In a bid to find a solution to the energy crisis facing their country, Pakistani delegates have met in the UK as part of an alternative energy drive which has been necessitated by a fear of dependence on fossil fuels. During their visit to the UK, the Pakistani group toured various successful renewable energy projects around the country and consulted specialists in order to find possible viable alternatives to fossil fuels which have proved not only dirty, but also expensive and precarious in the region.

Arif Allauddin, Chief Executive of Alternative Energy Development Board who led the delegation on the four day visit highlighted both the need for investment and a need for foreign specialist help in developing a successful Pakistani renewable energy program. After visiting a wind farm near Glasgow, Allauddin asserted that for Pakistan, wind energy represents the best alternative to fossil fuels and that the Pakistani government has already set aside large swathes of land for the construction of turbines between Karachi and Hyderabad.

The Pakistani Alternative Energy Development Board has been keen to highlight the fact that renewable investment in their country offers very attractive returns, using the current example of a Turkish company apparently already generating power wind power in Thatta. The UK government, having already passed the Energy Bill in November of last year, has provisions that will consolidate and help attract further investment in renewables in this country. The proposed feed-in tariff, set to be introduced in 2010 will entice investors by guaranteeing a fixed rate for energy fed in to the national grid from green sources. The Pakistani delegation claims that their government is taking similar measures in order to attract UK investors in to their renewable market.

Having already been impressed by some of the renewable operations currently producing power in the UK, Allauddin made clear the fact that Pakistan will, sometime in the near future have to start generating a far greater percentage of its megawatts from renewable sources if it is to protect itself from any future fossil fuel crises.

In a bid to differentiate itself from it’s neighbours and other OPEC states, Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nayhan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi has asserted that at least 7% of its energy production will come from photovoltaic sources by 2020.

Having already vaunted itself as a possible headquarter location for the planned International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Arab state is looking towards a solar future believing that once its fossil fuel resources are expended, viable alternatives will be essential. Currently, Abu Dhabi has around 8% of all global oil reserves and relies heavily on this resource as its major export. Unlike some of its neighbouring states, Abu Dhabi is looking to diversify both its economy and means of energy production as a means of protecting itself against the eventuality of exhausting their current oil reserves.

A spokesman for the Middle-Eastern state was quoted as saying,

“Many [Opec members] see renewables as a threat but the crown prince sees them as an opportunity. He [The Crown Prince] knows that the oil will eventually run out and he wants to ensure there is something left for future generations”.

The move towards solar energy in Abu Dhabi is being led by a private company, Masdar. Masdar hopes to build a completely carbon neutral city in Abu Dhabi using not only solar but also geothermal and wind power. The Masdar group is also making great strides to develop relationships with the west having already invested in British Energy company E.On and achieving the patronage of Prince Charles.

The report, The Oil Crunch: Securing the UK’s energy future launched by Arup, FirstGroup, Foster + Partners, Scottish and Southern Energy, Solarcentury, Stagecoach Group, Virgin Group and Yahoo sets out a series of recommendations. The key warning in the report is that a peak in cheap, easily available oil production is likely to hit by 2013, posing a grave risk to the UK and world economy.

The report focuses on the need for the UK government to look towards alternative economic and environmental opportunities in order to combat the eventuality of Peak oil over the next decade. While Britain is certainly light years behind European states such as Germany in implementing practical energy legislation, the upcoming debate over the Energy Bill will undoubtedly open further debate into the need for the introduction of feed-in tariffs. In Germany they have proved a highly successful way of attracting investment into renewable energy production and some have predicted that German energy production could be one hundred per cent fossil fuel free by 2050. This would of course protect states such as Germany against any potential oil peaks over the next decades.

Currently the UK produces only five per cent of its energy by means of renewable sources compared to Germany with over fifty per cent. It is therefore considered essential that if the UK is to meet its green targets and perhaps more importantly, protect itself from the fluctuating and unsustainable fossil fuel market it is essential that the government heed the warnings set out by the Peak Oil and Energy Security Taskforce.