SSJD Sindh Biomass Plant

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SSJD Energy, from California, together with the Acumen Fund, were developing the 12MW Sind Biomass Plant, fired with (various) agricultural waste. The project is located 54 miles east of Hyderabad and 154 miles northeast of Karachi. The output is to be sold to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company. In August 2012, OPIC committed US$16.7 million towards the project. OPIC Loan Supports First Renewable Energy Biomass Plant to Supply Pakistani Grid Tuesday, August 21, 2012 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pakistan will obtain its first grid-connected independent power project using agricultural waste-burning technology thanks to a loan from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. Using locally-procured biomass, the project will help Pakistan address its shortage of power, reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuel, and ultimately serve as a replicable biomass model for the rest of the country. The project involves construction of a 12-megawatt power plant in Sindh Province 54 miles east of Hyderabad and 154 miles northeast of Karachi. The plant’s design allows for the use of a variety of agricultural waste products such as bagasse, rice husks, cane trash, and cotton stalk, all of which are in abundant supply locally. Electricity generated by the plant will be sold to the country’s grid through Pakistan’s National Transmission and Dispatch Company. More than 50 new local jobs will be created by the project, as well as seasonal employment for approximately 300 unskilled laborers who will help in biomass collection. “Biomass has great potential as a renewable energy source and is particularly abundant in Pakistan. As the first megawatt-scale renewable biomass project in the country, this project could serve as a model for similar plants around the country,” said OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield. “We are very pleased to be able to support this important project for Pakistan.” The U.S. sponsors of the project are SSJD Energy, LLC, a company owned by U.S. citizens; and the Acumen Fund, a non-profit venture that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of poverty. In addition to supplying electricity to a rural area, the project will also invest in social development activities supported by SSJD Energy, including the construction of new schools and support for existing schools; the development of health care centers; funding for agricultural research and development, including grants for farmers willing to harvest biomass-rich crops; and funding of small entrepreneurs for biomass collection and processing equipment. -30- OPIC is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and in doing so, advances U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC works with the U.S. private sector, it helps U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad. OPIC achieves its mission by providing investors with financing, guarantees, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds. Established as an agency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to American taxpayers. OPIC services are available for new and expanding business enterprises in more than 150 countries worldwide. To date, OPIC has supported more than $200 billion of investment in over 4,000 projects, generated an estimated $75 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 276,000 American jobs.