Tawanai

I came across this news about Electric scooters and thought that they would be great for Pakistan and India. Electric cars may grab headlines in international media, but in China electric scooters, bikes, and other two- and three-wheeled vehicles are big business, and could make a significant dent in the country’s emissions. VentureWire reports exclusively on a $9 million investment by Cybernaut (China) Investment in a Wuyi, China-based light vehicle and scooter manufacturer.

“It’s a segment that’s growing much faster than other electric vehicles,” Min Li, a Hong Kong-based analyst with Yuanta Securities, tells VentureWire. “This already is the first consumer adoption of the EV concept in China.”

Consumers, Electricity elecrtric scooters, transportation

Pakistan government has raised the petroleum oil products’ prices by an amount ranging from Rs 4.37 per litre to Rs 5.61 per litre in the country for the month of December 2009.

Accordingly Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has notified new prices of various petroleum products including petrol, kerosene oil, Light-Diesel Oil (LDO) and HOBC here on Monday, while the oil marketing companies (OMCs) have released the increased price of high-speed diesel (HSD) as it is a deregulated product.

Consumers, Oil, Petrol

Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) has plans to provide electricity to 7874 remote villages in Sindh and Balochistan. About 6,968 of these villages are located in Balochistan. According to P&D sources, the National Rural electrification programme is the main project being implemented by Wapda to provide electricity to the villages of all the four provinces in the country.

The Solar Energy projects are to supplement the initiatives of the Wapda and is proposed to be implemented in the areas where electricity cannot be supplied through national grid due to technical, financial and economical hindrances, the sources added.

They said that the villages selected for supply of electricity through renewable energy technologies are located beyond 20-km radius of national grid and therefore provision of electricity through renewable energy technologies is the only solution.

A programme for electrification of remote villages of Sindh and Balochistan through solar energy was prepared by Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) on PM’s directive, they added. AEDB, they said developed four PC-1s for Rural Electrification through renewable energy in Sindh and Balochistan costing Rs 1167.73 million, which were approved by the CDWP on March 21, 2006.

Source: Business Recorder

Consumers, Electricity, Energy

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during a visit to Pakistan last month, announced $125 million in new aid to upgrade power stations and transmission lines, part of a broader effort to reduce power shortages. Washington hopes such support will help Pakistan’s government make tough decisions, including unpopular increases in electricity tariffs, said one official. The International Monetary Fund’s quarterly report from July 31 on Pakistan’s economic performance recommended three price hikes. The first was on October 1 and according to the IMF, there is agreement for two more.

The United States expects to complete a review on how to spend $7.5 billion in proposed aid for Pakistan by the end of this month, with an early focus on the country’s decrepit energy sector, senior US officials said on Wednesday. Chronic power shortages are a big political issue in Pakistan. They undermine growth potential, economists say, and weaken support for the fragile civilian government.

US officials involved in the review declined to say how $1.5 billion a year in new funds would be allocated but made clear that infrastructure projects, particularly electricity, was an important part of the review. “Energy will be a major focus,” said one senior official. The aid has been signed into law but Congress has yet to appropriate the money. “It (energy shortages) affects people, it affects people’s perception of their government and manufacturing and jobs – everything,” added the official, who according to State Department rules asked not be quoted.

Last month, a US delegation travelled to Pakistan to work out priorities in resolving the energy crisis. The issue is seen as a test of Pakistan’s government, which is battling militants and helping the United States in its fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Source: Business Recorder

Consumers, Energy, Investment, Pakistan, Policy aid, foreign aid, IMF, US

Cross Post from TelecomPk.net

Telecom companies in Pakistan are one of the major power consumers and in addition to the increasing cost of electricity, they also face the challenge of lack of access to the electricity grid in rural areas to supply power to base stations. A few pilot deployments of  solar powered base stations were luanched earlier.Now Telenor Pakistan and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) have signed an agreement that will provide NSN’s off-grid site solutions that use solar energy to power Telenor base station sites in rural and remote areas. This is expected to result in substantial cost savings for Telenor Pakistan along with the social benefits that come with using renewable and clean energy.

Nokia Siemens Networks will design the sites, taking into account local solar mapping, site landscape and other factors to maximize the use of an abundant, clean, and natural energy source. Nokia Siemens Networks’ Green Energy Control will help deliver a sustainable solution while optimizing operating costs.

The solar-powered sites will be implemented using Universal Services Fund (USF) that was awarded to Telenor Pakistan in 2009. USF-based contracts aim to provide access to mobile services for underserved and unserved areas of Pakistan. Telenor Pakistan, till now, has been awarded three USF contracts for Mirpurkhas, Malakand and Bahawalpur region.

“It’s important that we connect the world in such a way that not only maximizes benefits for consumers and businesses, but also ensures the welfare of our planet,” said Saad Waraich, the Pakistan country director for Nokia Siemens Networks. “Providing communications to rural areas will become increasingly important and we believe renewable energy will be the first choice for such installations. In fact, the majority of base station sites installed by us by 2011 will use this form of energy. We are especially proud to partner with Telenor – a definite trend setter for the use of environmental technologies in network expansion.”

The GSMA has estimated that more than 75,000 new off-grid sites will be built each year through 2012 in developing countries. About 80% of the energy in a typical mobile telecommunication network is consumed by base stations. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power offer a reliable alternative to sites with limited or non-existent electrical grid access. Nokia Siemens Networks has already deployed more than 360 sites that exploit renewable energy and has over 25 years of experience in implementing solar-powered sites.

Source: Nokia Siemens Press Release

Clean Technology, Consumers, Electricity, Energy, Pakistan, Solar, power base stations, nokia siemens network, off-grid, telenor

Dawn has posted a story about illegal power connections in Karachi. The power theft has been a huge problem for the longest time and no one has had the courage to stop it.

There are over 650,000 illegal electricity connections in Karachi, hooked directly into main power lines, and this is one of the main reasons behind long bouts of loadshedding in the city.

This was stated by Minister for Power Raja Pervez Ashraf in reply to a supplementary question by MQM’s Khushbakht Shujaat.

The government, Mr Ashraf said, was trying to improve the system by registering criminal cases against people stealing power.

Mr Ashraf said: “Only during the past nine months, we have registered around one million criminal cases of stealing electricity across the country.”

Recently, he said, the ministry had dismissed 43 officers found involved in electricity theft.

If the government could not handle line losses in major cities like Karachi, how could it cope with electricity theft in rural areas, Mr Kishan Chand Parwani of the PML-Q asked.

Jamshed Dasti, PPP MNA from Muzzafargarah, said that he had received several complaints of over-billing in his constituency, which Wapda transferred to small consumers to hide its own negligence.

The minister said that any discrepancy in electricity bill could immediately be corrected at a Wapda complaint cell.

Consumers, Electricity, Pakistan, power

I met this company Soleitec a year ago and they had an interesting product. What do you think?

Consumers, Electronics, Energy, Solar

This is the big event for consumer oriented solar gadgets – two major companies launch solar phones.

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Co. separately started selling solar-powered phones this week, a big step in a budding trend of cellphone makers seeking to tap growing consumer interest in eco-friendly products.

Samsung rolled out a touch-screen model, dubbed Blue Earth, with a shell made from recycled plastic water bottles and a solar panel on the back. LG’s model, called the GD510 Pop, also has a touch screen but its solar panel is an optional add-on.

Consumer demand for solar-based phones is hard to gauge, but makers are planning to market them as good for the environment as well as a way to hedge against running out of battery power.

Both the Samsung and LG phones have features that promote walking, such as software that measures distance traveled, and allow customers to calculate how much they can reduce carbon dioxide emissions with physical activities that replace driving.

“It is premature to say whether they will be successful, but overall it’s the right direction because people are increasingly interested in saving energy,” says Park Sung-min, a telecom industry analyst at Kyobo Securities in Seoul.

Samsung is aiming the Blue Earth model at premium customers, with pricing around $300. The phone, which can also be charged with a traditional plug-in cord, is initially available in Sweden; Samsung said it will quickly roll it out elsewhere in Europe and Asia.

G said the Pop phone will also initially be sold in Europe and be priced around $300 with the optional solar panel about $50. The companies said decisions are pending about U.S. sales.

Samsung said the Blue Earth phone can accept enough charge under an hour of normal sunlight to allow for 10 minutes of talk. LG said the Pop model permits about 13 minutes of talk after being charged for an hour under normal sunlight. The companies said the phones will also charge under artificial light, but more slowly.

Nokia Corp., the world’s largest cellphone maker by units and revenue, introduced a solar-based cellphone in 1997 but it didn’t continue in the company’s regular lineup. The company earlier this year demonstrated a concept phone that runs entirely on solar power.

Samsung, the second-largest maker, in June introduced its first solar-based phone, a bar-shaped model with a normal keypad and solar cells on the back. That phone, called Solar Guru in some markets and Crest Solar in others, was aimed chiefly at developing countries and sells for as little as $60. But Samsung also offers it in some wealthy European countries like France.

Source: WSJ

Consumers, Energy, Solar cell phones

As reported by WSJ, India is poised for a big increase in its civilian nuclear capabilities.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday stressed the importance of nuclear energy in bridging the country’s yawning energy gap, as Indian and international companies line up to enter a market opened by last year’s U.S.-India nuclear deal.

Addressing a function in New Delhi to honor Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of International Atomic Energy Agency, Mr. Singh said India is geared up for a major expansion of its nuclear program “in which international cooperation will be an important component.”

“Nuclear energy is vital to meeting our energy and developmental needs, particularly those of large, developing countries like India,” Mr. Singh said.

Of India’s total installed generating capacity of 152,000 megawatts, nuclear energy makes up some 2.7% of that capacity, or 4,100 megawatts, says India’s ministry of power. India currently has 17 nuclear power plants and is building an additional six.

The global Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008 lifted its ban on selling nuclear fuel to India, and, as a result, nuclear power is expected to rise to 40,000 megawatts of installed generating capacity by 2020.

The lifting of the ban was part of the negotiations undertaken by the U.S. and India to reach a new deal on the transfer of civilian nuclear technology. The deal, signed in October 2008, ended a 34-year U.S. moratorium on nuclear trade with India following India’s first nuclear tests in 1974.

These developments have opened the door for overseas companies such as GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Westinghouse Electric Co. and Areva SA to sell reactor technology and fuel to India at a time when the country is fast increasing its power-generation capacity to meet a huge gap in supply and demand. (GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy is a joint venture between General Electric Co. and Hitachi Ltd.)

Mr. Singh said at a conference in New Delhi on Tuesday that the Indian government’s nuclear strategy could potentially yield 470,000 megawatts of power by the year 2050. “This will sharply reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and will be a major contribution to global efforts to combat climate change,” he said .

On Wednesday, India’s Hindustan Construction Co. and Amec PLC, a U.K.-based engineering and project-management company, signed an initial agreement for taking on nuclear power projects in India. The venture with AMEC will focus on consulting services and subcontracting operations, said Vinayak Deshpande, president of Hindustan Construction. He said the company expects to eventually employ as many as 500 engineers.

Also, “we expect six nuclear reactors to come up for bidding in the next 15 months, and we hope to get a sizable portion of orders from these projects,” Mr. Deshpande added.

Indian engineering and construction companies such as Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. also are eager to tap into nuclear power projects.

Clean Technology, Consumers, Electricity, Energy, Nuclear, power India

Consumers, Electricity, Energy, Pakistan load shedding