ISLAMABAD (INP): Benoist Bazin, Head of Section, Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Pakistan Thursday inaugurated the EU funded “High Pressure Cogeneration for Sugar Sector in Pakistan (HP Cogen-Pak)” under the EU SWITCH ASIA Program.
The Program will support the local sugar sector to upgrade towards high pressure boiler technology and enable them to export electricity to the national grid.
“This program is focusing on providing support to the sugar sector, financial sector, technology providers and the public sector in popularizing High Pressure Cogeneration Technology.” said Mr. Bazin during his keynote speech at the ceremony.
“The program aims to achieve this by supporting sugar mills through technology standardization, enabling access to finance, and mobilizing relevant public sector authorities. Given the background of electricity supply constraint that Pakistan is facing these days, promotion of High Pressure Cogeneration will promote not only energy security of Pakistan, but also generation of electricity from renewable fuels” Mr. Bazin added.
Highlighting the various activities, Mr. Omar Malik, Project Director of HP Cogen-Pak project informed the participants that the project is currently working with 35 Sugar Mills, 14 financial institutions and 5 technology providers. 7 bankable feasibility studies are already underway. Need assessment of financial sector is in the pipeline while capacity building of Pakistani boiler manufactures is also expected to start in December 2014.
The event was attended by representatives of Ministry of Water and Power, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, Private Power Infrastructure Board, Alternative Energy Development Board, State Bank of Pakistan, Climate Change Division, Pakistani boiler manufacturers and sugar mill representatives.
Pakistan’s sugar sector has an annual availability of 4.4 million metric tons of bagasse, sugar mill waste. HPC Cogen-Pak Project under the EU funded SWITCH-Asia Programme aims to promote export of surplus electrical power to the national grid through replication of high pressure cogeneration technologies in the sugar sector by supporting sugar mills through technology standardization, enabling access to finance, and mobilization of relevant public sector authorities.