On 3rd December, I learned first hand from the CEO of Zorlu Group that the first mega wind energy project (49.4M Watts) in Pakistan was being implemented by their Turkey-based company and that the day before i.e. 2nd Dec, they erected the first wind turbine tower and connected it with the grid to produce clean, green and renewable energy in the Hyderabad wind corridor. The news was a pleasant surprise for all of us who were in the audience at the MAP Convention where Mr. Bursa, CEO, Zorlu Group, was delivering his presentation. Matter of fact, this wasn't the only pleasantly surprising news he shared, he also made a claim that raised quite a few eyebrows - that his company has found Pakistan's bureaucracy a very easy and convenient establishment to work with. To assert his claim, he revealed that he had worked in the Turkish government for 25 years and knew what he was talking about. At the end of his presentation, he left with another good news that his company is already seeking investment to increase the capacity of the wind farm to over 300 M Watts. Wallah!!
Having heard that news, I began to search for other ongoing wind power projects in Pakistan and found Sanfarina Pvt. Ltd. This is a company that focuses on small to medium size wind and solar energy projects – ranging from 300 to 1500 K Watts. The company is based in Pakistan and is working with partners from Denmark, Germany, India and China to bring clean energy technology in Pakistan. One of the groundbreaking ideas that they are working on is to install micro wind turbines at homes and factories enabling households and industrialists to produce their own energy. Their vision is to bring light to far reached areas and enhance the irrigation capacity of barren lands by providing the growers power through wind energy for their tube wells. I wonder if these two companies can find these ventures profitable, why can’t other investors?
While cheering up the crowd with his series of good news, Mr. Bursa of Zorlu Group also highlighted the reasons why growth in wind and solar energy projects has been so lackluster. He said that the technology patents in wind and solar energy technology are strictly held by only a few companies and they don’t encourage transfer of technology to maintain their monopolizing position in the industry. The top leaders of the oil industry are the ones that have control over most of these patents. Is it any wonder why we are witnessing a collectively non-intuitive response to the looming climate crisis by the world at large? The ones to be disadvantaged by the promotion of the renewable energy solutions are the ones holding the key to this treasure.
