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Staff Report ISB: A seminar with the theme “Role of indigenous coal in solving energy crisis” was organized recently by Centre for Coal Technology. The objectives of seminar were to highlight the significance and potential of indigenous coal in combating energy crisis.
Sher Ali Khan, Punjab Minister for Mines and Minerals, Dr. Mujahid Kamran, VC Punjab University, Prof. Dr. Shahid Munir, Director Center for Coal Technology, Dr. Farzana Nazir, MPA Punjab, and large number of faculty members and students participated in the seminar.
Sher Ali Khan professed that coal was the foremost solution to counter energy crisis. He said, “Punjab government tends to complete a 300 MW coal power project at the Salt Range by year 2018.”
He said that there were 600 million tonnes reservoirs of coal at the Salt Range and there is dire need to espouse clean coal technology to shield environment from negative effects of producing energy.
Dr Munir said indigenous coal was the only solution to resolve the energy crises as Thar had 175 billion tonnes of coal reservoirs worth Rs 30 trillion. “Pakistan has tremendous potential of generating 100,000 MW of electricity annually for the next 500 years using Thar coal.”
He said in his concluding remarks that mining of coal was the most imperative factor to meet the target of producing 49,000 MW electricity by 2025. He said Pakistan was spending $12 billion per year on purchasing furnace oil for producing electricity.