U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation Helps to Develop Renewable Potential in Pakistan, Peru

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The board of the U.S Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has approved $95 million in financing for the construction of a 50-megawatt (MW) wind power project. They also approved $193 million in funds for a wind power project in Peru.

The $95 million credit will assist in the construction of the Sapphire wind power plant in southeastern Pakistan's Ghoro-Keti Bandar wind corridor, which has a designed generating capacity of 133 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of emissions-free electrical power annually.

The project will support a joint U.S.-Pakistan goal to diversify Pakistan's power generation past its reliance on high-priced fuel oil by taking advantage of the country's massive renewable energy potential, according to an official statement. It will use General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) wind turbines.

A recent study funded by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) estimated that Pakistan has the potential for 132,000 MW of installed wind power capacity, which is about equal to the world's total wind capacity for 2010.

The $193 million OPIC loan to Peru will support a 114-MW wind power project that will be the first large-scale wind project linked to the country's power grid.

"The wind power projects will enable both countries to take advantage of their massive renewable energy potential to help meet unmet demand for electricity," said OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth L. Littlefield. "We are thrilled to partner with innovative U.S. companies to being these highly developmental projects to realization."

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