LAHORE: The local business community, encouraging the private sector, asked them to utilise alternate resources other than the costly thermal means for power generation.
Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) President Ijaz A Mumtaz said that economic growth and cost of doing business has a direct relation. It is a good omen that government is working on various projects of alternate energy resources but there is a dire need to complete these projects on war footing as industrial sector needs cheap and sufficient electricity, he added.
He said that cheap and sufficient energy is a must the growth of manufacturing sector and increase in industrial production otherwise country would become just a trading place instead of industrial hub.
Mumtaz said that as like as the developed countries, government should promote alternate energy resources on war footing, as according to experts, Pakistan can produce over 100,000 MW electricity through solar, wind and coal means.
The LCCI President said that bio energy is a adaptable source that can be used to overcome electricity challenge besides making a considerable contribution to climate change phenomenon. He said that biomass energy has the potential convert a wide variety of wastes into clean energy besides being substitution for diminishing global oil supplies.
Mumtaz said that bio energy can play a very vital role in production of carbon-neutral fuels of high quality and can address many environmental issues, especially global warming and greenhouse gases emissions, and foster sustainable development among poor communities. Biomass fuel sources are readily available in rural and urban areas of all countries.
He said, “We all are aware of the present challenges to our economy, specially severe energy crisis and it is indeed a matter of concern for us that our gas reserves are depleting with the passage of time. Be it domestic or industrial users all have to face shortage of gas in winter season. Even the generation of electricity through gas has to put on halt in this period that further aggravates the situation.”
He said that Pakistan desperately need some good alternatives and viable solutions in this connection. A wide range of biomass resources, particularly woody biomass and organic waste is available in Pakistan in abundance, so some serious efforts are required to be made to establish necessary modalities to commercialize it at a mega scale.
Ijaz said that LCCI will hold special training sessions for the guidance of technical people with the latest trends in new alternative technologies and to increase their efficiency.
The LCCI will bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars at one place to come up with a joint strategy to make best use of this technology.
