Dilema
...ection of winds. The coastal belt of Pakistan and some valleys in the mountainous areas are considered suitable locations for exploiting wind power for water extraction and small-scale power supply. Hence Pakistan has decided to carry out a small test to find out whether or not wind energy can be harnessed in Pakistan. 1. There is a program for installing about fifty windmills in the Gavader Region. 2. The height of the pole containing 3 wings propeller would be about 100m. 3. The propellers would rotate at speeds of about 300r.p.m. 4. Each windmill will be able to produce 20 MW electric power. 5. The total overall power supplied by the 20 windmills will be 1GW. 6. Life of each windmill is expected to be of about 20 years. Chashma Power Plant: - This project was started about 9 years back. It was constructed by the collaboration of Pakistani Engineers with the collaboration of Chinese Engineers. Pakistan bought the plant from China on 28 September2000. The China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC), formerly the China National Nuclear Corp., and the China National Nuclear Construction Corp. supplied all of the materials and designed and built the project. It will use Uranium-238 as a fuel and will produce 300MW of electricity. It had been connected to the grid on Wednesday14th June 2000. A press release issued by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission said the Karachi Electric Supply Company had been receiving power from KANUPP (Karachi Nuclear Power Plant) since 1972. Now Wapda had also started receiving power from CHASNUPP (Chashma Nuclear Power Plant), it said that various tests would now be conducted on the plant, the press release said. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency who have reviewed the project believe that the Chashma Nuclear Power Station conforms to international standards, and they expect that it will be safe and reliable, the article said. Hydroelectric Power:- Pakistan has a large hydro power potential. Theoretically, more than 30,000 MW of electricity can be generated from its hydro resource. Of this only about 5000 MW capacity has been established so far. Beside the Ghazi Barotha project of 1,425 MW which is under implementation, a number of major projects have been under consideration namely, Kalabagh (3,600 MW), Basha (4,500 MW), Neelam-Jhelum-Dasu (5,500 MW), Thakot (2,400 MW), but they require long lead times and have associated financial, political and environmental issues which need to be resolved. The Kalabagh Dam Project: - The Kalabagh Dam Project although not yet implemented, can provide energy for Pakistan in the near future. The construction of the Kalabagh Dam Project is of immense importance because: - 1. The annual energy that would have been generated at Kalabagh is equivalent to 20 million barrels of oil. This annual import of fuel for thermal generation, including augmentation of transportation infrastructure, would be an additional burden to the economy. 2. Recently, Federal Government has entered into agreements with international private sector to install over 3,000 MW of thermal power over next 3-4 years. Though it may help in overcoming the load-shedding, the power cost will increase substantially. Therefore, large scale injection of cheap Kalabagh hydropower would help to keep cost of electricity within affordability of the consumers. 3. On a conservation basis, the overall direct benefits of Kalabagh Dam would be around Rs. 25 billion per annum. Thus the investment cost of project would be repaid within a very short period of 9-10 years. This dam will also help in the field of agriculture. Power Kalabagh with its installed capacity of 2400 MW (ultimate 3600 MW) would add to the system a very large chunk of cheap hydro-power. In an average year, 11413 million kilowatts hours (MKWh’s) of electricity would be generated at Kalabagh. Further, as a result of conjunctive operation an additional 336 million MKWh’s and upto 600 megaw...