MWEL’s wind farm commences commercial operations

KARACHI: Master Wind Energy Limited (MWEL)’s 52.8 MW wind farm, comprising 33 state-of-the-art GE 1.6 XLE wind turbines, commenced commercial operations on October 13 2016 after successful completion of its 7-day reliability run test. The plant, located in the ‘Wind Corridor’ in Sindh, is part of the government’s initiative to enhance power generation from clean and indigenous sources. The management of the MWEL would like to take this opportunity to appreciate the joint efforts of Ministry of Water and Power, Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), Sindh department of energy, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NAPRA), National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited (NTDCL) and Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited in making this project possible and expressed the hope that such admirable initiatives will be continued in the future. The project has been financed with a 50:50 mix of local and foreign financing with the latter being secured solely through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a US government development financial institution. The local portion of financing was provided by Bank Al-Habib Limited, Meezan Bank Limited, Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited and the Bank of Punjab, equally. The project is sponsored by Master Group, one of the oldest and most dynamic business groups in Pakistan. The group is well-known for the ‘Moltyfoam’ mattress brand, but has diversified into a number of sectors including textile, automotive and engineering. MWEL marks the group’s first foray into the energy sector, and the group is cognizant of Pakistan’s immense energy needs as a growing economy and intends to continue to invest in projects in this sector.