It seems the government has literally taken the wind out of green energy investors’ sails after the Jhimpir wind farm came to a grinding halt last week because the centre stopped buying power supply from it. In fact, the downward slide in offtake from the wind corridor has been on for the last two months. The Jhimpir wind corridor supplies 980MW to the national grid, whereas the farms in Gharo, which supply renewable energy to K-Electric, are still on but those connected with the Central Power Purchasing Agency have suffered the shutdown for over a week leaving them in losses. Most of the wind farm investors are foreigners or have foreign lending, and have ‘must-run’ contracts with the government. In the winter, when there is less demand, surplus supply becomes a burden for the government. But the depressing part is that the government does not stop buying power supply from coal and regasified liquefied natural gas plants, which are powered by imported fuel and keep polluting the air. The drawback of the wind farms is the geographic location. Investors say the government’s main priority are the plants close to load centers of Punjab whereas the wind farms are located along the coastal line in Sindh. The power drought in the last decade forced the government to also look to renewable energy sources, and the previous government made a policy on wind and solar farms. Under the policy, renewable power plants have no capacity payments in their Power Purchase Agreements, which means a drop in revenue. The recent shutdown is likely to put the investors in trouble. Already hit hard by the circular debt, these investors see no hope of filing invoices in the winter thanks to less demand. Prime Minister Imran Khan has said time and again that 30 per cent of power generation will be made through renewable energy sources by 2030. The treatment of Jhimpir wind corridor suggests otherwise. The government’s first priority should be keeping wind mills running because of their pro-environment factor; moreover, it will lessen burden on plants powered by imported and expensive fuel. There is a need to change the policy that renewable energy should get ‘must-run’ status. Moreover, more wind farms should be installed across the country where corridors are available. Let us blow the wind of change for the sake of safe air too. *