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Pakistan, as an underdeveloped and populous country requires an uninterrupted source of energy to keep its development on track and provide its citizens with a reasonable standard of living. Conversely, the country is unable to fulfil its domestic energy requirements and is undergoing an acute energy crisis. Electricity is a sector that has suffered the most from the energy shortages. The gap between demand and supply is met through blackouts and, at times, the country plunges into darkness for more than 10–12 h a day. This crisis, that the country is currently facing, did not occur overnight. The root cause of this debacle goes back in history and can be attributed to decades of mismanagement, poor planning and negligence. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the electricity sector in Pakistan and the issues it is beset with. In addition, an analysis of the energy policies that the country has announced over the years, as well as the impact that they have had on the electricity sector, is presented. It is concluded that Pakistan’s existing energy mix is not sustainable due to the excessive reliance on imported fossil fuels, rising electricity generation cost and increase in power generation related emissions. This paper develops a roadmap and proposes the energy sources that can fulfil the country’s rising energy requirements, whilst being sustainable at the same time. The roadmap identifies and highlights the primary tasks that the country must undertake to reach its vision of meeting its energy needs and integrating renewable energy sources in the power generation. The recommendations of this paper will provide guidelines to the decision-makers and policymakers, with an insight on how the energy technology and resource development should be carried out, which sources should be given priority and how the issues should be resolved, both in the short and long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population of Pakistan is increasing rapidly and hence the energy demand. Since ninety׳s, people of Pakistan has been experiencing load shedding because of the intense shortfall throughout the country. Pakistan, being an agricultural country, has a lot of potential of renewable energy sources especially biomass. The thing is to utilize the potential in a right direction. This paper presents the policy direction to get rid of the current energy crisis in the country through utilization of different types of biomass. The animal manure, municipal solid wastes and the crop residues are the main biomass sources in the country. This study also focuses the potential of main biomass sources present in the country and its technical routes for the production of bioenergy. The design parameters for standard bioreactor of gasifier and anaerobic digestion and their economic comparison are highlighted with respect to Pakistan environmental conditions. The development of anaerobic digestion technology is reviewed critically. This paper also discusses the different scenarios for the use of biomass sources in urban and rural environment. This verifies the use of biogas energy as the cheapest and the safest way to remove the crisis from the country. The stand-alone biogas plants should be constructed throughout the country where there is not electrification infrastructure exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan is among the 10 countries that face the worst energy crisis of the world. As the country struggles with a number of financial, political and social issues, the transition from a conventional fuels based economy to a green economy is not an easy one. Pakistan has been blessed with immense potential of clean renewable sources of solar, wind and biomass but they have not been exploited yet. Renewable energy technology sector has not penetrated the energy mix and is currently an emerging market. This paper highlights the steps the country has taken in the past and the steps that are being taken at present to emerge out of the prevailing energy crisis when even the most urban areas suffer from power outages of 12 h per day. Until 2009, no single grid interconnected wind farm existed but now the situation has changed considerably and wind farms contributing to the national grid are a reality now. Three grid interconnected farms have been inaugurated and many others are in pipeline. The national policy regarding wind power systems has recently changed after unexpected setbacks to ongoing projects. This paper reviews the developments in the wind power sector of the country and lists some suggestions that can help improve the wind power penetration in the national energy mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of sufficient, affordable and environmentally benign energy is one of the major challenges worldwide. This study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of poultry waste for energy generation in Pakistan. The adoption of renewable energy sources is of paramount importance towards the energy security. This paper reports the potential of energy generation from poultry waste. To date, twenty five thousand poultry farms are operating to fulfill the protein demand of the population, which is increasing day by day and a huge amount of waste is produced from poultry farming in Pakistan. The waste generated from poultry farming is estimated and technology for the conversion of poultry waste into biogas is discussed and finally, the electricity generation based on poultry waste is estimated. A 280 MWh/day of electricity can be generated from the biogas produced from poultry waste and this adaptation would be a valuable addition of renewable energy in country existing energy system. Currently, there is a lack of infrastructure in Pakistan to adopt alternate and renewable energy sources. The researcher, businessman, venture capital and Government policies collectively could initiate the renewable energy disposition. Initially, a public-private partnership could be best practice to initiate this technology at the farm level. The utilization of poultry waste for energy generation is feasible and environmentally benign. The Government financial initiatives and technical support under the renewable energy policies is of paramount importance of adoption of this technology in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancement in technologies, the power requirement around the globe is tremendously increasing, putting extra loads on grids. The existing grids cannot bear that load and also do not provide the interface with Distributed Renewable Energy Sources (DRES). Building new lines and substations alone do not serve the purpose of overcoming energy shortfall. Thus a major transformation in electricity infrastructure is need of the hour to meet the ever growing demands of electricity. Converting current power management system to a smart autonomic system is pertinent to achieve an increasing amount of renewable energy generation. This paper presents a comprehensive review of advances in control of smart grids. Various robust and adaptive strategies are spotlighted with a detailed description of control of overloads and power smart grids. Also, power generation, storage and management techniques and development of operational schedule of sources and loads are elaborated. Recently reported systems and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) techniques in smart grid are highlighted. Renewable energy has potential to eliminate the current electricity crisis in Pakistan's energy sector. The solar, wind, hydro and biogas/biomass are the alternative energy resources found abundantly in the country, which have tremendous potential to offer environment-friendly energy solutions. This in-depth study reveals that a lot of opportunities and potential of smart grid technology exist in developing countries like Pakistan that need to be exploited so as to cope with energy crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Diversification of fuel sources is imperative to address the energy security, climate change, and sustainable development issues; therefore, it is essential to address the energy crisis through the extensive utilization of abundant renewable energy resources, such as biomass energy, solar energy, wind energy and geothermal energy. Improving energy services for poor households in developing countries remains one of the most pressing challenges facing the development community. Earlier studies suggest in South Asia the households are likely to follow the energy ladder comprising fuels like dung, crop residue, firewood, kerosene, gobar gas, LPG, and electricity for cooking purposes. Evidence suggests that while it is possible to observe such transition in urban and semi-urban areas, the change is very slow in rural areas. In rural Pakistan, the access to commercial energy resources is limited, the majority of the households still heavily rely on traditional methods of using wood, animal waste and crop waste for domestic fuel needs. Efficiencies of use are very low and most of the potential is wasted because of non-scientific conventional technologies. Consequently there is an obligatory need to develop modern bio-energy technologies since renewable resources may serve to supplement the long-term energy needs of Pakistan to a significant level. Though the bio-resource base of Pakistan is substantial, its contribution to useful energy is low. In this paper we called attention to issues and challenges in biomass utilization for energy in Pakistan in context of sustainable development. This paper has identified areas in Pakistan where there is considerable scope to modernize biomass energy production delivery systems to provide varied energy carriers such as electricity, industrial and domestic fuel and gases. Barriers are examined over the whole biomass energy spectrum and policy issue and institutional roles and responsibilities are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper deals with fundamental policy mistakes in Pakistan for the cause of sustainable development through renewable energy. It then identifies that the low level of awareness regarding the potentials of renewable energy is the key hurdle in achieving the said cause. The paper further traces the root cause of this low awareness in educational and S&T policies of Pakistan and finally provides some recommendations to avoid dilemmas related to such policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a review about conventional and renewable energy scenario of the county in quantitative terms of supply, generation and exploitation of available resources. In this energy scenario, the renewable energy share is in the range of a fraction of a percentage compared to total conventional energy supplies, so depicting it as a sector of least significance for government. Main emphasis in this paper has been given on presentation of data about renewable energy (RE) installations in the country, on-going activities, development projects, RE planning and achievements of public sector RE institutions and organizations. At the end some suggestions are given for effective planning and exploitation of RE resources and use of technologies. These suggestions are not only useful for Pakistan but also are equally important for the third world countries to enhance appreciably RE contribution in their total energy supplies of their country. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Pakistan energy situation is seriously troubling today due to lack of careful planning and implementation of its energy policies. To avoid the worse situation in the years ahead, the country will have to exploit its huge natural renewable resource. In this paper a review is being presented about renewable energy resource potential available in the country to be exploited for useful and consistent energy supplies. On average solar global insolation 5–7kWh/m2/day, wind speed 5–7.5m/s, Biogas 14 millionm3/day, microhydel more than 600MW (for small units) with persistency factor of more than 80% over a year exist in the country. Solar and wind maps are presented along with identification of hot spring sites as resource of geothermal energy. The research results presented in this paper are not only useful for government policy makers, executing agencies but also for private sector national and international agencies and stake holders who want to invest in Pakistan for renewable energy projects or business. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The electrical power distribution network in Pakistan is a complex system with many geographical regions suffering from frequent blackouts, limited and intermittent supply. Investment in mega-scale solar energy generation projects could help mitigate these supply related problems and counterbalance the country׳s growing dependence on imported oil. The purpose of this paper is to explore the economic and technical impact of connecting a mega-scale PV plant to the national grid. The area of Kharan in Balochistan province was chosen due to desired solar irradiation (7–7.5 kW h/m 2 /day). The simulations were carried out with existing and planned interconnected transmission system of Pakistan that has not been pre-designed to incorporate such intermittent generation. Load flow studies and short circuit analysis were carried out and it was established that power from this solar power project can be evacuated to the 220 KV system of National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC), Pakistan without any transmission constraints. The three phase and single phase short circuit current studies further confirmed reliable grid interconnection in terms of power quality indices. Furthermore recommendations encompassing the economics and technical sides are presented for the successful commissioning of this installation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From last decade, Pakistan is facing the severe problems of energy deficiency. Every year Pakistan׳s government is spending more than 14.5 billion US dollars to import crude oil in order to fulfill the energy gap. Energy demand is increasing rapidly but exploration and use of renewable energy is not meeting the needs of requirements. The unavailability of power in Pakistan lasts for 14–20 h per day. In this paper, the potential of biogas is reviewed to meet the energy requirement of Pakistan. One cubic meter of biogas can generate an electrical energy of 2.5 KWh. The annual growth rate of livestock sector is 4% in Pakistan and its dung can produce 35.625 million KWh of electric energy per day. We can overcome the energy crisis by efficiently using biogas as an alternative energy source. The installation cost of biogas plant is not only economical but also beneficial in reducing respiratory and eye infections. PCRET has installed 4109 biogas plants across the country which saves average of Rs. 37.925 million per month in terms of kerosene oil, wood, liquefied petroleum gas and bio fertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A smart grid has recently gained significant attention as it is an important direction of power system advancement. The integration of renewable energy (RE) resources to the power system and the reduction of energy losses need an efficient and low-cost communication infrastructure. Cognitive radio sensor networks (CRSN) can be integrated in a smart grid to meet these challenges. CRSN is a new paradigm of research where the best of wireless sensor networks (WSN) and cognitive radios (CR) is combined. The sensor networks monitor a physical parameter and the measures value is transmitted using the cognitive radio. Thus, CRSN can be used for realizing the sensing and communication part in a smart grid network. In this paper, a smart grid network is proposed using CRSN for implementing it in the remote areas of Pakistan. The service coverage map is taken from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) website that regulates the spectrum band in Pakistan. This can be used in developing countries to realize a cost effective smart grid for integrating the renewable resources and for reducing energy losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Energy is the basic need of modern life. Pakistan is an energy deficient country. Energy crisis is making bad impacts and destroying the economy. The current study investigates the relationship between the energy and demand supply in Pakistan. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the real reasons behind the current energy crisis. We want to find supplementary and alternate energy sources to cut down the load on the national energy mix. We select different areas and conduct our research and find the best possible renewable energy sources. In this paper we proposed the solution and best available indigenous resource in energy demanding areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is an indispensable need to develop geothermal technologies to supplement the long-term energy needs of Pakistan to a significant level. Geothermal energy is one of the oldest, most versatile and also most common form of utilization of renewable energy. Pakistan is rich in geothermal energy, many of the researchers highlighted and emphasized about its importance, but due to less awareness, lack of confidence and management, no realistic work has been done so far in this domain. This paper investigates the progress of geothermal energy sources, technologies and its potential. Finally the prospects for the geothermal energy sources in Pakistan are described to encourage national and international investment in developing these resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Natural gas is a dominant fuel in Pakistan. It offers the cheapest and a cleaner alternative source of energy. This paper examines the relationship of natural gas consumption and economic growth in Pakistan. We include capital, labor and exports in the model with multivariate framework. The ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration and innovative accounting approach are employed to investigate the dynamic causality relationships among the variables. We find the existence of long-run relationship among the variables. Natural gas consumption, capital, labor and exports are positively affecting economic growth in Pakistan. Furthermore, we support the natural gas consumption-led-growth hypothesis and suggest that natural gas conservation policies may retard economic growth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Water is a vital resource that supports all forms of life on earth. Progressive release of greenhouse gases (GHG) from increasing energy-intensive industries has eventually caused human civilization to suffer. During the past two decades, the risk and reality of environmental degradation have become more apparent. Renewable Energy provides an effective option for the provision of energy services from the technical point of view while hydropower, a major source of energy in the, appears an important renewable source of energy, its viability for large-scale energy production. Hydropower is renewable, reliable, clean, and largely carbon-free, and represents a flexible peak-load technology. With most of the world''s hydropower potential available for near future development, it is local interests and sovereign states that decide how to manage their water resource base. In Pakistan the availability of power had been continually falling short of the demand of 24,474MW and as a result, the country is experiencing power shortages of varying degrees in different parts of the country. Geographically, Pakistan has been blessed with river flows that are naturally supportive to electricity generation. Considering the large potential and the intrinsic characteristics of hydropower in promoting the country''s energy security and flexibility in system operation, government is tried to accelerate hydropower development through number of policy initiatives. This paper investigates the progress and challenges for hydel power generation in Pakistan according to the overall concept of sustainable development and identifies the region wise potential of hydel power in Pakistan, its current status. Barriers are examined and Policy issue and institutional roles and responsibilities are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Energy usage in Pakistan has increased rapidly in past few years due to increase in economic growth. Inadequate and inconsistent supply of energy has created pressure on the industrial and commercial sectors of Pakistan and has also affected environment. Demand has already exceeded supply and load shedding has become common phenomenon. Due to excessive consumption of energy resources it would become difficult to meet future energy demands. This necessitates proper management of existing and exploration of new energy resources. Energy resource management is highly dependent on the supply and demand pattern. This paper highlights the future demands, production and supply of energy produced from natural gas based on economic and environmental constraints in Pakistan with special emphasis on management of natural gas. An attempt has been made by proposing a suitable course of action to meet the rising gas demand. A mechanism has been proposed to evaluate Pakistan''s future gas demand through quantitative analysis of base, worst and best/chosen option. CO2 emission for all cases has also been evaluated. The potential, constraints and possible solutions to develop alternative renewable energy resources in the country have also been discussed. This work will be fruitful for the decision makers responsible for energy planning of the country. This work is not only helpful for Pakistan but is equally important to other developing countries to manage their energy resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In Pakistan less or almost no work has been reported, which investigated the response of local people in a physical community regarding the diffusion and acceptance of renewable energy technologies (RETs). In order to identify the ground realities, this research has undertaken this task by conducting a pilot field study, which not only provides the response of physical community for RET but also identified the main hurdles in RET diffusion in Pakistan. This paper is an extension of our earlier research work in which the root causes responsible for dilemmas in Pakistan''s policies were identified for the cause of sustainable development through renewable energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Pakistan is an energy-deficient country. This paper accentuates the importance and challenges of new era technologies. The renewable energy sources like wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy, biomass energy and fuel cell technology can be used to overcome energy shortage in Pakistan. Renewable energy sources and technologies have the potential to provide solutions to the long-standing energy problems being faced by the developing countries. The expansion of existing energy resources and exploration of new sources is an important exercise to be considered in order to sustain their development initiatives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper presents a review of the assessed potential of the renewable resources and practical limitations to their significant use in the context of present scenarios and future projections of the national energy mix for Pakistan. Solar, wind, biomass and micro hydel resources are likely to play an important role in future; however these should be seen as supplementary resources and not as alternatives. IEP approach and consistent policy instruments are needed for sustainable development of RETs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]