ISLAMABAD, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan said on Thursday that Pakistan was working to increase the share of renewable energy resources in the overall energy mix to 30 percent by the year of 2030.
In a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing in Islamabad on Thursday, the Pakistani minister said Pakistan was looking to increase its reliance on the renewable energy resources, including wind, power, hydel and solar energy, to make the power generation more environment-friendly.
During the meeting, the Pakistani minister also briefed the Chinese ambassador on the initiation of smart meter projects in various distribution companies. He also invited Chinese investors to manufacture smart meters in Pakistan.
Omar Ayub Khan said Pakistan possesses the immense potential of solar, wind, and hydel resources, and hence the government is in the process to launch a renewable energy policy.
The minister further elaborated that the Power Division was already instructed to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the overall energy mix to 20 percent by 2025 from the current 4 percent. The figure would be taken to 30 percent by 2030 to attract maximum investment in the sector, he added.
During the meeting, the two officials also discussed the huge investment potential in the solar panel market, manufacturing of smart meters, and other distribution and transmission system equipment, including anti-fog insulators in the South Asian country.
Ambassador Yao said Beijing wanted to further enhance the existing strong relations with Islamabad. Pakistan's power sector is a very important aspect of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he added.
The Chinese envoy stated that Chinese investors were closely following Pakistan's power sector policies and are keeping a close look at the investment opportunities in Pakistan's renewable energy sector.
