Islamabad: Pakistan President's House, the ‘Aiwan-e-Sadr’, is now the world’s first ‘green’ presidency after shifting to renewable energy sources.
According to an estimate, savings from energy conservation and clean energy generation will be equivalent to 3,154,750 KWh and the initiative equates to 3,144 tons of reduction in Green House Gases (GHG) and plantation of 142,909 fully grown trees.
According to the President House’s spokesperson, after assuming the office in 2018, President Dr Arif Alvi envisioned a Green Presidency Initiative to curtail President’s Secretariat energy usage and shift it to renewable energy source. His vision has now been materialised and the building is powered by an in-house 1-MW Solar System.
ISO certification
The building has also been awarded International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO) 50001 EnMS certificate as it not only reduces power consumption by 35 per cent but also saves PKR 72.5 million (Dh 1.55 million) of the national exchequer.
The Project Director Shahid Shaukat received the ‘ISO certificate 50001 Energy Management System (EnMS) Certificate’ from Abdur Razzaq Lakhani and GBC SEED Platinum certificate from Rashid Bashir of Green Building Council.
Aiwan-e-Sadr now stands as a model for other state buildings and institutions to go for green energy and conserve it in order to mitigate the challenges of global warming and GHG.
While addressing a ceremony, President Alvi said it should also be replicated across the country considering the importance of energy conservation across the world.
He thanked the private sector companies who supported the initiative under their Corporate Social Responsibility. Exemplifying Barcelona, the president also called for utilising the buildings’ roofs for green purposes like plantation or solar panels.
He said the Aiwan-e-Sadr going green would help prevent 3,144 tons of carbon emission which equals 325 trucks.
Association of Energy Engineers welcomes initiative
Executive Director, Association of Energy Engineers, Bill Kent, in his virtual address, congratulated President Dr Arif Alvi and his team on achieving the milestone of making Aiwan-e-Sadr the first ever presidency in the world which had been awarded ISO-50001 Energy Management System certification.
Calling the President Secretariat’s initiative as a step in the right direction, Bill Kent said it served as a role model for energy efficiency and conservation measures in the country.
Pakistan’s parliament already powered by green energy
Before Aiwan-e-Sadr’s conservation of green energy, Pakistan’s parliament also enjoys the singular distinction of being the first parliament in the world to be completely powered by solar energy since 2016.
The lower house or the National Assembly is fully powered by solar panels that generate 80 MW of electricity, 62 MW of which are consumed by the National Assembly while 18 MW are contributed to the national grid.
The first ‘Net Metering’ licence in the country was also issued to the National Assembly by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority.
The system helps in delivering and adding surplus production of energy to the national grid. The project is also environment-friendly because it reduces emissions of hazardous gases.
