RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES IN PAKISTAN: PAVING A WAY FORWARD

Abstract

Pakistan has 2.83 percent of the world's population, making it the fifth-mostpopulated country. At 0.37 percent of the world's total, it ranks 35th in energy usage. Per capita, energyavailability is 43W, 1/7th of the world average. Pakistan's installed capacity is 34233 MW, however, itcan only generate 22000 MW against a peak load of 25000 MW, generating a 3000MW powershortfall. Not using the existing capacity, which is 8000MW larger than the peak load, is a sore issuefor technical, economical, and administrative reasons. Circular debt in the electricity sector stems fromsignificant reliance on imported petroleum and inefficient financial flow across tiers. The electricityshortage causes outages and hinders economic progress. The energy problem calls for concrete actionsto alleviate the shortfall. A way ahead is to transition the country's power industry from imported oilbasedthermalpowerplantstomorefeasibleindigenousresources,suchasrenewableenergyresources, of which Pakistan is rich and has great exploitation potential. This article surveys the availability ofrenewable energy sources, including hydro, solar, wind, and biomass, and their present and prospectivepenetration in the total power generating mix, with recommendations. Pakistan can extract 30 GWfrom hydropower and 11 GW from wind by 2030. According to estimates, a vast untapped potential ofsolar power must be brought into service with biogas as a supplement to meet future power needs. Thecomparative analysis has been done by doing a case study on different renewable energy strategies andtechniques adopted by other countries.