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Hybrid renewable energy sources are sustainable and eco-friendly and challenge the alternative sources of conventional energy production facilities. Pakistan's present energy dilemma is a serious impediment to its economic progress. This paper proposes a techno-economic analysis of commercial-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems for commercial agricultural farms in Punjab, Pakistan. A survey was conducted to gather the load data of the farms from major cities of north, center, and south Punjab. For the PV system design, the K-means approach was used to cluster data from 93 farmers into nine clusters with similar electrical consumption. A complete technical, economic, and environmental study is undertaken of the PV systems deployed in five selected cities. The most practical locations are Attock and Multan, which have the lowest Levelized Cost of Energy at 5.52 and 5.37 cents/kWh, respectively. PV installations are nevertheless technically, economically, and environmentally feasible for all cities. Throughout its lifespan, the planned PV system has the potential for Faisalabad and Chiniot to minimize 154 metric tons of emissions, resulting in a greener environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an approach is presented for the demand-side management of residential loads in the urban areas of Pakistan using a battery storage system at the feeder level. The proposed storage system will be installed by a private distributor to supply affordable electricity during peak hours. The experimental data used to carry out this research work are the Pakistan Residential Energy Consumption (PRECON) data set. The households of the data set are categorized based on electric power usage through K-means clustering. The clusters are expanded for feeder synthesis to represent small-scale, medium-scale, and large-scale consumption. This expansion is performed through uniform distribution in a Monte Carlo simulation. The techno-economic analysis for the installation of a battery storage system is carried out for each feeder using SAM. The results of the research project elucidated that the load factors of the feeders representing small-scale, medium-scale, and large-scale consumption improved by 1%, 6%, and 7% by using the optimally sized batteries of 50 kW (670 kWh), 90 kW (1207 kWh), and 100 kW (1360 kWh), respectively. The distributor profit and the consumer utility bill savings ranged from US$12 k to US$25 k. The results proved the validity of the used approach to simultaneously reduce the consumer bill, maximize the distributor profit, and improve the feeder load factor. The novelty of this work lies in the location and in the way the system modeling has been performed with limited data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For years the brick kiln industry has been perceived as the main stationary source of environmental pollution. Life cycle assessments (LCA) are necessary to comprehend and improve process leakages and environmental risks associated with the expansion of this sector. The present study offers a comparative approach to analyse economic statistics and environmental impacts of three different brick-making technologies in Pakistan. Emission factors for various pollutants were calculated from the three brick kilns followed by determining the concentration of various pollutants. SimaPro software was used to perform LCA analysis on all stages of brick making at selected brick kilns sites. At the Hoffman kiln, the brick production-based emission factors for CO, PM 2.5 , CO 2 , and SO 2 resulted in 33%, 82%, 29%, and 58% reduction compared to the Fixed Chimney Bull's Trench Kiln (FCBTK) technology. The characterized impacts indicated that woods chips burdened 9 out of 10 impact categories at FCBTK while at Induced Draught Zigzag Kiln (IDZZK) and Hoffman kiln, the hard coal turned out to have a major negative influence on the environment. An on-grid photovoltaic (PV) system of 47 kW at Hoffman kiln was modeled on RETScreen expert software generating a total of 64,544 kWh units of electricity, delivering 64,284 kWh to the kiln load, and exporting 260 kWh back to the grid on annual basis. The system generated substantial financial and environmental benefits with the payback time of 3 years, benefits to cost ratio of 12.2, and reduction of 66.3 tons of CO 2 releasedper year thus reducing the problem of harmful emissions being released at power generation end. The outcome of this study highlights that Hoffman kilns in Pakistan can result in lesser emissions, better resource efficiency, increased sustainability, and better quality of bricks. [Display omitted] • The environmental life cycle assessment of three different brick kilns is analyzed • Environmental degradation by FCBTK is quantified by analyzing 10 impact categories • High emissions in FCBTK are mainly due to using wood chips as fuel • PV system installation at Hoffman kiln can reduce 66.3 tons of CO 2 annually. Proposed PV system resulted in a payback time of 3 years and benefits to cost ratio of 12.2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The affordable transportation industry has been severely compromised in 2022 as a consequence of the unexpected surge in the price of fossil fuels. By 2050, the transportation industry is forecasted to expand twice, leading to a variety of issues, such as fossil fuel depletion and environmental emissions. As a result, worldwide trend toward electrifying transport, with energy production originating from both traditional and carbon-free sources. Therefore, consumers of electric vehicles require convenient access to the services of charging stations around the country. This research investigates existing fuel station rooftops for the deployment of the grid-connected photovoltaic (GCPV) system electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS), design, and performance analysis of Pakistan's cities. A mathematical model of the GCPV EVCS under consideration has been described. Three cities in Pakistan: Multan, Lahore, and Islamabad-EVCS powered by photovoltaics and the utility grid have been designed and their comparison of the techno-economic performance indicators have been done through System Advisor Model (SAM) software. To comprehend the impact of uncertainty on the functionality of the GCPV EVCS, sensitivity analyses were conducted at all three designated cities in Pakistan. With this strategy, Pakistan will be able to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to the level required by the Paris Agreement. [Display omitted] • GCPV system for EVCS was designed for installation on existing fuel stations in various cities of Pakistan. • Using System Advisory Model, Photovoltaics modules and utility grid models were integrated. • An annual energy, economic, and technical feasibility study was developed. • LCOE findings were 3.87 cents/kWh, 4.07 cents/kWh, & 3.85 cents/kWh in Multan, Lahore, and Islamabad respectively. • Proposed charging infrastructure would accelerate the sustainable growth in EV adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cash-strapped distribution companies of developing countries face stochastic penetrations of solar photovoltaic units (PVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) while planning to manage their uncertain growth trajectories. Since Pakistan's power distribution sector is not technically and financially sound, this research presents a framework for policy prescription to avoid dangerously burdening distribution companies or deteriorating the grid conditions. The EV load model considers EVs' arrival and departure times based on a survey of daily commuters. The Burr distribution function is used for selecting sizes of the PVs for grid integration because it best fits sampled data of installed PVs in the country. After stochastically selecting network nodes for integrating EVs and PVs to mimic their locational growth, technical and financial parameters are evaluated with and without the net metering effect. At peak PV hour and higher PV penetration of 50%, voltage limit conformance improves from 88% to 94% if net metering is not allowed. Results show that annual net revenue increases with rising EV penetration and always remains positive in the absence of PV. However, irrespective of EV penetration level, even 25% PV penetration and consequent loss of cash inflows lead to negative net revenues. The study concludes that excessive PV penetration with net metering causes voltage instability and negative net revenues, whereas EV integration can reduce both effects. A network-wide extension of our research methodology, to representative feeders selected by clustering, is proposed as a framework for policy prescription to steer the growth of EVs and PVs integration sustainably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]