ISLAMABAD (APP) - The participants of a consultative workshop Monday finalized a mid-term policy document on renewable energy in light of the concerns and comments expressed in the consultative workshops held in the four provincial headquarters last week. Chief Executive Officer Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) Arif Alauddin, on the occasion informed that in view of the significance of the Policy, its impact on the future of Renewable Energy (RE) sector and importance of the RE development technologies in the country, AEDB has involved all stakeholders in the policy making process since beginning. He said that the Policy document is, therefore, the result of a year long intensive consultative process with all public and private sector stakeholders. Consultants from abroad also shared the lessons learned and best practices in their respective countries. To coordinate all these activities, he added, a supervisory committee consisting of representatives of all the provinces, the Planning Commission and the AEDB was constituted, which oversaw the process and incorporated the comments of the stakeholders. He also recognized the support of the World Bank for their assistance in Waste, Energy and Solar Water Pumping projects in Pakistan. Arif said Asian Development Bank in its support for the Public and Private Sector Financing; the provision of the Counter Guarantee; working toward making the Landhi Cattle Colony Project a reality and providing capacity building support for all the four provinces. He said that EU also have allocated Euro 25.4 Million for poverty reduction in Balochistan and NWFP through RE. Appreciating the overwhelming participation of Federal and Provincial government agencies, Civil Society, Media, Academia, Donors, Policy-makers, Manufacturers, Importers, Investors Financial Institutions, Association of RE promoters, end-users etc. he said the presence of the galaxy of experts strengthens his belief that they are on the right track, and RE will be playing a major role in our energy sector soon. The participants observed that 2006 Policy was a good start but had a limited scope as it covered only Wind, Solar and Small hydro. The present policy expands to cover all renewable resources (Waste to Energy, Geo-Thermal, Biomass, alternate fuels (biodiesel and ethanol) etc, and also will be addressing off Grid technologies and applications (Solar Water Pumping, Village Electrification, Micro Hydro, Domestic and Commercial Water Heating etc). They said that Pakistan started in the RE area very late. Countries like India, USA, Egypt, Germany, UK, Spain and other EU nations started working on RE in their respective countries at least 20 years before the creation of AEDB. They said Pakistan still needs to fully map its renewable energy resources. They congratulated AEDB for making a difference even in such difficult situation. Achievements of AEDB in the todays Global Investment climate are by no means insignificant. They lauded that now Pakistan is assembling Solar Panels, Solar Water Heaters, most parts of Heat-Pumps, Micro Hydro Turbines and other RE related product in Pakistan, which they added, is the result of extensive efforts of AEDB and other stakeholders. They said that it was due to such relentless efforts that more than 8 Hydro power plants are under implementation, 14 others are in advanced stages of preparation. Four 50 MW wind farms are expected to see their financial closure by the end of this year. Increased awareness and interest in the RE technologies and products like solar cookers and heaters, security and streetlight and heat pumps will also support the government meet the challenges in the Energy Sector. The participants also congratulated AEDB for the systematic manner that they have dealt with this complex issue and offer full support of the Ministry and the government to the organisation and the sector.