WB chief names CEOs to aid climate finance ‘lab’ effort

on 23/10/2023

The World Bank named the 15 chief executive officers including financiers and asset managers who will make up a group launched by the lender’s president, Ajay Banga, to marshal more private capital to combat climate change. The “Private Sector Investment Lab” will begin work in the coming weeks, initially focusing on expanding financing for the transition to renewable energy and associated infrastructure, the bank said in a statement released at a climate meeting in Britain attended by US President Joe Biden and King Charles.
Banga announced the initiative at a global finance summit in Paris last month alongside Mark Carney, the UN special envoy on climate action, and Shriti Vadera, chair of Prudential Plc. Monday’s announcement identified other participants. The World Bank and the CEOs will work “to develop, test, implement and ultimately scale financing structures that can most effectively mobilize private capital,” Carney said in a statement.
The other CEOs are: Thomas Buberl of AXA; Larry Fink of BlackRock; Noel Quinn of HSBC; Shemara Wikramanayake of Macquarie; Hironori Kamezawa of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group; Hendrik du Toit of Ninety One; Jessica Tan of Ping An Group; Feike Sijbesma of Royal Philips; Sim Tshabalala of Standard Bank ; Bill Winters of Standard Chartered; Damilola Ogunbiyi of Sustainable Energy for All; Natarajan Chandrasekaran of Tata Sons; Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara of Temasek; and Mark Gallogly of Three Cairns Group.

How to make Karachi a livable city? CM presides over a moot

on 23/10/2023

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah invited all the town chairmen and vice chairmen of Karachi Division over a cup of tea and discussed their problems and sought their advice to make the megacity one of the most livable cities of the world.
The meeting was attended by the Town chairmen and vice chairmen of Jamaat-e-Islami, PTI, Independents, and of PPP.
Provincial minister Shahla Raza, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab, Deputy Mayor Salman Murtaza, PPP leader Najmi Alam, and others also participated in the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, Murad Ali Shah said that he had invited them to discuss their issues and seek their advice to make Karachi a beautiful city. “When you had contested local bodies’ election; it was a political process but now you have taken over as chairmen and vice chairman; therefore, you have to work for the upliftment of your respective towns without any discrimination,” he said and added the major issues of the city were water theft, encroachments, and unauthorized constructions, which the newly elected representatives have to stop.
He said that the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board was doing a good job to keep the megacity clean but the towns were bound to get their respective town areas properly cleared.
The CM said that there was another issue of bogus and ghost employees in local bodies for which his government was taking measures to get rid of them.
“The Town chairmen have to cooperate with the local government in their scrutiny,” he said. He said that the Mayor and chairmen of the towns must develop teamwork so that all the issues of the megacity could be resolved with collective efforts and coordination.
On the advice of the chairmen, the CM said that he has already approved the appointment of Municipal Magistrates so that violations of municipal laws, including throwing debris, and trash on the roads and streets could be tried as per law.
On the request of the Town chairmen, he directed the Secretary Local Government to take necessary measures to reduce the six months transition time. “The chairmen are most active and have the spirit to serve the people of this city; therefore, their hands must be strengthened,” he said.
Shah urged the town chairmen to explore ways and means to enhance their revenues. “We have given property tax to the local councils which would be a good source of income for your towns, but you have to generate more revenue from other sources also,” he said and added he was going to constitute a PFC to distribute available resources.
On the occasion, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab also spoke and assured the town chairmen that he would work with them as their team member.

Chinese companies keep on setting up joint ventures in Pakistan

on 23/10/2023

A delegation of Chinese companies led by Gan Meilin, Chairman, Xiandeng Hi-Tech Electric Co., visited the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry and showed keen interest to set up joint ventures in Pakistan in various fields including machinery manufacturing, electric vehicles, equipment industry, drilling, magnetic wire manufacturing, commercial concrete, equipment installation, and department store sales. The delegation exchanged views with the business community to explore areas of mutual collaboration and business partnerships.
Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI), briefed the Chinese delegation about the potential areas of joint ventures and investment in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy. He said that CPEC has started a new era of development and long-term business partnerships between Pakistan and China. He said that Pakistan was establishing many special economic zones under CPEC and it was a good opportunity for Chinese companies to transfer technology to Pakistan and set up joint ventures in areas of interest. He said that ICCI is working on a new industrial estate in the region and Chinese companies should explore investment opportunities in that facility. He assured that ICCI would help connect the Chinese investors with the right partners in Pakistan. Gan Meilin, Chairman, Xiangeng Hi-Tech Electric Co. of China said that their delegation has come to Pakistan to interact with their Pakistani counterparts and explore areas of business cooperation. He said that both countries have good potential to establish sustainable business partnerships and regular interactions between the entrepreneurs of both countries would help achieve this goal.

Phenomena of Distributed Energy Generation Process

on 23/10/2023

Traditional power facilities are centralized and frequently necessitate the transmission of electric energy over great distances, including coal-fired, gas-fired, and nuclear power plants, hydroelectric dams, and large-scale solar power plants. While only having capacities of 10 megawatts (MW) or less, distribution energy resource systems are decentralized, modular, and more adaptable technologies that are situated close to the load they service. These systems, which in this case are referred to as hybrid power systems, can have several generation and storage components. The erratic nature of these electricity resources is one of the main problems with the integration of DER like solar power, wind power, etc. In the distribution system, this uncertainty may result in the following issues: In addition to increasing pressure on the transmission network and necessitating complex optimization techniques to balance the network, it also (i) makes supply-demand interactions highly complex and (ii) may result in reverse power flow from the distribution system to the transmission system.
Small-scale power generating or storage technologies (usually in the range of 1 kW to 10,000 kW) are known as distributed energy resource systems, and they are used to supplement or replace the conventional electric power supply. Systems using distributed energy resources are frequently distinguished by high upfront capital costs per kilowatt. The term “distributed energy storage systems” refers to systems that use distributed energy resources as well as storage (DESS).
Solar cells combined into solar panels are used in photovoltaics, which is by far the most significant solar technology for distributed generation of solar power. It is a rapidly expanding technology, increasing its installed capacity globally every several years. PV systems span from small, decentralized utility-scale solar power plants to large, centralized rooftop and building-integrated installations for residential, commercial, and industrial use. Solar photovoltaic energy is variable and non-dispatchable like the majority of renewable energy sources but has no fuel expenses, operating pollution, and significantly lower mining and operating safety concerns. Its daily peak power output occurs at about noon local time, and its capacity factor is about 20%. The most prevalent renewable energy source, hydroelectricity, has already had much of its potential utilized or is at risk due to problems like increased demand for recreational access and environmental effects on fisheries. However, adopting cutting-edge technologies from the twenty-first century, like wave power, can make a lot of new hydropower capacity available with little negative environmental impact.
A device for storing distributed energy can be considered a distributed energy resource as well as one that produces electricity. Application areas for distributed energy storage systems include various battery, pumped hydro, compressed air, and thermal energy storage types. Programs like energy storage as a service make it simple to get energy storage for business applications.
Distributed generation resources would be connected to the same transmission grid as central stations for reliability concerns. The incorporation of these resources into a grid raises a number of technical and financial concerns. Power quality, voltage stability, harmonics, reliability, protection, and control are technical issues. All combinations of distributed and central station generation must be taken into account when analyzing the behavior of protective devices on the grid. The distribution of reserves and frequency control are two grid-wide operations that may be impacted by a large-scale deployment of distributed power. There are unique integration challenges with each dispersed generation resource. Due to their unpredictable and sporadic output, wind and solar PV both pose significant voltage and frequency stability problems. Mechanical grid equipment, such as load tap changers, are impacted by these voltage problems because they respond too frequently and degrade much more quickly than utilities had anticipated..

IEEE, Karachi organises 4th technical senimar Compatibility level of THD for different electromagnetic environments

on 23/10/2023

IEEE PES Chapter Karachi organized a technical Seminar which is the fourth activity of the year 2023. The event was participated by 20 engineers. The title of the Seminar was “Importance of Power Quality ”.
Following the recitation of the Holy Quran, the Chairman, IEEE, PES Mr. Ishtiaq ul Haq welcome the participants and shared that IEEE PES is regularly conducting its activities intending to disseminate technical, relevant, and advanced knowledge on products and matters concerned with the engineering community.
The speaker, Engr. Tahir Saleem has decades of experience in Electrical Design, Safety, Maintenance, Testing, and Electrical Industry. He is currently serving as the CEO of United Engineering Services which provides consultancy services to the Oil and Gas, Refinery, and Industrial Sector
In the session, Engr. Tahir Saleem explained the importance of power quality, the effect of harmonics, and the solutions to minimize those harmonics.
Engr. Tahir Saleem explained the compatibility level of THD for different Electromagnetic environments. He explained how can we select the filters depending on applications. With his real-life experiences in industries, he explained how harmful these harmonics could be, for both, electrical system and electrical/electronic equipment.
Some of the important questions addressed in the presentation were,
• What is the ideal power quality?
• What is the difference between Linear and Non-Linear Loads?
• What are the different types of filters?
• And many more…
Engr. Ishtiaque ul Haque Chairman PES thanked Engr. Tahir Saleem for his time & effort, He encourages students and young professionals to join IEEE & PES society to get the maximum benefit of enormous knowledge available on the platform.