Assessment of most suitable location for solar feed in tariff policy implementation in Pakistan

A shift towards alternate and renewable energy sources is inevitable in Pakistan's current energy demand scenario. Electricity supply shortfall, exhausting extractable oil and gas resources, extensive reliance on imported crude oil and climate change are major drivers for the shift towards renewable energy alternatives. Since high electricity generation cost of renewable energy technologies remain a major hurdle, it is countered through introducing RE support and policy measures such as Tax Rebates, Capital Subsidies, Feed in Tariff and Net Energy Metering policies etc. Pakistan introduced its Feed in Tariff support policy for integration of renewable energy into the national grid. National Electricity and Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), a regulatory body, set two different tariffs for solar PV FiT projects in northern and southern regions of the country based on varying solar irradiation. In the light of tariff set by the regulatory authority and simulations performed with Polysun 6.2, for an identical nameplate capacity solar PV projects in different cities, an economic comparison in terms of Payback Period and Net Present Value has been conducted to assess the most suitable location for solar PV installations in Pakistan, as per which Peshawar turned out to be the most financially lucrative location for implementation of solar FiT projects in Pakistan.