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This study is designed to examine the feasibility of the solar water heating (SWH) system for sustainable tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) of Pakistan and a tourist resort is taken as a base case. Hot water demand, solar irradiance and economic feasibility are the key parameters considered to investigate the potential of SWH systems using simulation tool T*SOL. Three different types of solar collectors were investigated, based on solar fraction, maximum collector temperature and overall system efficiency. Among these collectors, the evacuated tube collectors (ETC) show high solar fraction, efficiency and CO 2 emissions saved as compared to flat plate collectors (FPC) and unglazed collectors (UnGC), for both locations. The ETC shows 75 % solar fraction, 40 % efficiency, and 676 kg CO 2 emission saved and payback period of is recorded 6.6 years for Gilgit. While for Skardu, 84 % solar fraction, 36 % efficiency, 756 kg CO 2 emissions avoided and payback period of 4.6 years is analysed. Sensitivity analysis based on design parameters such as collector area, tilt angle and tank volume is performed to highlight the important design considerations. Based on the techno-economic analysis, it is concluded that ETC is the most feasible SWH system for the northern regions of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Availability of gaseous alternatives enhances the diversification of fuel choices for the road transport sector in a country. Additionally, these fuels being environment-friendly may also contribute to the sustainable development. Pakistan has a number of gaseous fuels available for the road transport sector with a varying level of economic, environmental and social significance. It is still required to study the suitability of these gaseous resources from different perspectives. This paper utilizes a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis approach based on Analytical Hierarchy Process for evaluating the three gaseous alternatives namely Compressed Natural Gas, Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas. Initially, four main criteria, technical, economic, environmental and social aspects and eleven sub-criteria were identified from a comprehensive literature review. Then an appropriate decision model was formulated consisting of goals, criteria, sub-criteria and alternatives. The empirical data for criteria was collected from various government and academic sources. The results revealed Compressed Natural Gas as a most favorable fuel choice for the road transport sector of Pakistan. Besides the ranking and prioritization of three fuel technologies, the results of the proposed decision framework are significant for formulating a policy on the usage of different fuels in the transportation sector of Pakistan. Highlights • Three gaseous alternatives CNG, LPG and LNG are evaluated. • MCDM and AHP are utilized for evaluating. • Analysis reveals that CNG is more suitable. • Its technical, economic, social and environmental acceptability favors it as an alternative fuel. • Provision of CNG to road transport from local production and cross-border trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With substantial decrease in the cost of renewable energy technologies (RETs), governments around the world stepped up efforts to transform the ways energy is produced, and the manners it is consumed. Focusing on attainment of SDG-7 through clean energy transition, the aim has been to achieve energy security as well as energy equity while reducing dependence on energy imports. Although ongoing technological breakthroughs and maturity offers promising opportunities, many developing nations are grappling with intertwined socioeconomic dynamics and policy prioritization. Under the resource-constrained financial situation, Government of Pakistan adopted prosumers' approach to harness year-round available solar energy. Regulatory measures were accordingly instituted, and the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) were instructed to facilitate people in becoming prosumers. The adoption rates were however well short of the desired outcomes. Besides cultural and socioeconomic dynamics, human interaction with technology, and their level of awareness about related policy parameters play critical role in the technology adoption. In part, this realization led Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Pakistan to conduct a survey on the consumers' willingness for taking up the prosumers' role and, on the parameters contributing to their decision e.g., economic conditions, energy quality and reliability, relevant government policies, and their level of awareness about going solar. Utilizing data from the IPS survey, this study explored the linkage between consumers' inclination to install solar energy systems and their awareness about solar photovoltaics (PV) technology, the cost factor and relevant government policies. The study revealed significant correlation between target populace's awareness level and their willingness to become prosumers, highlighting the need for taking policy measures to enhance public awareness on relevant aspects of roof-top solar (RTS) for their due contribution towards sustainable energy solutions in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power sector of Pakistan has undergone a substantial, yet protracted power sector reform program in 1992. Under this program, the government allowed participation of Independent Power Producers (IPPs), followed by the breakup of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) into various entities and the establishment of power sector regulatory authority, namely NEPRA in 1997. The power sector reforms in Pakistan have not been evaluated sufficiently to determine the actual costs and benefits incurred by different segments of the society, to correct the path of upcoming reforms. This study attempts to investigate the socio-economic impacts of restructuring of WAPDA's generation segment and private sector participation in the electricity generation sector of Pakistan by using a social cost-benefit analysis approach. The study has analyzed the impacts of reforms on government, private sector, and consumers (domestic, commercial, industrial and agriculture) of the power sector. The results have shown that the main benefit of private sector participation came from the timely expansion of generation capacity. However, environmental and electricity generation costs became exorbitant after power sector reforms. Consumers and government remained net losers, while IPPs were winners in the process of restructuring and privatization. This paper concludes that power generation sector reforms with private sector participation have impacted the overall social welfare adversely. It further concludes that had regulation been scrupulous with adequate supportive role of government with social obligations, consumers and government could have benefited from restructuring and privatization of the power sector generation sector in Pakistan. • Power sector of Pakistan is going through reforms. • Reforms need to evaluate its costs and benefits. • Social cost-benefit analysis utilized. • Private sector gained from the reforms and social costs were higher. • Need for a better structure for the future reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) are essential devices used for the efficient performance of modern power systems and many developing countries lack these devices. Due to the non-existence of these advanced technologies, the national grid remains weak and vulnerable to power stability issues that can jeopardize system stability. This study proposes novel research to solve issues of an evolving national grid through the installation of FACTS devices. FACTS devices play a crucial role in minimizing active power losses while managing reactive power flows to keep the voltages within their respective limits. Due to the high costs of FACTS, optimization must be done to discover optimal locations as well as ratings of these devices. However, due to the nonlinearity, it is a challenging task to find the optimal locations and appropriate sizes of these devices. Shunt VARs Compensators (SVCs) and Thyristor-Controlled Series Compensators (TCSCs) are the two FACTS devices considered for the study. Optimal locations for SVCs and TCSCs are determined by Voltage Collapse Proximity Index (VCPI) and Line Stability Index ( L mn ), respectively. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is employed to find the ideal rating for FACTS devices to minimize the system operating cost (cost due to active power loss and capital cost of FACTS devices). This technique is applied to IEEE (14 and 30) bus systems. Moreover, reliable operation of the electricity grid through the placement of FACTS for developing countries has also been analysed; Pakistan being a developing country has been selected as a case study. The planning problem has been solved for the present as well as for the forecasted power system. Consequently, in the current national network, 6.21% and 6.71% reduction in active and reactive power losses have been observed, respectively. Moreover, voltage profiles have been improved significantly. A detailed financial analysis covering the calculation of Operation Cost (OC) of the national grid before and after the placement of FACTS devices is carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of commercial onshore large-scale wind farms into a national grid comes with several technical issues that predominately ensure power quality in accordance with respective grid codes. The resulting impacts are complemented with the absorption of larger amounts of reactive power by wind generators. In addition, seasonal variations and inter-farm wake effects further deteriorate the overall system performance and restrict the optimal use of available wind resources. This paper presented an assessment framework to address the power quality issues that have arisen after integrating large-scale wind farms into weak transmission grids, especially considering inter-farm wake effect, seasonal variations, reactive power depletion, and compensation with a variety of voltage-ampere reactive (Var) devices. Herein, we also proposed a recovery of significant active power deficits caused by the wake effect via increasing hub height of wind turbines. For large-scale wind energy penetration, a real case study was considered for three wind farms with a cumulative capacity of 154.4 MW integrated at a Nooriabad Grid in Pakistan to analyze their overall impacts. An actual test system was modeled in MATLAB Simulink for a composite analysis. Simulations were performed for various scenarios to consider wind intermittency, seasonal variations across four seasons, and wake effect. The capacitor banks and various flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS) devices were employed for a comparative analysis with and without considering the inter-farm wake effect. The power system parameters along with active and reactive power deficits were considered for comprehensive analysis. Unified power flow controller (UPFC) was found to be the best compensation device through comparative analysis, as it maintained voltage at nearly 1.002 pu, suppressed frequency transient in a range of 49.88–50.17 Hz, and avoided any resonance while maintaining power factors in an allowable range. Moreover, it also enhanced the power handling capability of the power system. The 20 m increase in hub height assisted the recovery of the active power deficit to 48%, which thus minimized the influence of the wake effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity generation in Pakistan heavily relies on imported fossil fuels. The import of such fuels is a huge financial burden on the national exchequer. Studies focusing on the costs and benefits of the renewable resources for power generation lack environmental and externality costs estimation which makes the Business as Usual scenario as a least cost option in Pakistan. This paper compares five supply side scenarios to find the best competitor of Business as Usual scenario and technically tries to increase the share of renewable resources in electricity generation. It uses electricity sector of Pakistan as a case study and forecast electricity demand in all the sectors. The hypothesis is what will be the savings in cost and what would be the environmental benefits for progressing in alternative pathways. This hypothesis is designed to find the best policy decision for increasing the share of renewable in energy mix of Pakistan. LEAP framework is used to test the hypothesis. The study findings suggest that the electricity generation from Business as Usual scenario is five times expensive than the solar, wind and hydel scenarios. Therefore, the energy planners of Pakistan in particular and the developing countries in general should incentivize electricity generation from renewable resources to increase their penetration. • Electricity demand analysis. • Scenario based electricity generation. • Hypothetic assessment for increasing renewable share. • Comparison of renewable scenarios with others. • Environmental emissions assessment with costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term power planning at the regional level has recently gained significance due to the economic and efficiency competitiveness of a decentralized energy system. In Pakistan, the power sector faces the challenge of exceptionally increasing electricity demand in metropolitan areas and the urgency of reliable power access in rural areas. In this paper, a regional power-generation system of GB is developed using the LEAP (Long-range Energy Alternative Planning) model from 2016 to 2050, to explore future clean pathways to understand the planning and operational implications of futuristic variable renewables (VRE) and best available technologies (BAT). The regional power system model is further expanded by using the end-user and econometric approaches to construct five scenarios which include Business-As-Usual (BAU), BAU-OPT (BAU-optimization), Demand Side Management (DSM), DSM-OPT, and National Energy Mix (NEM). The model estimates the electricity demand projection of 3.2 TWh in 2050, at an annual average growth rate of 3.19%, and suggests that hydropower is the most dominant variable renewable source in GB's electric power system. The adoption of the BAT would avoid 1.34 TWh or about 41% of the projected electricity consumption, which shows the maximum potential of energy efficiency measures in GB. Moreover, the results indicate that: i) home appliances and lighting account for nearly halved of the reduction potential; while lighting and cooking are the most cost effective measures in terms of energy saving at regional level; ii) least cost constraint displays the transition towards large scale renewable projects; iii) the penetration of small scale renewable project is nearly doubled under least cost constraint by the introduction of demand side measures; and iv) higher emission penalties aggressively shift energy mix toward renewables with the cost of annual environmental externalities reducing in long-term. Overall, these findings can provide a scientific basis for the sustainable development of regional power-generation systems, as well as co-benefits of penetration of VRE and BAT in low-carbon electric power regions. • RE-EEM (Renewable Energy-Energy Efficiency Measures) interactions are modeled for power sector. • 41% reduction potential with the adoption of BAT at regional level. • Faster transition to multi-scale renewable projects with incorporation of BAT. • Development of Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) at regional level to assess the cost effectiveness of measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A realistic and integrated PSH and CH model is proposed for optimum energy management. • PSH balances energy supply and demand for intermittent renewable energy. • PSH sites with added water streams feeding upper reservoir incur net positive generation. • PSH reduced pumping energy consumption and enhanced off-peak annual energy production. The energy sector contributes to around 60% of total greenhouse gas emissions. To limit climate change, the world is going through an energy transition to clean and affordable energy, therefore the share of variable renewable energy is increasing day by day. Power systems require significant flexibility to operate reliably. Pumped storage hydropower allows load balancing and stable integration of intermittent renewable energy in the electrical grid. All energy storage technologies, including pumped storage hydropower, are considered a net negative contributor to the grid since they draw more energy than they deliver. This paper uniquely investigates the true potential of pumped storage hydropower and its optimum operation along with existing conventional hydropower. It considers power, energy production, and utilization for both installations to determine an equilibrium condition for a net positive energy balance. The case study of the 300 MW Balakot conventional hydropower plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan indicates that the pumped storage hydropower sites, where additional water streams reach the upper storage reservoir, can reduce pumping energy consumption by up to 166 GWh/year. Accordingly, a pumped storage hydropower facility is proposed at Paras, Pakistan, modeled, and optimized in an integrated manner with the Balakot conventional hydropower plant for a net positive annual energy generation and profitability. The integrated power and energy modeling and capacity optimization of the hydropower complex highlight the importance of suitable site selection for pumped storage hydropower near existing conventional hydropower reservoirs. Value-added contribution of this configuration is that it can enhance annual energy generation from integrated conventional hydropower, reduce the upfront capital cost of the project by 10–15%, squeeze the project implementation schedule and result in a smaller carbon footprint to meet the ultimate objective of limiting climate change. Additionally, it unlocks huge untapped pumped storage hydropower potential besides existing conventional hydropower. Furthermore, the study guides the scientific and engineering organizations on optimum capacity utilization without impeding energy generation from conventional hydropower facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National economy and growth rely heavily on electricity but rapid urbanization, expeditious industrialization and increased domestic use due to population growth are among the reasons for the severe energy crisis in developing countries. The extended demand-supply gaps, depleting reservoirs of fossil fuel, and the environmental hazards altogether ignite the need for wider adoption of renewable energy resources for electricity generation. A functional assessment of the engineering design for this transition is a prerequisite before proceeding to on-ground implementation due to its high impact on system sustainability. To this end, we propose an agent-based modeling and simulation framework for the rapid prototyping of wind power plants. The proposed approach abstracts active components of wind power plants using agents and implements their dynamic behavior through agent interactions. The proposed model helps in composing different model components, design valuation, and forecasting energy generation in a cost-effective and productive manner. The proposed model is demonstrated by conceptualizing the design of the Foundation Wind Energy plant, located at Sindh, Pakistan, and the development of its agent-based model. The obtained short-term and long-term electricity generation profiles are validated with the actual data. We further compared the forecasts with the time series analysis performed on the actual data, using five different time-series forecasting models. The proposed simulation model and time series analysis model fit well on the actual data with a root mean square deviation of approximately 9 MW. The proposed framework will assist the policymakers in estimating the extent of electrical energy produced at given conditions using the wind potential available at the corridors of any country. It will further aid in the realistic analysis of the future dynamics of electricity demand and supply, hence help in effective energy planning. • Agent-based modeling simulation is effective for the rapid prototyping of wind power plants. • Active components of a typical wind power plant with dynamic behavior. • Demonstrated the approach by conceptualizing the design of the Foundation Wind Energy plant, Pakistan. • Validated the obtained short term and long-term electricity generation profiles with actual data with an approcimate error of 9 MW. • Compared simulated forecasts with time series analysis using multiple analysis approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]