06-27-2006, 11:57 AM
<b>Waiting for a saviour</b>
<i>Cutting edge : I Hassan</i>
Notwithstanding that our great general has studied up to the FSc level at university, he is said to be full of erudition. <b>That being the case, it is difficult to understand his having started to beat the drum of Gwadar as a gateway to China and as a source of energy.</b>
At the military academy, there is no doubt, he must have studied map-reading. <b>If he were, therefore, to look at a map he will observe that Gwadar is in the middle of nowhere, close to a desert. All the countries that have energy are on the other side of the Gulf separating Pakistan from Arabia. If it is gas then it is Iran which is to the north of Gwadar and if it is oil then it is to the West from where it has to be brought in by ships.
It does not make sense to load oil tankers once, bring them to a port in a different country then pump the oil all the way to Central Asia and China. If the main consumer is China, which it is, then it is easier and more economical to take the loaded tanker all the way to any of the Chinese ports on the east coast of that country. For gas, a pipeline built directly from the source to its consumptive destination makes more sense than bringing it to Gwadar and then distributing it. As far as China is concerned, it is probably cheaper for China to take gas from Turkmenistan by taking a pipeline from there to central China.</b> We seem to be unsure as to whether we wish to export electricity or import it. Of late there have been statements saying that electricity may be imported.
It is a shame that this is the case because we have enough natural resources to make as much electricity as we need and more than that to export it.
We seem to think in terms of hydro-electricity only and that also coupled using the water for irrigation. That does limit us. We must look at other sources of generating electricity. They are wind, the sun and sea waves. Very recently, the Punjab government has declared that they have identified 26 sites on the irrigation canals where hydro-power can be generated. This is commendable but it has its limits. When there is insufficient water in the dam/reservoir, it cannot be released to generate electricity.
If any one of the 26 sites is selected and a hydro plant is put up and thereafter water in the dam/reservoir is insufficient then we are back to square one. It is imperative we generate power by sunlight and/or wind power. With this power, the water from a dam/reservoir can be returned to the dam/reservoir for re-cycling by pumping it back using power generated by sunshine. The generation of power need not be for recycling. It can in fact be used for other purposes and above all for export. In can be generated by wind power.
In India, in just six years, one businessman has become a billionaire standing by setting up a small energy company, Suzlon Energy, which makes wind turbines. He was in the right business -- alternative energy -- in the right market at the right time. We have identical conditions have and await such an individual to take the initiative here to bale us out.
Tanti invested in two windmills, saw the potential and became an evangelist for wind power. One of his ideas is that a local user, farm or otherwise, buys a wind generator from him and sells the surplus energy to state electricity board.
Yet another alternative to generating power by hydro- electric power is sea waves. This is an inexpensive source that needs to be adopted. As it is, there is news that in Karachi they have identified seven creeks where these generators can be installed. It is said that if all seven are utilised, half the needs of Karachi's electricity can be supplied from this source.
One of the major drawbacks for wind power is to find land to install a whole farm of wind generators. We in Pakistan are fortunate to have the Thar desert and then almost the whole of Balochistan to erect these power windmills. But somebody like the Indian next door has to get up and go rather than slumber on. He had started with nothing and then began a small company and sold shares on the market. An enterprising person knows what steps have to be taken. One hopes sincerely that such a person will rise and start.
<i>The writer is a former broadcaster and foreign correspondent.</i>
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