMC applauds the support and efforts of the Sindh Government and reiterates its firm commitment to fulfil all its obligations in a timely manner, which will bring energy security to Pakistan and accelerate the industrial development in the country.
The Engro Corporation Limited is one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates with businesses ranging from fertilizers to power generation. Currently Engro Corporation’s portfolio consists of seven businesses, which include chemical fertilizers, PVC resin, a bulk liquid chemical terminal, foods, power generation and commodity trade.
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/03/15/news/profit/sindh-embarks-on-extracting-thar-coal/
The current acute energy crisis in Pakistan, certainly the worst of all times is heating up an indigenous extractive resource scramble in a remote part of Pakistan with unusual demographics. The Tharparker District or simply the Thar Desert located in the southeastern province of Sindh is under spot light because of a 175 billion tons of estimated coal reserves lying beneath its surface. These reserves have been known for around two decades, but only recently has development gained momentum to generate power in order to propel the country’s ailing economy. The signs of a resource boom are already animating the dull landscape of the region – roads, airports, site offices, power lines, guest houses and rising real estate price are evident. Near the town of Islamkot, an underground coal gassification pilot project represents the scale of possible change where workers sourced from local communities rest their heads after long-hour shifts.
Understanding the quandary faced by the residents of the Thar Desert took me to several villages situated in the vicinity of the coal fields to gather some basic ethnographic data on community perceptions of the project. Tharparker is home to around 1.5 million people stretching its boundaries with Indian Rajasthan and the Great Ran of Kutch salt marsh. The indigenous communities of Menghwar, Kolhi and Bheel make up a large part of the rural human settlement. The land is famous for rippling sand dunes, distinct folklore, rain-starved shrubs, drying wells, bottomed indicators of health, poverty and education and the most food insecure district in the country. One of the villages Mauakharaj of Tharparker, just beside an airport being built to host coal companies, has abject poverty and deprivation. The whole village is culturally and socially crippled because of fluorosis; a disease caused by consumption of excessive fluoride in groundwater, with no remedy and still people compelled to use it.
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The conversation did not lead to consensus on what approach should be dominant but there was a agreement that Thar coal development should not be a first resort but much further down the priority scale for addressing Pakistan’s energy crisis. As Pakistan’s election approaches, energy is a ballot issue and polemics are rife on panacea solutions. It is high time that Pakistanis consider their energy predicament with a multifaceted strategy that transcends petty nationalism so that communal harmony is not compromised for short-term and inefficient power solutions.
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/02/pakistan-coal/
KARACHI:
Karachi Electric Supply Company and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) inked a memorandum of understanding to construct a power generation project capable of producing 600 megawatts (MW) at Thar coal field.
According to the agreement, SECMC – a joint-venture between Engro Powergen and the Government of Sindh – will develop a 600MW Mine Mouth Power Plant in Thar field’s block 2, whereas KESC will purchase power from the plant to meet the rising power demand in Karachi and adjoining areas of Sindh and Balochistan, according to a press statement on Wednesday.
Both the parties believe that the agreement will serve as the base for a mutually beneficial partnership for future progress and development of one of largest coal reserves of Pakistan.
The two companies acknowledged that coal from Thar had the potential to address the country’s severe power shortages and bring energy security which is indispensable for economic growth.
The Thar Coal Power Project aims to provide affordable and sustainable electricity to consumers using domestic resources. Reliance on indigenous fuel is likely to save billions of dollars in foreign exchange currently spent on import of the expensive alternative furnace oil, cutting the overall cost of power generation.
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After the signing ceremony, Sheikh said, “Thar coal is a project of national security as it will bring much-needed energy security to propel the nation into an era of prosperity and development. SECMC’s Thar block 2 alone can produce 5,000MW for the next 50 years, amounting to an estimated foreign exchange savings of $50 billion throughout the life of the project. This project will demonstrate maturity and capability of corporate sector to join hands and synergise on national level.”
http://tribune.com.pk/story/546207/kesc-engro-team-up-to-build-600mw-power-plant-at-thar/
Pakistan has asked the Manila-based Asian Development Bank to help finance two coal-fired power units at the Jamshoro thermal power station in Sindh, a senior official of Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority told Kyodo News this week.
Zafar Umar Farooqi, chief engineer at the authority, said Pakistan had initially sought a $433 million ADB loan for one 600-megawatt unit but the bank has now been asked to consider a loan for two units.
He said the size of ADB loan will be decided after consultations with the bank, but he indicated the total cost of Jamshoro project would be around $1.5 billion.
The government-owned WAPDA operates an 850-MW oil-gas fired thermal power plant at Jamshoro at less than 40 percent of its capacity because of a shortage of fuel oil and gas.
The ADB loan will be used to convert the existing plant to coal and set up an additional coal-fired plant at the site, increasing installed capacity at Jamshoro to 2,050 MW.
The government has already invited expressions of interest from consultants to oversee construction at Jamshoro, which is about 150 kilometers northeast of Karachi and uses water from the Indus River for cooling.
Pakistan has long examined setting up coal-fired power plants to use its own lignite coal, but efforts have been unsuccessful because of the high ash content in the coal.
Ismail Khan, senior external relations officer for the ADB for Pakistan, said the new units at Jamshoro would be designed to use mixed local and imported coal, most probably from Indonesia.
Farooqi said separate tenders will be invited for conversion of existing Jamshoro plant from oil-gas to coal.
Pakistan has an acute power shortage and the new government of Pakistan Muslim League (N) has given top priority to increasing power generation.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/130620/pakistan-seeks-adb-loans-coal-fired-power-plants
Despite opposition by the United States (US), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $900-million loan for converting the Jamshoro Power Plant to a coal-fired one, giving a boost to the government’s efforts to improve the energy mix.
According to sources, hectic diplomatic efforts, launched by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, saved the day for Pakistan after the US had indicated its opposition to the deal to the ADB’s Board of Directors. The US cast its vote against Pakistan, the sources said.
However, Canada, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Japan cast their votes in favour of Pakistan.
The loan was approved by the ADB Board of Directors, according to Ministry of Finance. The project will have an installed capacity of 1,320 megawatts (MW) and will add 1,200 to the national grid.
The new plant will generate electricity at a lower cost, saving about $535 million per year on fuel imports compared to oil-fired power plants.
Three-fourth of the board voted in favour of the loan, the finance ministry said. Dar also thanked the ADB and countries that supported Pakistan’s proposal, it added.
The previous government had initiated the process of converting and running the power plant on imported coal.
However, the PML-N government plans to construct coal power plants at Gadani with a total capacity of 6,600 MW as part of its policy of producing electricity on cheaper fuels like coal, Dar stated.
According to the ADB, out of the total sum of $900 million, an amount of $870 million will be at a higher interest rate while $30 million will be at a concessional one. The Islamic Development Bank will also provide $150 million, while $450 million will be arranged by the government, to meet the total estimated project cost of $1.5 billion. The ADB said that project is expected to be completed by December 2018.
While the ADB approves the loan, the Pakistani authorities have yet to sort out the actual price. After the Ministry of Water and Power overestimated it at $2 billion (Rs220 billion), the federal government had constituted a committee to review the cost, which had originally been estimated at $1.5 billion (Rs165 billion).
The ADB said that in order to address environmental concerns, it will employ state-of-the-art emission control equipment resulting in cleaner emissions than the existing heavy fuel oil-fired generators and subcritical boiler technology which is more commonly used.
Before approving the loan, the ADB had pressed Pakistan to agree to using imported bituminous coal for 80% of the plants fuel requirement, and Thar coal which is lignite and has a low heating capacity for the remaining 20%.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/643373/power-through-adb-approves-funds-for-jamshoro-plant/
WASHINGTON: The United States has committed $15 million in financing towards the Central Asia-South Asia electricity transmission project (CASA-1000) that on completion would help bring electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
While announcing the funding the State Department expressed the hope that the US financial support for CASA-1000 would help leverage other donors to support the project and encourage the World Bank to present the project to its Board of Directors for final approval next year.
“We believe CASA-1000 can be a potentially transformative project, helping create a regional energy grid that connects Central and South Asia for the first time,” a statement released by the Office of the Spokesperson said.
When completed, CASA-1000 will allow Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to profit from existing, unused summer generation capacity by selling electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Afghanistan would doubly benefit from the project as a consumer (300 MW) and as transit country generating revenue.
“Pakistan would add 1,000MW to its national grid during the summer months when it experiences its peak demand period and have access to a reliable, clean, and cheaper energy supply.”
According to the State Department, CASA-1000 is entirely dependent on existing hydropower generation so it will not affect water-sharing agreements for other Central Asian countries. It also complements ongoing efforts by the Asian Development Bank and others to support a regional energy grid.
“These types of projects can enhance economic interdependence and support peace and stability in the region for years to come. That is why the United States has been supporting the CASA-1000 Secretariat for several years, and is now committing an equity stake in the project.”
“US support for CASA-1000 is representative of our long-term commitment to peace, stability and prosperity for Afghanistan and its neighbours. CASA-1000 is a practical example of a project that supports regional economic connectivity and our New Silk Road vision. The United States looks forward to working with the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and other development partners to support CASA-1000 and other projects which connect Central and South Asia.”
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-27249-US-pledges-$15-million-to-bring-electricity-to-Pakistan-Afghanistan
Australian mining billionaire and philanthropist, Andrew Forrest, has made an informal deal with Pakistan to free about 2.5 million slaves in return for allowing his firm to convert billions of tonnes of cheap coal into much-needed energy.
The CEO of Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG), who made the announcement at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos, said the agreement would give the Pakistani state of Punjab access to Australian technology that converts lignite coal into diesel.
In return, he said Pakistan has agreed to bring in laws that will tackle the problem of slavery, or bonded labour, in the Punjab province, home to more than 100 million people, reported The Australian.
Forrest says the technology, developed by Curtin University, has the potential to be cost-effective.
"Turning lignite to diesel is proved – so we have no doubt it's going to happen," he was quoted as saying.
The deal earned the approval of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who sung its praises during a brief chance meeting with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott in Davos.
According to the Global Slavery Index, compiled by Forrest's Walk Free Foundation, about 16 million people are held in slave-like conditions through debt and forced labour in Pakistan and India.
http://www.mining.com/aussie-mining-billionaire-forrest-signs-coal-deal-to-end-pakistan-slavery-41098/
....Late last month, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his former rival, ex-president Asif Ali Zardari jointly inaugurated the construction of a $1.6 billion coal plant the southern town of Thar, hailing their shared goal of ending the nation’s power crisis. The government has also green-lighted the construction of a pilot 660 megawatt coal-fired plant in Gadani, a small, serene town on the Arabian Sea known as Pakistan’s ship-breaking hub. A 600 megawatt plant has also been given the go-ahead in the southern city of Jamshoro......
“This is a major and historic fuel switching plan as we generate zero from coal compared to India which generates 69 percent of its electricity from coal-fired power plants,” Pakistan’s minister for power and water Khwaja Asif told AFP.
Pakistan has struggled with scheduled power cuts for decades. But the problems have been particularly acute since 2008, with regular outages of up to 22 hours a day for many domestic users and even longer for industries — costing about two percent of GDP per year.
In the hot summer, when temperatures soar to 50C in the country’s centre, Pakistan produces around 18,000 MW of power, with an average deficit of 4,000 MW. A lack of capacity together with huge debt cycles exacerbated by poor rates of tax collection are seen as some of the major factors contributing to the country’s dismal power shortages.
The issue was also a central campaign theme in last year’s general elections, which saw Nawaz Sharif elected to the top post. Faced with a growing bill for imported oil that currently stands at $14 billion and a rapidly depleting supply of natural gas, the country’s private and public plants are switching their oil-plants over to coal. “Pakistan has been facing rising oil prices and declining gas reserves as well as tight foreign account situation, rendering the reliance on the import of oil to fuel power plants increasingly unaffordable,” the Asian Development Bank said in a statement. Pakistan’s largest private sector power utility Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), which provides electricity to the country’s biggest city, has taken the lead in plans for the coal switch.
The company has recently granted engineering, procurement and construction contracts to Chinese company Harbin Electric International to convert two units of the Bin Qasim thermal power stations with 420 megawatt capacity.
The $400 million project is expected to be completed by 2016. Alongside the conversions, Pakistan is also upgrading its port facilities to increase its ability to import coal.
“Ports are the lifeline of the country,” says Haleem Siddiqui, a veteran seaman who pioneered the first state-of-the art container terminal at Karachi Port and whose company is building a “dirty cargo terminal” at Port Qasim along Arabian Sea.
The fully-mechanised terminal would be able to handle four to eight million tons of coal in the first phase to be completed by 2015, growing to 20 million tons in the extended phase in 2020, at a cost of $200 million.
----- Which is why Pakistan is determined to find some of its energy needs under its own soil. Some experts have pointed to the Thar Desert in southern Sindh province, which sits on top a vast potential source of 175 billion tons of coal.
“It is very huge reserve and is equivalent to combined oil reserves of Iran and Saudi Arab in terms of heating value,” Agha Wasif, chief of the provincial energy department told AFP. Engro Powergen Limited, a joint venture of public and private sectors, is developing a block of the Thar coal field with $800 million dollars investment which is set to open by 2016....
http://www.nation.com.pk/business/20-Feb-2014/energy-starved-pakistan-sets-sights-on-coal
Where, for example, in previous times, only about two kilometres of metalled road was built in a whole year, roads of the same length and more were built every month, and in even less time, for several years.
Grid electricity to main towns, water pipelines to large settlements, preparatory infrastructure for exploitation of coal reserves including work by the post-2008 PPP government, rapid proliferation of telecommunication and mobile phones have vastly enhanced mobility, access and information flow. http://www.dawn.com/news/1091961/tharparkar-a-famine-of-facts
Makhdoom Jamil Zaman is the provincial minister for relief and revenue. Makhdoom Aqil Zaman held the post of Tharparkar deputy commissioner until two days ago. Before him, six months ago, it was Makhdoom Shakil, another son, who held the position of district management for three consecutive years. Amin Fahim’s another son, Makhdoom Khalil Zaman, is a member of the Sindh Assembly (MPA) from the same district.
It is also a fact that the Makhdoom family holds widespread spiritual following in most parts of Tharparkar. But they have been found negligent and the latest crisis has proved that. Makhdoom Aqil was transferred only after the tragic death of children came to the light.
Makhdoom Jamil, the Relief and Revenue minister, is responsible for supplying relief to the affected areas. He reportedly does not take interest in the affairs of his ministry and has never even attended his office, insiders told The News. Also when the news of Tharparkar broke out, he did not take any action for any measure for relief.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-29029-Zardari-summons-Qaim-to-Dubai-over-Thar
SEPCO is a power and construction group in China.
Oracle Coalfields, which is a developer of a lignite coal mine located in the south eastern Sindh Province in Pakistan, said the construction of the integrated coal mine and power plant is a major milestone in the development of the Block VI project in the Thar Coalfields.
Through its local coal mining subsidiary Sindh Carbon Energy Ltd, Oracle owns the mining lease for Block VI in Thar Coalfield, for the mining of lignite coal. Oracle plans to develop the mine and to sell coal to a new created company, provisionally called Electric Power Ltd, at an integrated power station next to the mine.
Oracle said that SEPCO has also proposed a financing structure to potentially securitise up to 85% of the cost of the two EPC contracts, which would be provided by Sinosure, the China Export & Credit Insurance Corp, and some Chinese banks.
The EPC contract is for a 4.2 million tonnes per year coal mine and the 600 megawatt power plant.
The combined EPC transaction value is around USD1.3 billion, Oracle said.
The EPC framework agreement confirms SEPCO's intention to purchase minority equity interests in Electric Power and to potentially make an investment in Sindh Carbon Energy Ltd, Oracle said.
"Entering the EPC Framework Agreement with and receiving a financing proposal from one of China's largest state-owned enterprises in the energy sector is another step towards bringing the project to reality. Both SEPCO and Oracle are eager to succeed in the development of our integrated coal mine and power plant project and to play an effective role in addressing Pakistan's energy crisis," said Oracle Chief Executive Shahrukh Khan in a statement.
http://www.lse.co.uk/AllNews.asp?code=2mspz9ic&headline=Oracle_Coalfields_Inks_Pakistan_Framework_Deal_With_Chinas_SEPCO
Under the terms of the joint development agreement (JDA), the $1bn power plant will be built at Port Qasim, Pakistan. China Datang Overseas Investment Company (CDTO) is also part of this agreement.
The project is being developed as part of KE's effort to diversify its energy fuel-mix toward cheaper sources of energy.
KE CEO Tayyab Tareen said: "This initiative is in line with KE's vision of Karachi being a net exporter of power in the years ahead.
"This project will also contribute to KE's fuel diversification strategy and marks a significant step towards a new era of cheap base load power in Pakistan."
In addition to creating employment opportunities, the project will help to overcome the ever rising electricity demand of the port city of Pakistan.
CDTO president Duan Zhongmin said: "We are fully committed to cooperate with KE and CMEC to successfully execute this Port Qasim project which shall go a long way to meet the energy needs of the people of Pakistan."
http://fossilfuel.energy-business-review.com/news/k-electric-and-cmec-to-jointly-develop-700mw-power-plant-in-pakistan-300115-4500334
The plant is to feature two 660 MW supercritical units and will be built in Karachi, at Pakistan’s second-largest port, Port Qasim. The bulk of the fuel is to be shipped in from Indonesia. Power Construction Corporation, which is set to build the project, aims to complete it in 32 months.
Of the $521m project capital, 51 per cent is to be invested by Power Construction Corporation and 49 per cent by Al Mirqab Capital, with the remaining $1.56bn to come from loans. The companies said the plant will be constructed and run on a build-own-operate model.
In a statement, Power Construction Corporation said: “The Pakistan Port Qasim power project is a large energy project of great political and economic importance between the two countries, as a high-priority project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. This project fits the company’s development strategy and investment direction”.
Pakistan currently suffers from an energy shortfall of around 5 GW. The 3000 km, $45.6bn Economic Corridor project, which aims to connect Pakistan’s southern Gwadar Port with China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, includes plans for a gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan, on which construction work has already begun although a formal deal won't be signed until later this month. According to reports, the pipeline could eventually provide Pakistan with enough fuel to generate around 4.5 GW of power.
In February Pakistan shelved a planned 6.6 GW coal-fired power project after Chinese investors backed out, citing lack of adequate infrastructure.
http://www.powerengineeringint.com/articles/2015/04/chinese-and-qatari-firms-to-build-coal-power-plant-in-pakistan.html
A consortium led by China Machinery Engineering Corp is set to finance a coal-based power plant and a mining project being developed by Engro Corp, a Pakistani firm.
The first phase of the $2 billion project will consist of a coal-based power plant with two 330-megawatt units in Thar Block II in the Sindh province of Pakistan and a coal mining project for power generation.
The project is also part of the cooperation along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which runs about 3,000 kilometers from Gwadar to the northwestern Chinese city of Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, a part of the ancient Silk Road linking Eurasia and Africa, CMEC said in a statement.
Zhang Chun, president of CMEC, said that it is the first integration project of coal mining and coal-based power plant among the projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is expected to push forward the economic development in Pakistan.
"I think we have opened a new chapter in the overseas market with this project," Zhang said.
"Since our strength lies in foreign engineering project contracting, it will become a model project in Pakistan."
The deal follows President Xi Jinping's state visit to Pakistan in April, when the two sides agreed to set up an economic corridor to bolster China's new trade initiatives－the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
Wang Shida, an expert on Afghanistan at the Beijing-based China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that the project will help bolster Pakistan's energy supplies, something that has hindered local economic development.
He said Pakistan relies heavily on imported crude oil, diesel and natural gas, with less than 0.1 percent of energy coming from coal-fired power stations, leaving much potential for growth in coal-based power projects.
"The cost is very high due to the reliance on imports. Construction of more coal-powered plants will ease the demand-supply gap in Pakistan," he said.
China has already invested more than $40 billion for development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with energy projects being a major focus including hydropower plants, coal-fired stations and wind farms, experts said.
The signing ceremony also involved financial groups like China Development Bank and Habib Bank Ltd in Pakistan.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1306746/part-cpec-deals-signed-2-5b-coal-fired-power-plants/
The government on Wednesday signed four agreements for setting up two coal-based power plants of 1,650 megawatts in Hub and Thar under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The agreements – two each for project implementation and power purchase – were inked by representatives of China Power Hub Generation Company Limited, Hub Power Company and Private Power and Infrastructure Board.
Minister of Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Water and Power Secretary Mohammad Younus Dagha were present on the occasion. Under the agreements, a 1,320MW coal-fired power plant will be set up in Hub, Balochistan at an estimated cost of $2 billion while a 330MW plant will be installed in Thar, Sindh costing $500 million.
First power project will be completed by August 2019 and the second will come online by December 2019.
Terming the projects a major milestone, Khawaja Asif said construction work on the 1,320MW plant had already commenced and both projects would be completed in 2019.
He boasted that the government was also fully executing the projects that would come on stream after the end of its tenure keeping in view future energy requirements of the country.
Asif pointed out that preference was being given to the consumption of Thar coal for generating cheap electricity. “These projects will open a new chapter in the energy sector … Thar will be a centre of energy for the country in future,” he remarked.
He said the projects would not only help save foreign exchange, but would also produce electricity at affordable prices.
Responding to a question, the minister elaborated that the 1,320MW project was based on super-critical technology, meaning it would be more environment-friendly.
However, the 330MW plant will run on sub-critical technology. Replying to a question about why the sub-critical technology was being used, the minister clarified that it was a pilot project and after the passage of time and more projects were taken up, the technology would be upgraded.
He emphasised that equal attention was being paid to upgrading the power transmission system and work on that was being carried out simultaneously.
About the Nandipur power plant, the minister claimed that it was supplying 430MW, its full capacity, as six furnace oil treatment plants had been put in place. “Gasification process has also started and the plant will start running on gas in May this year and generate 525MW,” he said.
He revealed that payment had also been made to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines for laying a pipeline for gas supply to the plant. Turning to Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams, the minister said groundbreaking of both the projects would be carried out this year and the reservoirs would be built with the help of domestic resources.
Land acquisition for the Diamer-Bhasha dam had been mostly completed and a little percentage was left, he said.
Asif said around 1,000MW of alternative energy was being generated, which came to around 6% of the total power production in the country. The minister announced that the government was going to unveil the water policy very soon and was also planning to hold an international water conference this year.
Meanwhile, in a tweet, Asif said the government had made payments of Rs270 billion out of the total Rs480 billion to the independent power producers (IPPs) in 2013 whereas Rs71.6 billion was paid to the oil and gas companies.
http://www.goerie.com/news/20170123/pakistan-takes-delivery-of-erie-built-locomotives
"Over the next 10 years, the (Pakistan) government aims to increase the share of rail in transportation from 4 percent to 20 percent, which will help lower the costs and environmental impact of moving goods across the country," according to a statement from the state-owned railroad.
The majority of GE Transportation's Evolution locomotives - its most technologically advanced model - are built at its plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
The locomotives sold to Pakistan, however, are being built in Erie, where the company builds most of the locomotives it produces for foreign sale.
To mark the arrival of the new GE locomotives, more than 200 senior government officials, private sector partners and members of the media attended a ceremonial luncheon at the port, according to Pakistan Railways.
Building the locomotives has provided some much-needed work at the Erie plant at a time when new orders have been slow to arrive. Earlier this year, GE Transportation reduced the workforce at its local plant by 1,500 people because of a slowdown in the rail freight industry.
While much of that slowdown has been attributed to reduced reliance on coal, the new GE locomotives delivered to Pakistan will be used primarily to transport coal inside Pakistan.
Five locomotives are expected to haul coal daily, carrying 12,000 tons of freight.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-21/coal-addiction-spreads-as-chinese-workers-dig-in-pakistan-desert
In the dusty scrub of the Thar desert, Pakistan has begun to dig up one of the world’s largest deposits of low-grade, brown, dirty coal to fuel new power stations that could revolutionize the country’s economy.
The project is one of the most expensive among an array of ambitious energy developments that China is helping the country to build as part of a $55 billion economic partnership. A $3.5 billion joint venture between the neighbors will extract coal to generate 1.3 gigawatts of electricity that will be sent across the country on a new $3 billion transmission network.
“When I came it was a mess. There was nothing here,” said Dileep Kumar, one of the first mining engineers at lead contractor Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co., standing atop the mile-wide hole in the earth, busy with yellow trucks and diggers on the floor below. “Now look at it. This wasn’t possible without the Chinese.”
On paper, Pakistan could be one of Asia’s top economies, with almost 200 million people spread over an area twice the size of California, from the ice-bound peaks of the Karakorum to the warm, dry shores of the Arabian Sea. But it remains hobbled by corruption, political turmoil, terrorism and poverty, all underpinned by a crippling shortage of energy.
The country has natural gas reserves, four nuclear-power stations and the world’s largest dam. Some 700 kilometers north of the Thar mine another Chinese company is helping build a solar farm eight times the size of New York’s Central Park. Yet power outages remain a way of life with blackouts of 12 hours or more even in Karachi and Islamabad. By one estimate, the shortage of electricity is wiping 2 percentage points off economic growth every year.
Thirst for energy is taking Pakistan in the opposite direction of Western countries that are trying to reduce coal power, or use cleaner-burning fuel and technologies. Germany, which still relies on coal-fired stations for two fifths of its electricity, has promised to switch half of them off by 2030.
Pakistan by contrast relies on coal for just 0.1 percent of its power, according to the Pakistan Business Council. The Thar projects and others could see that jump to 24 percent by 2020, according to Tahir Abbas, analyst at Karachi-based brokerage Arif Habib Ltd.
Pakistan’s coal reserves would give the nation a cheap domestic alternative to expensive oil and gas imports. The nation spends about $8 billion a year on imported petroleum and is one of the region’s biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas.
In an effort to curb the import bill and meet demand for power, Pakistan plans to dig up some of the world’s biggest known deposits of lignite, a lower-grade brown coal. But first, it must clear 160 meters of sand to get to the coal.
On a flat, arid plain, separated from a hot cerulean sky by a thin line of spindly scrub, yellow-edged containers sit neatly around paved quadrangles. In the centre of each, a lumpy circle of green turf, irrigated by a hosepipe, provides some respite from the dust and heat.
The households and small businesses that crowd the narrow lanes of Gazdarabad, Karachi, are used to blackouts. Until recently, residents here, as in many parts of Pakistan’s biggest city, suffered between eight and 10 hours a day without electricity.
It has taken years for engineers from K-Electric, the local power company, to unpick the tangle of loose wires and illegal connections that were symptomatic of a city deprived of regular electricity for the past decade.
“We would have up to 10 hours of load-shedding,” says Tariq Gulsher, a local resident, referring to the area’s power cuts during the latest of Pakistan’s energy crises. “Although we could pay people for access to a back-up generator, it was expensive and fluctuations in the power often meant our equipment broke.”
Gazdarabad’s residents now have reliable, 24-hour power — but they are the lucky ones. Pakistan is facing an unprecedented power crunch, which has left households and businesses either in the dark or relying on back-up generators for large portions of the day.
It poses a risk to economic growth as Pakistan becomes a more attractive place for foreign consumer businesses, which are enticed by its young and growing population and cautiously optimistic about improving security.
Ehsan Malik, chief executive of the Pakistan Business Council, says the energy shortfall “is business’s biggest difficulty right now”.
Electricity in Pakistan is both insufficient and expensive. Peak demand surpasses maximum generating capacity by 6 gigawatts — equivalent to about 12 medium-sized coal power plants.
Pakistan plans to remedy this by building coal-fired power stations funded by more than $35bn in Chinese loans — part of the $50bn-plus China-Pakistan Economic Corridor scheme to improve Pakistan’s infrastructure. Several large power stations are under construction and the government says at least one will come online every month until next March, producing eight gigawatts of new capacity.
These schemes are intended eventually to take advantage of the 175bn tonnes of coal reserves discovered at Thar, about 400km east of Karachi. The amount of fuel there puts Pakistan in the top 10 countries in coal reserves.
Pakistan has some of the highest power prices in the region, at $0.13 per unit of electricity, compared with $0.12 in India, $0.11 in China and $0.09 in Bangladesh. Furnace oil is burnt to produce 40 per cent of the supply, with hydroelectric dams accounting for 30 per cent and gas 25 per cent. Virtually none of the energy comes from coal, which is far cheaper,
“We are sitting on some of the largest coal reserves in the world but the government in the 1990s was completely focused on furnace oil,” says Syed Murad Ali Shah, chief minister of Sindh province. A concern is the financial risk. The falling cost of solar energy could render coal power plants useless, and energy suppliers complain the electricity tariffs set by authorities are too low for them to make a profit or attract new investment.
Energy regulators have slashed the tariffs of a range of suppliers in the last year, causing three of them to slide from profits into losses. Since virtually all the electricity distribution companies are state owned, it is up to the government to fill the holes its policies have created.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/201079-Pakistan-uses-supercritical-technology-for-coal-power-generation
Minister for planning, development and reform Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday came hard on opposition against coal-combusted power plants, saying the country is using supercritical modern technology, which reduces hazardous emissions.
Planning minister categorically rejected the claims that coal power plants would create environmental hazards. He was speaking at a seminar on “CPEC Myths and Realities”, a statement said.
China has pledged at least $55 billion for Pakistan’s infrastructure development projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). More than 60 percent of this investment has been committed for energy projects, which the country, suffering from crippling power shortages, is direly needed.
Experts are against mining of coal at one of the world’s largest coal reservoir, Thar Desert, with an estimated 175 billion tonnes reserve. They said local coal is of poor quality, and needs heavy investment for treatment prior to power generation.
While government encourages coal import, yet it has also partnered China to embark on $3.5 billion project to mine local coal and generate 1,300 megawatts of electricity. “The present government for the first time under CPEC is tapping the Thar coal reserves, which can be a source of energy supply for many hundred years,” Minister Iqbal said.
He said CPEC energy projects will result in generation of additional 10,000MW, which will be added into grid network by 2017. “Increased energy production capacity will help to overcome the prevailing energy crisis. “Energy mix, adopted under CPEC, includes coal, hydel and renewable energy projects.”
Iqbal said CPEC is the platform of inclusive growth, where 85,000 jobs will create for youngsters. CPEC presents Pakistan with a historical opportunity to uplift the country’s status as the hub of economic activity in the region.
He urged the youngsters to prepare themselves in order to benefit from the opportunities offered by CPEC and play a constructive role in transforming the economy to a modern industrial economy by adding value at different levels.
Planning minister further said Pakistan has achieved an economic growth of five percent and become able to create a favourable socio-economic ecosystem, which enjoys political stability. “A favourable ecosystem has resulted in attracting the interest of key global investors, which are now eyeing Pakistan as a potential market for investments.”
He said China is promoting regional and global connectivity across Asia Pacific region as part of its ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative. Similarly, Pakistan’s Vision 2025 focuses on helping Pakistan to leverage its geo-strategic location in order to explore the inherent economic options. “CPEC is a fusion of Pakistan’s vision 2025 and China’s Vision of One Built One Road initiative.”
Iqbal said CPEC has changed the global narrative about Pakistan. “The country which was ranked as the most dangerous country of the world is now recognised as the next emerging economy.” He said the government has convinced global media to recognise Pakistan as a safe haven for investments, which once called Pakistan as ‘safe Heaven for extremists’.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/climate/china-energy-companies-coal-plants-climate-change.html
When China halted plans for more than 100 new coal-fired power plants this year, even as President Trump vowed to “bring back coal” in America, the contrast seemed to confirm Beijing’s new role as a leader in the fight against climate change.
But new data on the world’s biggest developers of coal-fired power plants paints a very different picture: China’s energy companies will make up nearly half of the new coal generation expected to go online in the next decade.
These Chinese corporations are building or planning to build more than 700 new coal plants at home and around the world, some in countries that today burn little or no coal, according to tallies compiled by Urgewald, an environmental group based in Berlin. Many of the plants are in China, but by capacity, roughly a fifth of these new coal power stations are in other countries.
Over all, 1,600 coal plants are planned or under construction in 62 countries, according to Urgewald’s tally, which uses data from the Global Coal Plant Tracker portal. The new plants would expand the world’s coal-fired power capacity by 43 percent.
In China, concerns over smog and climate change have prompted a move toward renewables, as have slowing economic growth and a gradual shift in the Chinese economy away from heavy manufacturing and toward consumer industries. The addition of domestic capacity, though large on paper, does not mean there will be growth in coal consumption. The current coal plants are operating far below capacity because demand for coal-generated power has slowed considerably.
But overseas, the Chinese are playing a different game.
Shanghai Electric Group, one of the country’s largest electrical equipment makers, has announced plans to build coal power plants in Egypt, Pakistan and Iran with a total capacity of 6,285 megawatts — almost 10 times the 660 megawatts of coal power it has planned in China.
The China Energy Engineering Corporation, which has no public plans to develop coal power in China, is building 2,200 megawatts’ worth of coal-fired power capacity in Vietnam and Malawi. Neither company responded to requests for comment.
Of the world’s 20 biggest coal plant developers, 11 are Chinese, according to a database published by Urgewald.
Some of the countries targeted for coal-power expansion, like Egypt or Pakistan, currently burn almost no coal, and the new coal plants could set the course of their national energy policies for decades, environmentalists warn.
In Egypt, coal projects by Shanghai Electric and other global developers are set to bring the country’s coal-fired capacity to 17,000 megawatts, from near zero, according to the Urgewald database.
Pakistan’s coal capacity is set to grow to 15,300 megawatts from 190. In Malawi, planned coal projects would bring its coal-fired capacity to 3,500 megawatts from zero.
Chinese companies are not the only drivers of the global coal expansion.
The world’s single largest coal-plant developer is India’s National Thermal Power Corporation, which plans to build more than 38,000 megawatts of new coal capacity in India and Bangladesh. The corporation did not respond to an email query.
https://www.voanews.com/a/coal-project-is-latest-sign-of-growing-pakistan-china-relationship/4125106.html
As the car speeds along gleaming blacktop highways in Pakistan's southern desert of Tharparkar, it is clear the new roads were not built to serve the poor herders and nomads who live in cone-shaped straw homes and subsist on herding sheep and cattle.
Indeed, a few decades ago, the Tharparkar desert in Sindh province bordering India was accessible only by crab-shaped vehicles that crawled over sand dunes by day and under star-studded skies at night, to reach the people of a forgotten century.
That changed as international feasibility studies sanctioned by Islamabad found that nearly half the desert covered coal. The turning point came as China offered to excavate and convert the fuel to help Pakistan cover its electricity shortfall of 25,000 megawatts.
So while the world turned away from coal to cleaner fuels, the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) began digging a layered, rectangular trough near the town of Islamkot.
Coal mine area
From above, the mining area looks like Pakistan's 5,000-year-old archaeological site, Moen Jo Daro (Mound of the Dead). But with Pakistani and Chinese flags fluttering side by side — and the hustle-bustle of dump trucks — the excavation clearly looks to the future.
Across the barren hills, the State Power International Mendong (SPIM) and China Machinery Engineering Corporation's power plants are poised to convert the coal to energy — reportedly 660 megawatts by the end of 2017.
Just outside the power plants sits a Chinese housing colony for the workers it has imported, a common practice for the country's foreign projects.
Partners in change
Meanwhile, Engro has a mandate from the Sindh government to ensure that the desert people, sitting atop the world's seventh-largest coal reserves, become willing partners in the transformation of their habitat.
Already, Engro has created "Khushal Thar" (Prosperous Thar), training 694 people on monthly stipends to be supplied to their Chinese partners.
Armed with a strategy for social change, Engro trains women as dump truck drivers. Recruiter Jehan Ara said the corporation, initially concerned about a backlash, first discussed the community's response to inducting women into an all-male profession, and only then made the positions official.
Interviewed in Islamkot, Marvi, 35, beamed at the prospect of driving dump trucks. Having six children was apparently no deterrent. Her husband, Ratan Lal, was on hand to cheer her, saying: "She is tough; she climbs trees to gather firewood and gets water from afar."
But the community has concerns that water from the mining process, discharged into Gorano village 28 kilometers away, could pollute drinking water sources. In Mithi town, people have repeatedly demonstrated to sound the alarm, with the fears echoed by Sindh's civil society.
For generations, the desert people have lived amid peacocks, sheep and camels. Engro plans to compensate and relocate them from their straw homes to model homes, fully equipped with schools and hospitals. Muslims and Hindus are to be resettled side by side, emblematic of the peaceful coexistence within the border community.
Falling solar and wind prices have led to new power deals across the world despite investment in renewables falling
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/06/spectacular-drop-in-renewable-energy-costs-leads-to-record-global-boost
Renewable energy capacity around the world was boosted by a record amount in 2016 and delivered at a markedly lower cost, according to new global data – although the total financial investment in renewables actually fell.
The greater “bang-for-buck” resulted from plummeting prices for solar and wind power and led to new power deals in countries including Denmark, Egypt, India, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates all being priced well below fossil fuel or nuclear options.
Analysts warned that the US’s withdrawal from the Paris climate change agreement, announced last week by Donald Trump, risked the US being left behind in the fast-moving transition to a low-carbon economy. But they also warned that the green transition was still not happening fast enough to avoid the worst impacts of global warming, especially in the transport and heating sectors.
The new renewable energy capacity installed worldwide in 2016 was 161GW, a 10% rise on 2015 and a new record, according to REN21, a network of public and private sector groups covering 155 nations and 96% of the world’s population.
The new record capacity cost $242bn, a 23% reduction in investment compared to 2015, and renewables investment remained larger than for all fossil fuels. Subsidies for green energy, however, are still much lower than those for coal, oil and gas.
New solar power provided the biggest boost – half of all new capacity – followed by wind power at a third and hydropower at 15%. It is the first year that the new solar capacity added has been greater than any other electricity-producing technology.
“A global energy transition [is] well under way, with record new additions of installed renewable energy capacity, rapidly falling costs and the decoupling of economic growth and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions for the third year running,” said Arthouros Zervos, chair of REN21.
https://www.economist.com/news/business/21736185-just-1-vast-reserve-discovered-1992-could-supply-fifth-countrys-current
PAKISTAN’s enormous mineral wealth has long lain untapped. Since a 1992 geological survey spotted one of the world’s largest coal reserves in Thar, a scrubby desert in the southern province of Sindh, prospectors have hardly dug up a lump. Among those to flounder is a national hero. Samar Mubarakmand, feted for his role in Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons programme, has just shut the coal-gasification company he founded in 2010, when he vowed on live television to crack Thar.
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To such qualms, the government offers three rejoinders. First, severe power shortages have long blighted the nation, and renewable sources cannot offer the daylong, year-round power it needs. Second, coal accounts for less than 1% of current generation, compared with 70% in neighbouring India and China. And third, domestic coal would allow the country to forgo expensive imports of the fuel for newly built power stations, a drain on fast-dwindling foreign-exchange reserves.
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Eight years ago Engro bought the rights to one of Thar’s 13 blocks, containing 1% of the reserve (more than enough given the gargantuan size of the mine). To work on extraction, it formed the country’s biggest ever public-private partnership, the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), in which Engro digs and the state provides infrastructure. Relying on the state can break strong firms. Engro itself almost went bankrupt in 2012 after the government refused to honour a sovereign guarantee to provide gas to one of its fertiliser plants. Yet without similar government support, no other Thar block-owners have secured financing, leaving Engro’s diggers, which began work last year, to move ahead.
The endeavour benefits from being in the group of infrastructure projects that make up the $62bn China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a hoped-for trade route. Western banks shook their heads when approached about a coal project, so Engro has relied on Chinese financing. Analysts note an irony in China’s promotion of coal abroad as it withdraws from the fuel at home. Handling the extraction at Thar is the China Machinery Engineering Corporation, a state-owned firm with expertise beyond Pakistan’s reach.
Around 126 metres below the sands of Thar, with just 20 more to go, Engro’s diggers can now almost touch their prize. When the coal is reached, as is expected in mid-2018, it will feed a pit-mouth power station constructed by Engro, and, in time, three others owned by partners in the SECMC. These stations will furnish around a fifth of the country’s electricity for the next 50 years. The financial rewards could be vast. “All my richest friends are jumping up and down [because they did not get there first]”, says the boss of one big multinational construction business.
Hurdles remain, not least complaints from nearby villagers about the disposal of the vast quantities of wastewater from the mine on their ancestral grazing lands in the form of a reservoir. In reply, Engro stresses its social work in the surrounding district of Tharparkar, the poorest in Sindh, which includes the construction of several free schools. More self-interestedly, it is training locals to drive so they can man the dump trucks that trundle day and night around the mine. According to Shamsuddin Shaikh, chief executive of Engro Powergen, the conglomerate’s energy division, Engro also has its sights on Reko Diq, a gargantuan and long-stalled copper mine in Balochistan, the least developed of Pakistan’s provinces. To tap one of the country’s two largest and most niggardly mines is hard enough. Imagine cracking them both.
Plan to spend $35bn loan from China on new power stations looks set to continue under Khan
https://www.ft.com/content/5cd07544-7960-11e8-af48-190d103e32a4
Pakistan believes it may have found a way out of its long-term energy supply crisis, thanks largely to more than $35bn worth of loans provided by China under the $60bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The country has experienced years of rolling blackouts that have left residents in the dark and stifled the country’s manufacturing industries.
But now it is investing in an energy technology that is fast going out of fashion in other parts of the region — coal.
Under the CPEC, Beijing is planning to spend at least $35bn building new power stations, which will be mainly coal-fired, using resources from coalfields at Thar, about 400km east of Karachi. The plans will mean building 9.5 gigawatts of new coal-fired capacity — a third of the total capacity the country has already built.
This is in stark contrast with India, which recently said it would not approve any more new coal power plants — not least because the unit price of solar power has dropped below that of coal.
The previous government has defended its energy policies. Shehbaz Sharif, head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, which lost power in last week’s election, told the Financial Times before the vote: “We have built 11,000 megawatts of additional capacity in the space of five years, compared with 18,000 over the previous 66 years.”
And the strategy looks set to continue under the new prime minister Imran Khan, head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Again speaking before the election, Mr Khan told the FT he backed using Thar coal to boost the country’s electricity supplies. “Thar coal is in a desert, it’s near the coast, and there are new technologies which now make it possible that you don’t damage the environment,” he said.
Defenders of Pakistan’s build-up of coal point out that the fuel currently accounts for a very small fraction of the country’s installed electricity capacity. In India, that figure is around 75 per cent.
They also say that with tariffs higher in Pakistan than in neighbouring countries, encouraging cheap electricity supply is essential to help develop exporting manufacturers. The average electricity tariff for industry is around $0.13 per kilowatt-hour, compared with $0.12 in India and $0.09 in Bangladesh.
Pakistan exported goods worth 8.2 per cent of its gross domestic product last year, according to the World Bank, compared with 15 per cent by Bangladesh and nearly 19 per cent by India.
“Manufacturers in India and Bangladesh get cheaper electricity than those in Pakistan do,” says Ehsan Malik, chief executive of the Pakistan Business Council. “This is particularly problematic for the garment industry, especially since all three countries make clothes at the lower end of the sector, where energy prices account for a higher proportion of costs.”
Others, however, warn that while solar prices are falling, Pakistan is building a series of large power stations that will not only pollute the environment but could also saddle the country with high debts and could even become stranded assets in the long run.
Fiza Farhan, an independent development consultant and a former director of Buksh Energy, a solar power company, says: “I have banged my head against walls for years trying to get the government to launch solar projects on mega scales.
“But it was impossible to get projects into the final stage — every time we would get to the financing stage, the government would revise the tariffs.”
https://www.power-technology.com/projects/engro-thar-block-ii-power-plant/
Engro Thar Block II power plant is a new coal-fired power station being developed in the Tharparkar district, Sindh, Pakistan. It will be Pakistan’s first power plant to use indigenous coal reserves of Thar.
The 660MW power plant is part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which forms part of the Belt and Road Initiative to link China with Europe. It is being developed by Engro Powergen Thar (EPTL), a joint venture of Engro Powergen (EPL), China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), Habib Bank, and Liberty Mills.
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Two more coal-fired power plants named TEL and ThalNova are being developed in Thar Block II.
The TEL power plant is a 330MW mine mouth lignite-fired power project being built by Thar Energy, which is owned by Hub Power Company (Hubco), CMEC, and Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC). The power plant is expected to be operational by March 2021.
ThalNova is a similar 330MW power plant being developed in the same block.
https://www.eco-business.com/news/government-unhappy-but-pakistan-to-stay-with-coal/
Out of the 21 energy projects to be completed on a fast track (by 2019) with a cumulative capacity of 10,400 MW, nine are coal power plants, seven wind power plants, three hydropower, and two are HVDC transmission line projects.
Nearly USD 35 billion of the USD 60 billion worth of loans for producing energy from the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be used to build new power stations, mainly coal-fired.
The projects completed include two mega coal power plants of 1,320 MW each, one in Punjab’s Sahiwal (commercially operating since May 2017) and the other in Karachi’s Port Qasim (Commercially operating since April 2018) using imported bituminous coal with modern supercritical coal-fired units. According to news reports, the country’s National Accountability Bureau has initiated an alleged corruption probe into both the costly projects.
Another one under completion is in the Thar desert in Sindh, about 400 kilometres from the port city of Karachi. It includes mining and setting up two 330 MW power plants at a cost of USD 2 billion. Once completed, it will be the first large power generation project using local coal.
The Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company has finally reached the coal seam in the desert. According to the company’s chief executive officer, Shamsuddin Shaikh, by October the company would have dug down to 162 metres to be able to dig up “useful” lignite coal. At the same time work at the first of the two power plants is 85 per cent complete and commissioning will begin by November-December this year when it will start supplying power to the national grid on an experimental basis. Once the first plant is fired, it will gobble up 3.8 million tons of coal each year.
Other projects in the pipeline include three 1,320 MW coal power plants. The ones at Rahim Yar Khan (in Punjab), and Hub (in Balochistan) to be completed between December 2018 and August 2019 respectively, will use imported coal. The third one, at Thar Block VI (in Sindh), will use indigenous lignite coal.
That does not mean that Pakistan is going to be completely coal-driven. Vaqar Zakaria, managing director of environmental consultancy firm Hagler Bailly Pakistan, put the figure to “just about 10 per cent of current power generation” which is from imported coal. However, he pointed out that coal-based power generation will increase to about 30 per cent of the country’s capacity requirement in the next three years once plants on Thar coal come online, and those at Hub and Jamshoro expand on imported coal.
Zakaria pointed out that the main argument in favour of Thar coal was the “lower reliance on imported fuel”, and to meet the “demand particularly when hydropower drops in winter” although the capital cost was high as the mines also have to be developed. However, he predicted the country will “see a slowdown in capacity addition in Thar in future”.
But projects relying on imported coal were questionable, especially those that are being carried out now, said Zakaria. “The earlier ones were justified [by the government] on the basis of load shedding and early induction of power to fill the demand-supply gap like the one at Port Qasim and Sahiwal plants that are already online; but the ones at Hub and Jamshoro cannot be justified on that basis. It is hard to understand why a project on imported coal was added so late in the game,” he said.
The first of two supercritical turbines from GE Steam Power has successfully synchronized to Pakistan’s national grid at China Power Hub Generation Company’s (CPHGC) new power plant three months ahead of schedule.
The 1,320 MW plant is located 25 kilometers southwest of the town of Hub, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, and is a joint-venture project between China Power International Holding Limited (CPIH) and Pakistan’s Hub Power Company (HUBCO).
This important milestone was met just 27 months after the project first received go-ahead. Under an agreement signed in 2016, GE is supplying the core power generation equipment for the project, which comprises two units each of supercritical boilers, steam turbine and generator sets. The project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors are Northwest Electric Power Design Institute Co. Ltd. (NWEPDI) and Tianjin Electric Power Construction Company (TEPC).
“This is a world-class example of GE’s global engineering, manufacturing and execution teams working closely together along with our customers to beat an already ambitious delivery schedule,” said Andreas Lusch, President & CEO of GE Steam Power. “Reaching this key milestone early required a very high degree of technical, engineering and production coordination between our factories in Wuhan and Beijing, China and Wroclaw, Poland with the highest commitment to quality and on-time delivery for our customers.”
Pakistan has an installed electricity generation capacity of 33,836 MW in 2018.[4] Furnace oil (16 percent), hydel (27 percent), Natural gas (12 percent), LNG (26 percent), Coal (9 percent), Renewable (Solar & Wind 5 percent) and nuclear (5 per cent) are the principal sources.
In Service
Station Location Capacity (MW) Status
Lakhra Power Plant Jamshoro, Sindh 150 Operational.
Sitara Chemical Industries Ltd Faisalabad, Punjab 40 Operational since 2016.
Fauji Fertilizer Power Plant Karachi, Sindh 118 Operational since 2017.
Sahiwal Coal Power Project Sahiwal, Punjab 1320 Operational since 2017.
Maple Leaf Power Ltd Mianwali, Punjab 40 Operational since 2017.
Port Qasim Coal Power Project Karachi, Sindh 1320 Operational since 2017.
DG Cement Coal Power Project DG Khan, Punjab 30 Operational since 2017.
Hub Coal Power Project Hub, Balochistan 1320 Operational since 2018.
Engro Powergen Thar Pvt Ltd Tharparkar, Sindh 660 Operational since 2019.
Under Construction and Proposed
Station Location Capacity (MW) Notes
Thar Energy Ltd Tharparkar, Sindh 330 Under construction. To be operational by Mar 2021.[9]
Lucky Electric Power Karachi, Sindh 660 Under construction. To be operational by Mar 2021.[10]
ThalNova Power Pvt Ltd Tharparkar, Sindh 330 Under construction. To be operational by Jun 2021.[11]
Siddiqsons Energy Ltd Tharparkar, Sindh 330 Under construction. To be operational by Jun 2021.[10]
Gwadar Coal Power Project Gwadar, Balochistan 300 LOI issued.[12][12]
K-Electric Coal Power Project Karachi, Sindh 700 LOI issued.[13]
https://www.dawn.com/news/1490134
In April, the 1,320MW coal power plant in Sahiwal in Punjab province, the first energy project under CPEC built by China Huaneng Shandong Rui Group, was on the brink of closure after the government was unable to pay the PKR 20 billion power (USD 127 million) of charges it owed the developer.
In May, the 1,320MW Port Qasim power plant in Karachi, jointly developed by PowerChina and Qatar’s Al Mirqab Capital, also hit financial difficulties just a year after operations began due to rising debt and the soaring cost of imported coal. Its chairman told media that his company was facing the challenge “payment of arrears” to the tune of PKR 21 billion (USD 133 million).
two more plants using imported coal are coming up this year. China Power Hub Generation Company’s 1,320MW coal plant in Hub, Balochistan province, will start commercial production by August this year. Another 1,320MW plant is being set up at Jamshoro, in Sindh, using 80pc imported coal and 20pc local Thar lignite. In addition, two more 330MW coal-fired are being developed in Thar Block II using indigenous coal by Engro Powergen Thar and the China Machinery Engineering Corporation. Coal from the Thar desert – one of the largest untapped coal deposits in the world – may be cheaper than imported coal, but it is a particularly dirty type of coal with low energy content. This means a higher quantity of coal needs to be burnt to produce power, which means more carbon emissions.
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he government has taken some positive steps to increase the role of renewables in its energy mix, recently reversing a three-year-old ban on investing in solar and wind placed by its predecessor. The Alternative Energy Policy 2019 has been finalised and should be approved in a few months, said Qasim. “[The policy] states that as much as 30pc electricity generation capacity will be from solar and wind and in the next five years as we aim to install 18,000MW,” he added.
In the flat scrubland of Pakistan’s scorching Thar Desert, hundreds of workers have been toiling for two years in the vast open pit of the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co. Taking three-hour breaks during the hottest part of the day and living in a makeshift village of shipping containers, they are digging for fuel to sustain a $3.5 billion power project. So far they have scraped away about 500 feet (150 meters) of Aeolian sand, dirt and coal to create a hole a mile (1.6 km) wide.
Far to the north, in the Cholistan Desert, lie the skeletal beginnings of a solar farm that is supposed to expand to eight times the size of New York’s Central Park. It is the largest solar project in Pakistan, where the government has recently announced an ambitious plan to generate 60 percent of its power from renewable sources in about a decade.
If these grand developments in the desert suggest that coal and solar are in a close-run contest, they are not. Before 2016, Pakistan had a single coal-fired plant. It now has nine, supplying 15 percent of the nation’s electricity, with another four under construction. Solar power provides about 1 percent of energy needs and is getting a tiny sliver of investment compared with what is going into coal. Solar and other renewables may someday eliminate Pakistan’s dependence on coal, but that day is probably decades away.
And that is fine as far as Akhtar Mohammad is concerned. “Coal is good. It’s cheap,” he said at his roadside kiosk in Port Qasim on the outskirts of Karachi, where air pollution is “among the most severe in the world,” according to the nongovernmental Pakistan Air Quality Initiative. “There is a lot of smoke and bad air already. We need electricity — any fuel, it doesn’t matter.”
Mohammad’s pragmatism sums up the planet’s quandary. “Coal is the absolute No. 1 cause of carbon emissions globally and the leading driver of climate change,” said Tim Buckley, Sydney-based director of energy finance studies at the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis.
But though wealthy nations may be able to afford to wean themselves off coal, which is one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gases, in countries where electricity is scarce, unreliable or unaffordable, local politics often takes precedence over economics: Coal remains the cheap fallback.
Dozens of coal plants in Asia
Especially in Asia, dozens of coal plants have come on line in recent years or are in the planning stages — with a normal lifetime of almost half a century. In South and Southeast Asia, coal burning is expected to increase about 3.5 percent a year for the next two decades, according to the International Energy Agency. Globally, the IEA predicts, coal demand won’t peak until 2040. And that may be optimistic. Forecasts often assume governments will choose the cheapest option based on optimum efficiency while factoring in environmental constraints and the falling cost of solar and wind power.
Coal consumption won’t decline as significantly as people think, says Shirley Zhang, Wood Mackenzie Ltd.’s principal Asia-Pacific coal analyst. On the one hand, annual global sea-borne coal trade probably peaked last year at 980 million tons. On the other hand, from now until 2040, it will decline by only 20 million tons, she says. Despite the rise of renewables, the roll call of governments adding coal-fired plants includes four of the world’s five most populous nations: China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Shanghai Electric is now celebrating the 27th anniversary of its entering Pakistan markets since 1993. Yesterday was itself a related anniversary, making 69 years since China established diplomatic relations with Pakistan. Shanghai Electric, representing the first batch of Chinese companies entering the market, has generated a string of milestone projects in categories that include thermal power, nuclear power, and Power Transmission and Distribution under the umbrella of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (the CPEC).
Thar Integrated Coal Mine-Power Project: Shanghai Electric signed the EPC contract for a block coal-fired power station project in Thar Coalfield, Pakistan, in December 2016. In April 2019 Shanghai Electric signed another EPC contract for Thar Block-1 Integrated Coal Mine-Power Project with an installed capacity of 2 x 660MW and a coal mine with an annual coal production capacity of 7.8 million t. The project is capable of powering 4 million households in Pakistan with 1320 MW of indigenous, affordable and reliable electricity.
Shanghai electric is also applying ultra-supercritical technology, which can run at higher net efficiency than the annual average net efficiency required by Pakistani government. Additionally, the plants will operate with a high Acid Gas removal rate, with low sulfur dioxide emissions to reduce environmental impact when it begins to generate electricity in 2022.
Sahiwal 2 x 660 MW thermal power plant project: Shanghai Electric was commissioned to provide steam turbines, generators and auxiliary equipment for Sahiwal 2 x 660 MW coal fired power station, the contract for which was signed in June 2015. Shanghai electric reduced the production time to 12 months by leveraging the new mode of the steam turbine designed with supercritical cylinder, with the generator stator iron centre, coil and shaft tile optimisation further improving the efficiency of the plant.
"We want to initiate two projects; one on Coal to Gas (CTG) and the other one on Coal to Liquid (CTL) and to this effect we have asked Engro Fertilizer, Fauji Fertilizer and Fatima Fertilizer to initiate the feasibility study collectively on turning the Thar coal into synthetic gas and then equal to natural gas. The three players want to use the synthetic gas as fuel for production of fertilizer."
He said that the local gas reserves were fast depleting and the cost of RLNG, the imported product, was too high that hovers around $9-10 per MMBTU on an average. If the said projects are materialized, then it will be no less than a game changer.
“Earlier, the three said companies had separately conducted feasibility studies on turning Thar coal into synthetic gas, but they found that it would cost them at a higher side. Now we have again asked them to collectively initiate the feasibility study on the proposed project and we are hopeful this time the result will be positive.” The government will also initiate the project to turn the Thar coal into diesel (liquid).
Qasim said that 75 percent fertilizer was produced in China through synthetic gas as fuel produced from the coal reserves. He also mentioned that according to the standard conversion rates, the Thar Lignite Coal resources are equivalent to around 50 billion tons of oil, which is more than the combined oil resources of Saudi Arabia and Iran. In terms of gas reserves, these are around 68 times the present resources of natural gas in Pakistan.
It is pertinent to mention that Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group, has already successfully installed the project to convert coal into oil in the northwestern Chinese region of Ningxia, the biggest plant of its kind in the world.
The coal-to-liquid (CTL) project, which has an annual production capacity of 4 million tons of oil, was built by the Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group.
Pakistan’s monthly diesel requirement stands at an average 600,000 tonnes according to which annual need stands at 7.2 million tons and the project to make Thar coal liquid (diesel) will also help reduce the import bill of diesel.
The SAPM on mineral development said that the government has planned not to increase the power generation of more than 10,000 MW through Thar coal because of the global warming phenomena, but will increase its focus on power generation through renewable resources as well as hydro generation. He disclosed the Lucky Power Plant of 660MW is being installed at Port Qasim, which will utilize the Thar coal and to this effect a railway line will be laid down from Thar coalfield to New Chhore from where it will be connected to the railway station line that will take Thar coal to Port Qasim. He also disclosed that the railway line of 105 kilometers will be laid down by the private sector on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis. Similarly the second power plant of 660MW based on Thar coal is being installed at Jamshoro.
The plant will supply electricity to the national grid
https://www.samaa.tv/news/pakistan/2021/10/thar-energys-330mw-thar-coal-based-project-nears-completion-under-cpec/
In Sindh, the 330-megawatt Thar Energy Limited Power Project Block-II is being completed under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC.
According to an official, the power plant would supply electricity to the national grid under a 30-year power purchase agreement.
According to APP news agency, the power plant is a 330MW mine-mouth lignite-fired power project being built by Thar Energy, which is owned by the Hub Power Company or Hubco, China Machinery Engineering Corporation or CMEC and Fauji Fertilizer Company or FFC.
Similarly, two more coal-fired power plants, Engro Thar Block II power plant and Thal Nova, are also being developed in Thar Block II.
Engro’s Thar Block II power plant is a coal-fired power station in Sindh’s Tharparkar district. It was Pakistan’s first power plant to use the indigenous coal reserves of Thar.
The 660MW power plant, which was part of CPEC, was developed by Engro Powergen Thar or EPTL, a joint venture of Engro Powergen or EPL, CMEC, Habib Bank, and Liberty Mills. Construction on the Engro Thar Block II power plant commenced in April 2016. Trial operations at the plant began in July 2018 while commercial operations began in July 2019.
The coal-fired power plant is located five kilometres away from Thar Block II near Thar coalfields. It consists of two 330MW units, which integrated circulating fluidised bed or CFB boilers, tandem compound steam turbine units, and generators. CFB is an ideal option for the low-calorific-value Thar lignite coal.
It helped to regulate the plant’s environmental footprint by reducing nitrogen oxide emissions and capturing sulphur oxides. The 20kV, 50Hz, three-phase intercooled generators featured a hydrogen-cooled rotor and stator core, as well as water-cooled rotor windings.
The power plant is also equipped with associated equipment and systems such as cyclones, air pre-heaters, and water walls. Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company or SECMC supplied nearly 3.8 million tons per annum of coal for the coal-fired power plant from a new opencast mine.
The SECMC is a joint venture by the government of Sindh and Engro Powergen. The joint venture was formed for extracting coal available at the seventh biggest coal mine site in the Thar Desert.
The new coal-fired power plant fed electricity to a 500kV double-circuit transmission line of the grid network between Thar and the Hesco grid station in Jamshoro. The estimated cost of the Engro Thar power plant was $995.4 million – funded by a syndicate led by China Development Bank with the support from China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation.
The syndicate included Habib Bank, United Bank, Bank Alfalah, National Bank Pakistan, Faysal Bank, Construction Bank of China, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
ThalNova is a similar 330MW power plant being developed in the same block. The financial closing for the power plant was achieved in September 2020 and the commercial operations are scheduled to begin in 2022.
Pakistan will continue to develop under-construction coal plants and even turn to highly polluting local sources of the fossil fuel
https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/energy/china-coal-exit-will-not-end-pakistan-reliance/
Pakistan is one of the Belt and Road Initiative countries where coal formed a major part of energy projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Of the 18 ‘priority’ energy projects (11.87 GW) financed by China at around USD 19.55 million, nine (8.22 GW) were coal-fired.
Of these, four – the Huaneng Shandong Ruyi-Sahiwal Coal Power Plant, the Port Qasim Coal-fired Power Plant, the HubCo Coal-fired Power Plant and Sindh-Engro Thar Coal Power Plant – are complete and have been supplying electricity to the national grid since 2017. Together, their energy output is 4.62 GW.
Michael Kugelman, deputy director for the Asia programme at US-based think-tank the Wilson Center, said China’s exit from coal is a “blessing in disguise” with opportunities for “bilateral clean energy cooperation” a clear win for the environment.
Even Muhammad Badar-ul-Munir, the chief executive of the 100 MW Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Pvt Ltd (QASPL) plant, said the end of China’s attachment to overseas coal projects is a “great piece of news”, as it may force the government of Pakistan to focus on the much-ignored area of solar power.
Back in 2014, QASPL made headlines. As part of the China-backed 1,000 MW Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in Punjab province, the company set up the first 100 MW of electricity in just under a year.
Two years later, Chinese company Zonergy added another 300 MW of solar energy to the national grid.
“For the last five years, work on this first energy project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been at a standstill, despite the infrastructure in place for the remaining 900 MW,” Badar-ul-Munir told The Third Pole.
He added that now is a good time for the state to pursue new investment: currently solar energy in Pakistan is sold at USD 0.037 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), compared with the USD 0.14/kWh tariff that the government is stuck with buying from solar projects set up in 2014-2016 under a 25-year agreement.
“We believe green is the way to go,” Asad Umar, Pakistan’s federal minister for planning, development and special initiatives, told The Third Pole. “We have always been very critical of the imported coal plants that we inherited from the previous government,” he said.
“Even before the recent announcement by China, greening the future development pathway was practically in motion. We had shelved two negotiated imported 2,400 MW coal projects under CPEC,” Malik Amin Aslam, the federal minister for climate change, added.
But the clean energy source Badar-ul-Munir has in mind is different from the one the government has its sights set on: hydropower.
Umar, who also heads several CPEC committees, said the “big dams that are being set up will have massive hydel energy capacity” and that his government favours them.
Yet this in no way means the government is completely washing its hands of dirty fuel.
The coal projects in the pipeline under CPEC “will continue”, according to Umar. However, all “future thermal projects will be using the indigenous coal from Tharparkar only”, he said, adding this was reflected in the recently approved 10-year energy roadmap.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1609100
In the last five years Pakistan has aggressively pursued coal power under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative as well as outside it, increasing coal-based capacity from negligible to 4,620 megawatts. With seven other coal-based projects under construction, the country expects to add 4,590 megawatts by the end of 2026.
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Coal-based power generation in January rose to the seven-month high of 2,560 gigawatt hours (GWh) as total generation from different fuels increased by 3.7 per cent to 8,079 GWh from 7,794 GWh a year ago and by 2.5 per cent from 7,880 GWh from the previous month.
Coal power generation in the country peaked at 2,581 GWh in July last year before sliding back to 1,095 GWh in November. As a ratio of total generation in any given month in the last three years since the beginning of 2018, the share of coal power rose its highest of just below 32pc in January 2021. According to data, share of coal generation in the country’s total electricity output bottomed to 9.2pc in September 2018.
In the last five years Pakistan has aggressively pursued coal power under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative as well as outside it, increasing coal-based capacity from negligible to 4,620 megawatts. With seven other coal-based projects under construction, the country expects to add 4,590 megawatts by the end of 2026.
Coal power has increased by above 62pc to 15,262 GWh during the first seven months of the current fiscal year from 9,395 GWh during the same period in FY19, underscoring growth in its capacity and utilisation because of fuel price considerations. Its share in overall generation during the period July-January has risen from 12.9pc in FY19 to around 20pc this year in spite of 8.7pc increase in the cost of coal-based generation year-on-year to Rs6.47 per KWh last month on global coal prices.
An Arif Habib analyst, Rao Aamir Ali, said the share of coal power during winter increases because of reduction in hydel generation and closure of gas-based plants due to the shortage of the fuel. He pointed out that the share of coal power in the country’s generation will likely double in the years to come as new plants come online over the next six years to end 2026.
Sheikh Mohammad Iqbal, a power-sector consultant based in Lahore, is glad to see the increasing share of coal power in the country’s total power generation. “I am of the firm view that maximum utilisation of the coal-based power is critical for slashing the overall cost of generation. It is good for the economy of countries like Pakistan even though some may oppose coal power because of its potential impact on the environment.
“But they should remember that the coal power technology has improved a great deal and it no longer can be regarded dirty fuel when it comes to producing electricity from it. I would say coal is much cleaner fuel for electricity generation than furnace oil.”
Islamabad expands use of lignite to ease burden of expensive imported fuel
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Environment/Climate-Change/Pakistan-to-burn-more-domestic-coal-despite-climate-pledge
Work on the third phase of the Thar Coal Block II mine expansion is set to begin this year at an estimated cost of $93 million, according to the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), a public-private enterprise operating the mine since 2019 in the southeastern district of Tharparkar. The second phase of expansion is underway with the help of China Machinery Engineering Corp. and Chinese bank loans, in addition to local financing. The series of expansions will scale up the annual production of lignite from 3.8 million tons to 12.2 million tons by 2023.
The output from the second phase of expansion will feed two 330 MW coal-fired power plants being built under the $50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road Initiative. The power plants are expected to come on line this year.
Lignite is brown coal with low calorific value due to high moisture and low carbon content.
The expansion of the Thar coalfields is aimed at curbing coal imports to ease a staggering current-account deficit made worse by soaring international commodity prices and shipping costs. Pakistan's current-account deficit ballooned to an unprecedented $9.09 billion between July and December last year, as imports continued to outstrip exports during the post-COVID economic recovery. Pakistan had to seek a $3 billion loan and a deferred payment facility on the import of petroleum products from Saudi Arabia last year to stabilize forex reserves.
In recent years, high volatility in international oil prices, soaring LNG prices and dwindling local gas reserves have spurred public-private spending, particularly Chinese investment, in Pakistan's coal power sector. Until now, four coal-fired power plants with 4.62 GW of total installed capacity have joined the grid, while another three plants with an aggregate capacity of 1.98 GW are expected to come online over the next two years -- all under CPEC. In addition, growing demand from cement factories banking on a global construction boom has tripled coal consumption over the last five years to 21.5 million tons per annum.
Consequently, the share of coal in Pakistan's import bill for the year ended June 2021 shot to 24% from over 2% in previous years, according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Currently, only the power plant at Thar Coal Block II is running on indigenous coal.
A spike in coal power generation is in line with global trends, where countries including China, the U.S. and India have turned to coal to meet heightened demand following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
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Authorities contend that the expansion of Thar Coal Block II will reduce the price of indigenous coal from $60 to $27 per ton -- making it the country's cheapest power source and leading to annual savings of $420 million. Pakistan is currently importing coal at around $200 per ton.
"We are compelled to use this cheap source of energy because we cannot keep using dollars to run power plants running on expensive furnace oil and RLNG (re-gasified liquefied natural gas)," Sindh Provincial Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh told Nikkei Asia. "We would like to mix 20% Thar coal [in power plants running] with imported coal. Then we will move towards converting coal to liquid and coal to gas."
The cost of operating thermal plants has become punishing due to expensive fuel and the cost of diverting scarce freshwater, which leads to underutilization of the plants, said Omar Cheema, director of London-based renewable energy consultancy Vivantive.
Sino-Sindh Resources Ltd (SSRL) said on Monday it successfully extracted the first shovel of lignite coal at Block 1 of the Thar coalfields near Islamkot Town of Tharparkar, Sindh.
Block 1 boasts lignite coal deposits of over three billion tonnes (equivalent to over 5bn barrels of crude oil) with an annual output of 7.8 million tonnes.
SSRL, whose majority shareholder is Shanghai Electric Group, was granted a mining lease on May 24, 2012, and the project was included in the Joint Energy Working Group by the governments of Pakistan and China.
As soon as the two governments officially announced the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Thar coal project was included in it as an early-harvest project.
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After back-to-back meetings between SSRL and the Energy Department of the government of Sindh, the first excavation took place on Jan 23, 2019, for the development of the largest open-pit coal mine in Block 1.
According to the Thar Coal Energy Board, SSRL and Shanghai Electric Group have already signed a coal supply agreement for power generation through two mine-mouth power plants of 660 megawatt each.
Financial close of the project was achieved on Dec 31, 2019. Soon after the first excavation, the SSRL management started importing mining equipment from China and by July 2020 all the required equipment was at the project site.
Speaking to Dawn, Ministry of Energy spokesperson Muzzammil Aslam said both majority (Shanghai Electric Group) and minority (SSRL) investors in Block 1 are Chinese. Unlike Block 2 where the Sindh government owns a stake of 54.7 per cent, Block I has no direct shareholding by the provincial government, he said.
“Shanghai Electric’s power plant will achieve financial close within this year. It’s a big development because the 1,320MW plant will run on indigenous fuel and produce affordable electricity,” Mr Aslam added.
SSRL officials said the development of the indigenous resource base at Thar will help Pakistan achieve its long-cherished goal of energy security and economic sovereignty.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2353970/experts-stress-shifting-to-coal-for-energy-needs
Power sector experts have emphasised upon Pakistan to push harder for utilisation of lignite - an economical alternative to imported furnace oil and RLNG (re-gasified liquefied natural gas) - as it is crucial for the country’s ambition to achieve higher economic growth through industrialisation.
Besides industrialisation, provision of electricity to domestic consumers by using local coal reserves could serve the purpose of generating cheap electricity and curbing the ever increasing circular debt in the power sector, they added. They were of the view that the incumbent coalition government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, inherited fiscally unsustainable circular debt of nearly Rs2.5 trillion and lofty subsidies on energy prices, as well as re-surging blackouts despite surplus generation capacity. Electricity at current price is not affordable for businesses and residential consumers.
According to the government, the electricity generation cost rose by over 66% in March compared to a year ago because of the surging global energy prices.
The generation cost has surged 66.2% to Rs9.22 kWh in March this year from Rs5.55 kWh a year ago owing to spike in imported fossil fuel prices.
“Pakistan should now focus on local coal reserves for power generation as an alternate to imported fuel and coal given that its cost is much cheaper than the imported coal,” emphasised Sino-Sindh Resources Deputy CEO Chaudhary Abdul Qayyum.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Qayyum said that the local coal prices were not sensitive to international price fluctuations.
“Local coal at Thar is available for as low as $40 per ton and with rise in mine scaling, its prices will fall further to $30 a ton,” he pointed out.
“The best thing is that the government has to pay the price in local currency.”
Currently, around 16 million tons of coal is being imported by Pakistan to operate four power plants, Qayyum said adding that if these plants had been running on local coal, massive amounts of foreign exchange could have been saved by the country besides generation of cheap electricity.
He underlined that the recent commodity cycle had witnessed imported coal prices going up to $420-470 a ton from $100-120 a ton, making imported coal even more expensive than residual fuel oil (RFO) for power production.
Countries around Asia weigh up the costs and benefits of nuclear power over coal and LNG
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2369846/is-there-a-solution-to-pakistans-energy-puzzle
According to data released at the beginning of August, out of 18,400MW of energy generated, almost 11,000MW are from hydro power plants and nuclear power plants. The remaining 7,400MW of energy was mostly from gas and coal fired power plants.
These figures show that decision-makers have learnt how to produce cheaper energy. At least 1000MW of energy is produced by wind. In 2020, the US Energy Information Administration predicted that by 2025, coal would cost slightly more than $90 per megawatt-hour, compared to $63 for onshore wind and $48 for solar. Still, Pakistan and most of the Asian countries rely heavily on nuclear, hydro and/or coal power options.
Pakistan is relying too much on coal-fired power plants which are volatile options considering the climate crisis and the environmental cost of carbon emission. Before, Pakistan relied too much on liquified natural gas (LNG) to fulfill its energy shortcomings but because of the Russia-Ukraine war, LNG is not available in the market. At the moment, all of the LNG is going to Europe due to a ban on Russian petroleum products. Over time, Pakistan increased its generation capacity through the installation of new RLNG and coal-fired power plants. However, the country does not have enough funds to purchase fuel for these plants. Gas and coal-fired power plants are extremely sensitive to price fluctuations in the international market.
To address the shortage of electricity, the government recently issued a tender for the purchase of ten LNG cargos on the spot market. But as expected, none of the companies submitted bids due to high demand and higher prices in Europe. Given the current scenario, expensive LNG and coal-based power plants are proving difficult options, suggesting Pakistan should have focused more on nuclear power facilities.
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In the fiscal year 2019-2020, four coal-fired CPEC power plants generated 19 percent of Pakistan’s electricity. The 4.62 GW of coal-fired generation funded by CPEC includes the 1,320 MW Huaneng Shandong Ruyi-Sahiwal Coal Power Plant, the 1,320 MW Port Qasim Coal Fired Power Plant, the 1,320 MW HubCo Coal Fired Power Plant, and the 660 MW Engro Thar Coal Power Plant, all of which began supplying electricity to the national grid between 2017 and 2019. Construction on the Thal Nova, Thar Energy (HubCo), and Shanghai Electric (SSRL Thar Coal Block I) power plants to increase 1,980 MW of capacity is currently underway.
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Coal consumption increased at a rapid rate in 2018-19, owing to increased use of cement and other enterprises. Local coal production was 5.5 million tons between 2018 and 2019, while imports totaled 15.7 million tons. During this time-period, the residential sector consumed nearly half of total electricity usage, while hydroelectric power supplied 21.3 percent of Pakistan's power generated.
https://im-mining.com/2021/12/31/pakistans-thar-desert-lignite-coal-boom-gathers-pace-secmc-mine-hitting-10-mt-ssrl-mine-starting/
On December 17, 2021, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) announced that it had successfully achieved the 10 Mt of coal production milestone. SECMC, one of the largest public-private partnerships in the energy sector in Pakistan, commenced commercial operations in July 2019 with an annual production capacity of 3.8 Mt. Over the past 2.5 years, SECMC has begun to transform the energy landscape of Pakistan by facilitating production of electricity using indigenous coal reserves. The coal feeds a 660MW coal fired power plant and the overall project is classed as a is classed as a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) priority implementation project.
SECMC is one of two main lignite coal mining operators in the country, and is located in in Block II of the Tharparkar (Thar) area in Sindh province of Pakistan. It is a joint venture between the Government of Sindh (GoS), Engro Energy Ltd (formerly Engro Powergen Limited) and its partners namely Thal Ltd (House of Habib), Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), Hub Power Company (HUBCO); and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC). The world class Huolinhe Open Pit Coal Mine in Inner Mongolia, China, a subsidiary of China’s State Power Investment Corporation, has also joined the SECMC board as strategic investor with preference shares’ subscription.
The other main mine in the country which is just going into production is operated by Sino Sindh Resources Ltd (SSRL) which is located in Block I of the same Thar region; it is also a CPEC project and is owned by Chinese group Shanghai Electric Power Company Ltd. It comprises a 7.8 Mt/y open-pit coal mine and installation of a 1,320MW coal-fired power plant (2 x 660MW). Mining work was set to be completed by end 2021 and the first unit of the power plant is due to start working from 2022 while the entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2023. SSRL has a large mining fleet comprised of 55 t MT86D Chinese wide body trucks from LGMG to be loaded by 28 Liebherr R 9100B hydraulic mining excavators, the largest single mine fleet of this model in the world.
The SECMC mine uses a large fleet of 130 Chinese 60 t TONLY TL875 wide body trucks for coal haulage which are loaded by 18 hydraulic excavators, mainly Komatsu PC1250 units. The record production has resulted in the generation of over 10,000 GwHs of electricity, contributing to the national grid. Besides, the company’s record production of coal and generation of electricity using Thar’s local reserves has benefitted the national economy by saving $210 million through import substitution during the same period.
https://im-mining.com/2021/12/31/pakistans-thar-desert-lignite-coal-boom-gathers-pace-secmc-mine-hitting-10-mt-ssrl-mine-starting/
During the course of operations, SECMC has maintained a good safety record following international and world-class benchmarks – a feat that has earned international acknowledgements from organisations such as the British Safety Council. SECMC has also adopted the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework to deploy high-impact interventions prioritising education, health, economic growth and women empowerment amongst other areas.
SECMC has also contributed to uplifting the local community by generating employment opportunities for the local population and creating other economic avenues for the community. It is pertinent to mention that 80% of the employees in SECMC are locals from Sindh where the project has provided significant socio-economic benefit to the local Thari population.
“The 10 Mt coal production mark is a commendable achievement considering the constant fluctuation and vulnerability in international coal prices,” said Chief Executive Officer SECMC – Amir Iqbal. He added that Thar coal is the best resource to help the national economy in terms of easing out the pressure on the Current Account Deficit and also indigenise the current energy mix which is heavily reliant on imported fuels. Currently, the second phase of the SECMC mine is already under development which will increase SECMC’s production to 7.6 Mt per annum with a cumulative power generation of 1,320MW.
Talking about the subsequent phase III expansion project, Iqbal said that the estimated investment for phase III expansion is to be approximately $100 million which will enable Thar Block-II to achieve a sustainable supply of 12.2 Mt of coal annually over the next 30 years. SECMC is expected to complete this expansion by June 2023 and with this expansion coal price of SECMC mine is to be reduced to under $30/t – making it the cheapest fuel source in the country ensuring economic stability and energy security for the country. In addition, phase III expansion will also enable Pakistan to save $420 million per annum on the account of import substitution whilst also leading to a reduction of PKR74 billion in circular debt on an annual basis.
by Waqar Rizvi
https://www.freiheit.org/south-asia/war-ukraine-impact-pakistans-energy-security
Pakistan has long dealt with energy-insecurity, a state of affairs exacerbated by the disastrous economic effects of the pandemic, floods and war in Ukraine. While some experts warned Pakistan that its energy dependence was untenable, there were others who believed such concerns were overblown thanks to the abundance and low cost of Liquefied Natural Gas. The war in Ukraine has proven the latter group wrong, the subsequent sanctions disrupting energy supplies from Russia and driving up global prices. Europe's entry into the market and ability to meet any cost in securing limited worldwide supplies place Pakistan in an even more difficult position.
Pakistani officials already warn of mass gas shortages, and load-shedding in households is rampant with areas of the country experiencing daily power cuts that are 16 hours long. The country’s vital textile industry also stands to suffer from an interrupted and limited supply. This situation exists despite Pakistan's possession of exploitable natural resources, owing to policy-makers' dogmatic view that the development of these resources for self-reliance was unachievable. In addition, insecurity and political instability in areas such as resource-rich Balochistan have thwarted any remedial measures.
Pakistan’s alliances and loyalties with traditional allies are being tested at this difficult time. To encourage vital foreign investment in Pakistan's energy sector, the government can take advantage of the desire of the Chinese, Russians, Americans and Europeans to gain influence in the country. Restricted by geopolitical considerations from taking sides in the war on Ukraine, Pakistan must secure its national interests, especially energy security.
Pakistan should eschew inactivity despite the risk of being outbid in the competitive global LNG market. Responsible energy policymaking must be embraced, including the implementation and incentivisation of energy conservation measures, whilst shielding the lower classes from additional energy costs. Needed is a multifaceted energy policy that considers all available resources such as gas, oil, coal, solar, hydro and wind power. Experts must be involved in the formulation of sound strategies to exploit these sources, and Pakistan must learn from its mistakes, such its signing of bad-faith contracts with LNG middlemen, which allowed them to abandon Pakistan's agreements for profits.
However, political turmoil remains the largest contributor to Pakistan's energy insecurity. The government and opposition parties will need to put aside their partisan bickering to prioritize the country’s interests. Sound policies grounded in reality, as opposed to theoretical ones, are called for, and leaders must step up during crises.
Pakistan is in dire need of an infrastructural upgrade and must play all its cards to achieve it. Diplomatically, Pakistan holds significant influence in international forums and has valuable voting power at the United Nations. Economically, Pakistan can promise significant benefits to nations that invest in its natural resources.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1738824
Only 1,800MW of the 2,400MW Thar power plants can be evacuated at any given time owing to transmission constraints. Delays in the construction of the second transmission line between Thar and Matiari Converter Station have resulted in the coal-based power plants sitting idle despite ranking highly on the merit order of efficient electricity producers.
Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guarantee Ltd (CPPA-G), which is the government-owned single buyer of electricity from independent power producers, recently wrote a letter to National Transmission and Despatch Company Ltd (NTDC) demanding that CPPA-G be updated about the “progress and tentative commissioning date” of the transmission line.
“It is clear that in the present scheme, all four Thar coal power projects cannot be evacuated completely at once, which raises a serious concern on the power evacuation and the capacity of the transmission line,” said the letter seen by Dawn.
Demand for electricity will increase in the coming summer season, but the “full cheap-power evacuation from indigenous coal is not possible” under the current circumstances, it added.
Power generation began in Thar with two coal-based plants of 330MW each by Engro Powergen in Block-2. Later on, Hub Power along with other shareholders built two more power plants of 330MW each in the same Block-2.
Meanwhile, Shanghai Electric built two power plants of 660MW each in Block-1 of Thar coalfields. Around 2,400MW of the installed capacity of 2,640MW is dispatchable. But only one transmission line, which can carry up to 1,800MW, is currently available for the four Thar projects.
The inadequacy of infrastructure has resulted in “abnormal voltage” and “frequency fluctuations” for Thar power plants on the sole dedicated transmission line, the CCPA-G said.
A source in the power sector told Dawn that the two plants in Block-1 are being despatched continuously because of their low per-unit cost of coal.
As for Block-2, the source said only two of the four plants are despatched at any given time — one each from Engro and Hub Power.
According to an energy sector expert, producing 600MW on imported coal instead of Thar coal is costing around $30 million every month. Producing that much electricity through imported gas should cost $35m in imports, he said.
Speaking to Dawn, a senior official of NTDC said work on the under-construction transmission line should be complete in “two to two and a half months”. The 220-kilometre long transmission line costing about Rs12 billion was supposed to be complete by August 2022. The deadline was extended to January this year, but that was also missed.
“Prices of everything from steel and cement went up three times. Then the floods hit and halted all construction work. Building a transmission line involves right-of-way issues, which make the process complicated and time-consuming,” he said, adding that the process should be over by the end of April.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202303/1287903.shtml
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif here on Wednesday formally inaugurated the Thar Coal Block-I Coal Electricity Integration project, an energy cooperation project under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The plant, which was officially put into commercial operation in early February, has two 660-megawatt high-parameter coal-fired generating units, supported by an annual output of 7.8 million tons of lignite open-pit coal mine. It is capable of meeting the electricity demand of 4 million households in Pakistan.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Sharif said that it is a moment of great delight for the whole of Pakistan.
This was a desert region with the sand dunes only, the prime minister said, adding, "Now it has been transformed and industrialized."
It is producing electricity which is being transmitted all across Pakistan, bringing prosperity into the entire country, he said.
"This great project would provide a lot of boost to Pakistan's economy in the years to come," Sharif added.
On the occasion, Pang Chunxue, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, said that Thar Coal Block-I would help Pakistan in reducing fuel imports, saving foreign exchange reserves, optimizing power supply structure and enhancing energy security.
"It has provided more than 18,000 direct employment opportunities for the locals, with a cumulative tax payment of 120 million U.S. dollars and corporate social responsibility expenditure of over 1.3 million dollars," said Pang.
Outside Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines stand out for low energy security
https://www.fdiintelligence.com/content/data-trends/top-10-countries-with-lowest-energy-consumption-per-capita-81642
Outside Africa, fast-growing Asia economies such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines use the least primary energy per capita, according to the latest BP Statistical Review of World Energy.
People in East Africa, Central Africa and Western Africa use 4.7, 5.7 and 7.2 gigajoules of primary energy per capita per year, respectively, the review notes. Primary energy is that classed as an energy source that has not been subject to any human-engineered conversion processes.
While energy use in these regions matches typically subdued levels of economic development, that is not the case in Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines — countries with few indigenous energy commodities where energy infrastructure has struggled to keep up with the accelerating economic growth of the past years.
Per capita energy consumption in Bangladesh stands at 9.9 gigajoules, BP data shows — the lowest of any country outside Africa. Pakistan consumes 17.1 gigajoules and the Philippines consumes 17.6 gigajoules. By contrast, the average for countries in the OECD is 167.9 gigajoules, while stands at 56.2 gigajoules in non-OECD countries.
Bangladesh has resorted to Russian technology and financing to build the country’s first nuclear plant and thus limit the country’s recurrent power outages, while Pakistan, which already has six nuclear power plants in operation, has been developing liquified natural gas terminals to bump up imports of LNG.
After Sri Lanka, with 17.8 gigajoules, and the Southern Africa region (excluding South Africa) with 23.5 gigajoules, the top 10 is rounded out by two other emerging economic powerhouses — India and Morocco.
India, with 23.3 gigajoules per capita, continues to generate most of the primary energy it through coal and oil. The country is the world’s second-largest consumer of coal after China, although its first renewable energy generation has also come online in the past few years.
Morocco, with 25.6 gigajoules per capita, gets most of its primary energy from oil, although the country boasts the world’s biggest thermal solar power plant, and its renewable energy potential is now being assessed for major cross-border energy generation projects.