• Sindh government has set aside 5,801 acres of land for the development of solar and wind power plants and a national grid station
  • These projects will be developed by 10 private firms and the NTDC will set up the grid station
  • The allotment allows these developers to lease the land for 30 years and establish solar and wind power plants in the districts of Thatta, Dadu and Jamshoro

Sindh province of Pakistan has reserved 5,801 acres of land for the development of solar and wind power plants, allotting these to 10 private firms and for a national grid station to be set up by the National Transmission & Dispatch Company (NTDC) on lease for 30 years.

The provincial cabinet approved the allotment, reported The News, acting under directions of the country’s Supreme Court. Individual projects or the capacities of wind and solar power technologies for this purpose weren’t reported by the local media.

Seven wind and solar power plants will be set up by 10 companies in Thatta, and one each in Dadu and Jamshoro districts. The government is expecting earnings of PKR 9.13 billion ($58.8 million) from land lease arrangement for these projects. The provincial government has also asked renewable energy planners to set up more such clean energy plants in Sindh.

Pakistan is aiming for a 30% share of renewable energy in its total mix by 2030 with an additional 30% share of hydropower under its Alternative Renewable Energy Policy 2019 (ARE), according to an October 2019 report of the Wind Energy and Electric Vehicle Magazine or REVE.

The World Bank is supporting Sindh in developing 400 MW utility scale and 20 MW distributed generation solar capacity as part of the Sindh Solar Energy Project (see $100 Million For Pakistan’s Solar Growth).