Division of natural resources has been a controversial issue for a long time in Pakistan. Recently, members of Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms have agreed to a joint share of Federation and Provinces in the natural resources ie, lands, minerals and other things of value within the continental shelf or underlying the ocean within the territorial waters of Pakistan, according to sources.
Text of Article 172 (2) :
“(2) All lands, minerals and other things of value within the continental shelf or underlying the ocean within the territorial waters of Pakistan shall vest in the Federal Government.”
The sources said that after the addition of a new clause, any province will have joint territorial ownership of the ocean within 12 nautical miles limit of its jurisdiction with federation. The committee also decided the Federation could not install any hydel project for power generation without the consultation of the concerned province.
According to sources, Council of Common Interests (CCI) would take decisions on all matters relating to provincial autonomy in Federal Legislative List part-II in future. The members of the Committee strongly recommended strengthening of the CCI to resolve all the matters of Federal Legislative List part-II and disputes among the provinces and federation.
The sources said that Committee Chairman Mina Raza Rabbani is taking up first those matters on which the parties have fewer differences. Clauses that have attracted strong reservations of the provinces would be taken up by the committee later. The committee is discussing clause by clause Federal Legislative List for the last four days. The sources said that there are differences among the nationalist and mainstream political parties on Articles-21, 29, 32, 34,49 and 53 of Federal Legislative List Part-I.
FFC Energy Limited (FFCEL) has finalised contracts of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Operation and Maintenance (O&M) with Nordex of Germany for development of 50 Megawatt Wind Power Project at Jhimpir, Sindh.
FFCEL is a fully owned subsidiary of Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited (FFC), while Nordex AG is a leading manufacturer of Wind Turbines in the world. Founder and Chief Sales Officer of Nordex Carsten Pedersen and Lieutenant General Malik Arif Hayat (Retd) CE & MD, FFC & FFCEL exchanged the contract documents, a press release issued here said.
Arif Alauddin, CEO Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) Pakistan was also present at the ceremony. FFCEL shall soon be filing Tariff Petition with NEPRA for the project. The construction of the project, shall begin after Tariff approval from National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and signing of Energy Purchase Agreement between FFCEL and Central Power Purchase Agency. The project, once operational, shall address electricity shortage in the country and will also help the economy by providing cleaner, sustainable and economical electricity to the nation.
FFC has further planned to develop and establish more renewable energy projects in Pakistan to contribute towards fulfilling Pakistan’s electricity needs through captive renewable resources. To that end, FFC has already obtained Letter of Intent (LOI) of additional 100 MW Wind Power Projects from (AEDB)
Pakistan State Oil (PSO) faces serious debt issues and the finance ministry has said that it cannot help. The National Assembly standing committee on petroleum and natural resources has resolved to take up the issue before Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Business Recorder reports that:
Cash-strapped PSO had requested for immediate arrangement of Rs 60 billion to ease its financial woes in a meeting held on Wednesday. Special Secretary, Finance, Asif Bajwa, chaired the meeting which was attended by all stakeholders.
“But Finance Ministry has agreed to release Rs 5 billion to Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco), which will make payment onward to PSO,” sources said. “Now the third quarter is going to end, and the Finance Ministry will release money during the next month to bail out oil and power sectors,” sources said, and alleged that poor recoveries by Pepco were also the main reason of the circular debt. During the meeting, it was stated that Pepco had sent bills to the consumers and would make payment to PSO during next month.
Meanwhile, briefing the NA body on petroleum and natural resources, PSO Managing Director (MD) Irfan Qureshi said that PSO dues against its clients had exceeded Rs 105 billion. He said that PSO required Rs 57 billion to mature Letters of Credit (L/Cs) for oil import. “PSO may default its L/Cs by April 20 if it is not provided Rs 57 billion,” he warned.
The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) authorities informed the NA body on petroleum and natural resources that litigation issues were resulting in loss of oil and gas. “The country is losing 6000 barrels per day crude oil, 300 MMCFD natural gas and 500 tons LPG per day due to litigation,” OGDC officials said.
Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) representative said that the company was to receive Rs 35 billion from its clients on account of gas supply and refunds from FBR. The outstanding of SSGC against KESC stands at Rs 17 billion and Rs 4 billion from Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda). The gas utility is to receive Rs 10 billion on account of refund from Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The conflict between proponents of wind energy and those who oppose it is heating up in Texas. The growth of wind power has attracted powerful critics: the owners of natural-gas power plants.
The gas and wind factions have been clashing over the state’s operating rules for the past several months. The gas people say the playing field is tilted in wind’s favor; wind accuses gas of trying to snuff out the nascent wind energy sector.
The success of wind power in Texas has come at the expense of natural gas. If the wind build-out continues, by 2013 the amount of gas consumed to make electricity could fall by 18.5%, as gas plants sit idle for longer, according to Tudor Pickering & Holt, a Houston-based energy investment bank.
At the heart of the battle is a fight over the vicissitudes of wind itself. The wind industry argues that since it can’t control when the wind blows, it shouldn’t be held to the same rules that require everyone else to make payments when they fail to deliver promised power. The natural-gas generators say everyone should operate under the same rules, and lament that wind’s success is merely coming at the expense of another relatively clean energy source.
Similar fights are shaping up elsewhere. In the Midwest and Wyoming, fossil-fuel companies are questioning whether wind is getting too many advantages from government.
The lure of harnessing the wind has attracted big players. Wind-farm developers include NextEra Resources, a division of FPL Group Inc., the giant Florida-based power company, and E.On AG, the huge German power company. General Electric Co. is a major manufacturer of 400-foot-tall wind turbines and United Technologies Corp. recently entered the field.
Windbelt is a small-scale wind power technology that was first announced a few years ago. The Windbelt was devised as a wind power generator to meet the very modest power needs of families in third-world countries. The device is revolutionary for being non-revolving — most wind power is produced by something going around in a circle and turning on an axis to drive a generator. Windbelt, however, uses the oscillation of a thin strip of material held in tension with a spring to vibrate a magnet that generates electrical power.
Pakistan Ministry of Water and Power would provide electricity to around 100 villages through solar energy during this year as part of its programme to ensure light in every village of the country. Electrification through Renewable Energy Technologies in remote and off-grid villages of country is the prime focus of the government which has initiated projects not only to overcome power shortage but also to electrify the remotest parts, said an official at the Ministry.
The official said a project has already been approved to electrify 400 remote villages of Sindh and Balochistan through solar energy. Around 49 villages (3000 households) have been electrified in district Tharparker using solar energy through government own funds.
The funds for remaining work in Sindh and the projects in Balochistan are being negotiated with the donors and are expected to be initiated during this year. Moreover, 100 Solar Home Systems in three villages of district Dera Bugti, 119 Solar Home Systems in 10 villages of Deh Tiko Baran district Jamshoro, Sindh and 200 Solar Home Systems in 16 Villages of district Khuzdar, Balochistan are also being installed through which thousands of people would be facilitated.
The official said in view of the electricity crises in the country the government has given a serious thought to both short and long-term measures. Public sector hydro plants with generation capacity of 347 MW will be added to the system at a cost of US $500 million and 1,700 MW of high efficiency public sector thermal generation would start generation between end 2010 and upto 2012. The outlay for these projects is estimated as US $1.5 billion.
Converting to solar energy means covering a roof in unsightly solar panels. Not necessarily: Philadelphia company SRS Energy has developed the Solé Power Tile, a roof tile designed to sustainably convert sunlight into electricity without compromising aesthetics. The dark blue tiles, manufactured by SRS Energy, are jointly branded and distributed by US Tile and specifically designed to be compatible with the clay roof tiles manufactured by US Tile. Customers who purchase clay tiles will be given the option to upgrade a section of their roof to Solé Power Tiles. When installed, the system can offset a large proportion of a homeowner’s energy costs—not to mention cleaning their carbon conscience. The tiles are available in select West Coast markets this autumn, with a nationwide rollout planned for spring 2010.
SRS Energy says that the Solé tiles, made from a high-performance polymer often used in car bumpers, are lightweight, unbreakable and recyclable. Flexible solar technology by United Solar Ovonic is embedded inside each tile, allowing them to function independently of each other. Meanwhile, the performance of the system as a whole is monitored remotely by SRS Energy and US Tile. The director of engineering at SRS Energy is J.D. Albert, who also developed the electronic ink technology used in Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader.
What’s so attractive about the Solé Power Tile system he and his team have produced is that it makes it easy for consumers to make a green choice, without having to settle for a product they find unappealing. With more tile styles and colours in the pipeline, SRS Energy could soon be enjoying a big chunk of eco-bounty, as will any other company that can remove the disincentives from sustainable technology.
