KARACHI (APP) - Director General Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) Hilal A Raza has underlined the need for the creation of a separate ministry for the rapid promotion of alternative energy in the country. He was speaking at a session on renewable energy sources in Pakistan on the second day of POGEE Conference 2010 at Karachi Expo Centre here Friday. He was of the view that alternative energy was not getting due priority it needed. We need to set priorities for this sector if we want to accelerate its promotion. The ministry for alternative energy should be created to lay down the policy for alternative energy and prepare a vision document for next 25 years, he noted. He pointed out that alternative energy was initially working under Ministry of Petroleum and then went to Ministry of Science and Technology and now it is with the Ministry of Water and Power. Giving reasons for a sluggish growth of alternative energy in the country, Raza said availability of financing; technology and capacity to absorb technology were among the main barriers to the development of this environmental friendly energy. In his concluding remarks, CEO Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) Arif Alauddin said that a huge potential for power generation from renewable resources was available but lack of proper mapping was hindering the efforts. Approximately, there is a potential to generate 340,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity through renewable resources, he added. He said Pakistan is a late starter in alternative energy, but now steps have been taken to fully capitalize its benefits. He said that the government of Pakistan will set up two wind farm projects and one solar project in the public sector to motivate private sector to enter into this field. Alauddin said that AEDB has developed several renewable energy projects for Sindh including solar heaters, solar water pumps, Landhi Cattle Colony project where ADB has 30 percent equity and 1st waste disposal project to generate 10 to 15 MW of electricity. Fellow Renewable Energy Technology Applications, India Shirish Garud, project director Pakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technology and Dr Muhammad Ghaffar Doggar, Farhan Mehbood also talked on various aspects of alternative energy. Meanwhile, a large number of senior executives of oil and gas and fire and security businesses have visited 8th International Exhibition for Energy Industry POGEE 2010 and 6th International Fire & Security Exhibition on the 3rd day at Expo Centre. PR adds: Germany is a pioneer in developing alternative energy technology. German energy strategy is based on the consistent development of renewable energy and their contribution to Germanys electricity supply is to increase from the present 20 per cent to at least 30 percent by 2020. Pakistan with its severe energy crisis can use the German expertise to overcome its energy shortages. Consul General of Federal Republic of Germany in Karachi Dr Christian Brecht stated this at the POGEE seminar, Securing Pakistans Energy Future, Options and Solutions. With most conventional energy resources becoming scare, alternative energy - wind, solar, small-hydro- and geothermal energy - is gaining great importance. The core solution to energy-related problems today is to improve energy efficiency and explore alternative energy resources at the same time. He said it is the official aim of the German Government to pay a significant contribution to international climate protection. To that end, the government has actively been supporting the worldwide dissemination of German renewable energy technology and know-how. The transfer of renewable energy know-how and the facilitation of international development cooperation are part of an initiative called Renewables - Made in Germany. Germany is the largest manufacturer of wind turbines and components in the world, where a lot of companies specialise in design and engineering of windmills. In 2008 the German wind energy sector achieved added value amounting to $7.5 billion. About 37 percent of the worlds wind turbines and their components are made in Germany. In Pakistan, especially in Sindh, you have the Gharo-Keti Wind corridor, and hopefully in the near future more wind turbines will be installed, also with the help of a German enterprise, that will start producing electricity. Solar energy is another alternative energy field which is booming worldwide. In Germany alone there are more than 1.3 billion solar power systems in operation. The solar electricity systems installed in Germany provided a total solar energy output of 2.500 MW by the year 2007. The German consul general said he felt that there was immense potential for utilisation of solar energy in Pakistan, where a lot of sunlight is available. This energy sector could be developed into a proper industry, and Germany could help. In recent decades, the combustion of biogas, produced by fermenting biomass, to generate electricity in combined heat and power stations has expanded in Germany to become an independent sector within the fast-growing bio-energy industry. German companies are market leaders in the biogas technology sector. Their many years of experience in plant design, instrumentation, management and services ensure successful plant operation. The Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) in collaboration with the Germany Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) is promoting the application or renewable energies and energy efficiency in Pakistan. This programme supports the Pakistan government in their efforts to promote and introduce renewable energies and energy efficiency to improve the overall energy situation in the country. The German envoy said he wanted to make particular mention of a project funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and the German Training Center Bfz (Training and Development Centers of the Bavarian Employers Association) with five textile associations (TMA), (APTPMA), (PCMA), (PHMA), (PRGMEA) here in Karachi in training of the workers and managers of the textile industry to conduct energy audits. The Bfz with the help of local technical experts and institutions is developing and studying the establishment of a local solar cell production industry, which will help the Pakistan government to use local solutions to utilize solar energy.