The China Three Gorges Corporation has officially completed its first wind farm in Pakistan.
The total installed capacity of the farm is 49.5 MW, constructed at an investment of approximately $130 million.
The project was completed in two years, with work commencing at the end of January in 2013 and initial commercial operation beginning on November 25, 2014.
This is the first wind farm that a Chinese company has funded and built in Pakistan, as well as the only wind farm in Pakistan to be completed ahead of schedule.
China Three Gorges has established China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Limited (CSAIL) an investment holding company in Pakistan that aspires to become the country’s largest renewable energy company.
The company has over 2 GW of solar and wind projects in the pipeline, including two hydropower plants with expected capacities of 720 MW and 1.1 GW respectively.
CSAIL has obtained the support of World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, which has acquired a 15 percent equity stake in the company.
China’s $40 billion Silk Road infrastructure fund has expressed interest in either investing or cooperating with CSAIL in the South Asian market.
In another development, China raised its solar target for 2015, aiming to add almost 2 1/2 times as much capacity as the U.S. added last year, targeting a pollution free atmosphere in future.
The world’s biggest carbon emitting country plans to install as much as 17.8 GW of solar projects in 2015.
The more ambitious goal may attract as much as 21 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) of additional investment to solar projects compared with the earlier plan of the nation.
According to experts, the new target will enhance installations of smaller solar projects the nation has been promoting since 2013.
Sabeena Wahid
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