POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES IN PAKISTAN

[WAJsal]

CURRENT SITUATION OF ENERGY IN PAKISTAN


The current energy crisis in the country has taught us many lessons and one of the keys is to utilize indigenous sources of energy. Pakistan's electricity mix is heavily tilted towards thermal and the country is making 35.2 % of the total electricity from oil. Renewable energy is a potential resource that can be tapped immediately to overcome the current energy crises and warrants energy security. Ninety-seven million people live in rural areas, comprising 7 million households. According to a report published by the International Energy Agency, 38 % of the Pakistani population remain without access to electricity (IEA, 2011). Fifty four per cent of the rural population currently has no access to electricity, forcing them to live a sub-standard life of poverty and social inequity. As a result, development of the country is suffering as these areas possess abundance of resources and workforce that is currently disengaged from the mainstream. Use of renewable energy, due to its manifold advantages of having positive cross-cutting effects and impact over various strata of the economy and society can play a vital role in mainstreaming this large resource and help provide sustainability, and social and economic equity among the targeted rural population.

• Electricity – total installed capacity: 22,797 MW (2014)
  
  
• Electricity – Sources (2014)
  
  
  • fossil fuel – 14,635 MW – 64.2% of total(oil-35.2% + gas-29%)
    
    
  • hydro – 6,611 MW – 29% of total
    
    
  • nuclear – 1,322 MW – 5.8% of total
    
    
  • average demand-17,000 MW
    
    
  • shortfall-between 4,000 MW and 5,000 MW

We all know of the current energy crisis in Pakistan and how the country is unable to meet the growing demand. By May the country was already facing a shortfall of 5,000 Megawatt. With rising demand how can the country tackle this alarming problem.

POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES IN PAKISTAN

Hydro power

The northern part of the country is rich in hydro power resources. Nearly 76 percent of the country’s total hydel potential (or 45,861-megawatt) of 59,796-megawatt can be harnessed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan. According to statistics obtained from the Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB), Punjab had a generation potential of 7,291MW, whereas Azad Kashmir had a reported potential of 6,450MW. Although hydro power is the cheapest source of electricity generation, but about 89 per cent of this potential still remains untapped.

Gilgit-Baltistan, rich in water resources, has tremendous potential for hydro power generation, estimated to be over 40,000 MW on Indus River and its main tributaries. In addition, the hydro power potential of 1,200 MW exists on sub-tributaries, rivers and streams.

Even if 50% of this potential is harnessed then it not only meets the energy Needs of Pakistan but would be available for export to other countries.

Similarly if the potential in Chitral/Swat/Kaghan/AJK and other river sources is added to this potential on the Indus alone, you can gauge the prospects for the entire country. Hydro

Implications: If only 10,000 MW is harnessed, it will generate daily revenue of RS 240 Billion even if it is sold at a paltry rate of Rs1.0 per unit. This volume of revenue will not only be sufficient to pay the loans/interest but it will also generate thousands of jobs for the coming generation, besides making the region envy of the world. Proper management and harnessing of the above potential can generate huge revenue, avoidance of carbon pollution of 304 million tons per annum and other enormous benefits related to water security and disaster management.

Related link: must see, read when you have the time to. http://hisamullabheg.blogspot.com/2010/03/calculating-amount-of-available-power.html


SOLAR ENERGY

Located in the sunny belt, is lucky to have long sunshine hours and high insolation levels and is ideally located to take advantage of solar energy technologies. Solar mapping conducted by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), USA, in collaboration with USAID, has indicated a potential of 2.9 million MW in Pakistan (NREL, 2012), as shown in Figure-3. This energy source is widely distributed and abundantly available in the country. The mean global irradiation falling on horizontal surface is about 200- 250 watt per per day. This amounts to about 1500- 3,000 sunshine hours and 1.9 - 2.3 MWh per m per year. Balochistan province of Pakistan is particularly rich in solar energy. It has an average daily global insolation of 19 to 20 MJ/ per day with annual mean sunshine duration of 8 to 8.5 hours a day and these values are among the highest in the world (Khalil, Khan and Mirza, 2005). For daily global radiation up to 23 MJ/ , 24 (80%) consecutive days are available in this area. Such conditions are ideal for PV and other solar energy applications. Pakistan can make use of this abundant and widely distributed solar energy for improving the socioeconomic conditions of the people living in remote areas and to reduce the poverty level. It is calculated that approx. 40,000 remote villages will be electrified through solar energy. The provinces of Sindh and Balochistan are ideal for utilization of solar energy. In Balochistan, 77 % of the population is living in the rural areas and the population is very thin. These villages are separated by large distances with absolutely no connecting roads. Transmission lines are very expensive in this area and there is no chance of grid connection in the near future. Within the broad scope of Solar Power Technologies, following concrete opportunities are available in both on-grid and off-grid applications:

1. Village electrification;
   
   
2. Solar water pumps;
   
   
3. Solar water heating and space heating solutions;
   
   
4. Outdoor lighting (Solar/LEDs);
   
   
5. On-grid solar power projects using solar PV and solar thermal technologies;
   
   
6. Net metering applications.
   

There are other options available but it is believed that fast-track development in solar energy for immediate impact can be obtained by exploiting the abovementioned segments.

WIND POWER
National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) of USA under the USAID assistance programme in 2007 has carried out the wind resource study of Pakistan and developed a meso-scale map of Pakistan, showing the wind speed potential available at 50 m height. NREL study has also confirmed the availability of wind resource in Sindh. As per the wind resource map of Pakistan developed by NREL of USA, in collaboration with Alternative Energy Development 5.2 Wind Energy Board (AEDB) and USAID, Pakistan has a potential of more than 300,000 MW of wind energy in whole of the country (Mirza, Khan and Memon, 2010) (Figure-5).

Now all this energy cannot be harnessed, it is simply impossible, suppose if only 5% of this energy is harnessed, how much it can help our industrial and other sectors.


Biomass
Millions of tons of solid biomass comprised of cotton and wheat stalks, rice husk, corn cobs and other crop residues are produced in Pakistan annually. Wheat stalk is used as feed for the livestock. Except for use of this resource by rural households, mainly for cooking, the biomass is not being used for power-generation on a wide scale. Some companies use solid biomass residues to burn in boilers to generate steam for power generation. Burning biomass is not efficient from an energy conversion point of view. World is now using new technologies like gasification that uses controlled conditions of temperature and oxygen level to convert the original biomass feedstock into producer gas or wood gas (if the feedstock is wood) and more heat content of the biomass is captured. There is a huge potential of generating electricity from biomass in Pakistan. Only the sugar industry has a potential of producing more than 1,000 MWs of electricity from bagasse.

In addition to the sources mentioned above, Pakistan is also blessed with the following other renewable energy sources:

• Biogas;
  
  
• Geothermal;
  
  
• Tidal / wave; and
  
  
• Biofuels, Biodiesel and Ethanol.
  

The bottom line is renewable energy can be a game changer, most importantly it can provide electricity to areas which are not easily accessible, or electricity can’t be provided to them. For example, in Gilgit there is a huge potential of producing environment-friendly electricity. Hydel and wind power based, regardless of the fact some areas don’t have access to electricity and most areas are facing the same problem as the rest of the country: Load-shedding. These areas can easily be provided with electricity, more importantly these areas can easily help tackle currently faced energy problem across the country, in fact help the country socially and economically


Pakistan is currently facing a two-pronged crisis of threat to its Energy Security and an alarmingly low Human Development Index (HDI). Effective use of renewable energy can successfully address both these issues by improving the quality of life of the underdeveloped population, economic empowerment of the socially deprived and contribute to achieving the MDGs. Opportunities exist for investors, developers, manufacturers, lenders and other players to exploit the Pakistani renewable energy market. The Government has the opportunity to use renewable energies to overcome the existing energy crises and create job opportunities. The key challenge for the government is to give confidence to investors under the current security scenario, along with an assurance to address the circular debt issue for on-grid power projects. Pakistan's government has to create an enabling environment for off-grid electrification of villages and needs to create success stories. Microfinance models used in Bangladesh for renewable energy village electrification can be replicated to create success stories. Renewable energy can be effectively used for sustainable development and poverty alleviation in these areas by enhancing sustainable livelihood opportunities. The potential is huge and renewable energy can play a vital role to achieve energy security, supplement the on-grid electricity and change the lives of people living in rural areas. Out-of-the-box thinking and innovative solutions need to be evolved to create success stories.


According to a report published by the International Energy Agency (IEA, 2011), 38 % people in Pakistan remain without access to electricity. More than half of the rural population currently has no access to electricity, forcing them to live a substandard life of poverty and social inequity. Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) of

Pakistan estimates indicate that there are over 40,000 villages across the country that cannot be provided electricity as it would not be technically and economically viable to extend the national grid to the rural areas. Out of these 40,000 villages, 6,968 have been identified in Balochistan. Renewable energy can be effectively used for sustainable development and poverty alleviation in these areas by enhancing sustainable livelihood opportunities. Rural demands for electricity pertain to, and are not limited to, lighting, heating & cooking, clean drinking water, agroindustries, small commercial and manufacturing establishments and production uses, e.g., water/irrigation pumping, crop processing, refrigeration, and motive power. There are many problems in introducing renewable energy in such remote areas, but nothing too tough to handle.

 

[WAJsal]

Do give it a read , no not all of it is copy paste. I have tried to get as latest figures as possible, and from as reliable sources as possible. If you would like to add something, do tell me.
@waz , @Slav Defence , @Atanz ,@Aether , @Icarus ,@Hyperion ,@farhan_9909 , @WebMaster , @Abu Zolfiqar ,@Akheilos ,@Jungibaaz ,@Secur ,@Armstrong ,@syedali73 , @Horus ,@krash , @Shamain , @thesolar65 ,@scorpionx ,@SpArK ,@nair ,@levina ,@Nihonjin1051 ,@AUSTERLITZ ,@SvenSvensonov ,@DESERT FIGHTER ,@Desert Fox @S.U.R.B. ,@Jazzbot ,@Gufi ,@Green Arrow ,@Irfan Baloch @jamahir @Chinese-Dragon ......

@Gufi , link: HUNZA DEVELOPMENT FORUM: CALCULATING THE AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE POWER
Give it a read whenever you are free. Very informative. And check the blog out too.

 

[VCheng]

All the power generation in the world is useless if there are no effective mechanisms for ensuring that the consumers, whether private, commercial, government or military, actually pay for the power they use.

That is the basic problem with Pakistan's energy sector, not present generation, or future potential.

 

[Slav Defence]

All the power generation in the world is useless if there are no effective mechanisms for ensuring that the consumers, whether private, commercial, government or military, actually pay for the power they use.

That is the basic problem with Pakistan's energy sector, not present generation, or future potential.

Array sir ,
Welcome back

Do give it a read , no not all of it is copy paste. I have tried to get as latest figures as possible, and from as reliable sources as possible. If you would like to add something, do tell me.
@waz , @Slav Defence , @Atanz ,@Aether , @Icarus ,@Hyperion ,@farhan_9909 , @WebMaster , @Abu Zolfiqar ,@Akheilos ,@Jungibaaz ,@Secur ,@Armstrong ,@syedali73 , @Horus ,@krash , @Shamain , @thesolar65 ,@scorpionx ,@SpArK ,@nair ,@levina ,@Nihonjin1051 ,@AUSTERLITZ ,@SvenSvensonov ,@DESERT FIGHTER ,@Desert Fox @S.U.R.B. ,@Jazzbot ,@Gufi ,@Green Arrow ,@Irfan Baloch @jamahir @Chinese-Dragon ......

@Gufi , link: HUNZA DEVELOPMENT FORUM: CALCULATING THE AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE POWER
Give it a read whenever you are free. Very informative. And check the blog out too.

Very well posted.I would like to share this article below which shows advantages of renewable energy and its effective utilization by U.S


Renewable energy — wind, solar,geothermal, hydroelectric, andbiomass — provides substantial benefits for our climate, our health, and our economy:



Each source of renewable energy has unique benefits and costs; this page explores the many benefits associated with these energy technologies. For more information on their potential impacts — including effective solutions to mitigate or avoid them entirely — see The Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Technologies.

Little to No Global Warming Emissions
Human activity is overloading our atmosphere with carbon dioxide and other global warming emissions, which trap heat, steadily drive up the planet’s temperature, and create significant and harmful impacts on our health, our environment, and our climate.

Electricity production accounts for more than one-third of U.S. global warming emissions, with the majority generated by coal-fired power plants, which produce approximately 25 percent of total U.S. global warming emissions; natural gas-fired power plants produce 6 percent of total emissions [1, 2]. In contrast, most renewable energy sources produce little to no global warming emissions.

According to data aggregated by the International Panel on Climate Change, life-cycle global warming emissions associated with renewable energy—including manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance, and dismantling and decommissioning—are minimal [3].

Compared with natural gas, which emits between 0.6 and 2 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour (CO2E/kWh), and coal, which emits between 1.4 and 3.6 pounds of CO2E/kWh, wind emits only 0.02 to 0.04 pounds of CO2E/kWh, solar 0.07 to 0.2,geothermal 0.1 to 0.2, and hydroelectricbetween 0.1 and 0.5. Renewable electricity generation from biomass can have a wide range of global warming emissions depending on the resource and how it is harvested. Sustainably sourced biomass has a low emissions footprint, while unsustainable sources of biomass can generate significant global warming emissions.

Source: IPCC, 2011: IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. Prepared by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow (eds)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1075 pp. (Chapter 9).4]. In addition, a ground-breaking study by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory explored the feasibility and environmental impacts associated with generating 80 percent of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2050 and found that global warming emissions from electricity production could be reduced by approximately 81 percent [5].

Improved Public Health and Environmental Quality
Generating electricity from renewable energy rather than fossil fuels offers significant public health benefits. The air and water pollution emitted by coal and natural gas plants is linked to breathing problems, neurological damage, heart attacks, and cancer. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy has been found to reduce premature mortality and lost workdays, and it reduces overall healthcare costs [6]. The aggregate national economic impact associated with these health impacts of fossil fuels is between $361.7 and $886.5 billion, or between 2.5 percent and 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Wind, solar, and hydroelectric systems generate electricity with no associated air pollution emissions. While geothermal andbiomass energy systems emit some air pollutants, total air emissions are generally much lower than those of coal- and natural gas-fired power plants.

In addition, wind and solar energy require essentially no water to operate and thus do not pollute water resources or strain supply by competing with agriculture, drinking water systems, or other important water needs. In contrast, fossil fuels can have a significant impact on water resources. For example, both coal mining and natural gas drilling can pollute sources of drinking water. Natural gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) requires large amounts of water and all thermal power plants, including those powered by coal, gas, and oil, withdraw and consume water for cooling.7].

A Vast and Inexhaustible Energy Supply

Throughout the United States, strong winds, sunny skies, plant residues, heat from the earth, and fast-moving water can each provide a vast and constantly replenished energy resource supply. These diverse sources of renewable energy have the technical potential to provide all the electricity the nation needs many times over.

Estimates of the technical potential of each renewable energy source are based on their overall availability given certain technological and environmental constraints [8]. In 2012, NREL found that together, renewable energy sources have the technical potential to supply 482,247 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually (see Table 1). This amount is 118 times the amount of electricity the nation currently consumes. However, it is important to note that not all of this technical potential can be tapped due to conflicting land use needs, the higher short-term costs of those resources, constraints on ramping up their use such as limits on transmission capacity, barriers to public acceptance, and other hurdles.

Source: “U.S. Renewable Energy Technical Potentials: A GIS -Based Analysis”, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. July 2012.9].

Jobs and Other Economic Benefits
Compared with fossil fuel technologies, which are typically mechanized and capital intensive, the renewable energy industry is more labor-intensive. This means that, on average, more jobs are created for each unit of electricity generated from renewable sources than from fossil fuels.

Renewable energy already supports thousands of jobs in the United States. For example, in 2011, the wind energy industry directly employed 75,000 full-time-equivalent employees in a variety of capacities, including manufacturing, project development, construction and turbine installation, operations and maintenance, transportation and logistics, and financial, legal, and consulting services [10]. More than 500 factories in the United States manufacture parts for wind turbines, and the amount of domestically manufactured equipment used in wind turbines has grown dramatically in recent years: from 35 percent in 2006 to 70 percent in 2011 [11, 12].

Other renewable energy technologies employ even more workers. In 2011, the solar industry employed approximately 100,000 people on a part-time or full-time basis, including jobs in solar installation, manufacturing, and sales [13]; the hydroelectric power industry employed approximately 250,000 people in 2009 [14]; and in 2010 the geothermal industry employed 5,200 people [15].

Increasing renewable energy has the potential to create still more jobs. In 2009, the Union of Concerned Scientists conducted an analysis of the economic benefits of a 25 percent renewable energy standard by 2025; it found that such a policy would create more than three times as many jobs as producing an equivalent amount of electricity from fossil fuels—resulting in a benefit of 202,000 new jobs in 2025 [16].

In addition to the jobs directly created in the renewable energy industry, growth in renewable energy industry creates positive economic “ripple” effects. For example, industries in the renewable energy supply chain will benefit, and unrelated local businesses will benefit from increased household and business incomes [17].

In addition to creating new jobs, increasing our use of renewable energy offers other important economic development benefits. Local governments collect property and income taxes and other payments from renewable energy project owners. These revenues can help support vital public services, especially in rural communities where projects are often located. Owners of the land on which wind projects are built also often receive lease payments ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 per megawatt of installed capacity, as well as payments for power line easements and road rights-of-way. Or they may earn royalties based on the project’s annual revenues. Similarly, farmers and rural landowners can generate new sources of supplemental income by producing feedstocks for biomass power facilities.

UCS analysis found that a 25 by 2025 national renewable electricity standard would stimulate $263.4 billion in new capital investment for renewable energy technologies, $13.5 billion in new landowner income biomass production and/or wind land lease payments, and $11.5 billion in new property tax revenue for local communities [18].

19].

Stable Energy Prices
Renewable energy is providing affordable electricity across the country right now, and can help stabilize energy prices in the future.

The costs of renewable energy technologies have declined steadily, and are projected to drop even more. For example, the average price of a solar panel has dropped almost 60 percent since 2011 [20]. The cost of generating electricity from wind dropped more than 20 percent between 2010 and 2012 and more than 80 percent since 1980 [21]. In areas with strong wind resources like Texas, wind power can compete directly with fossil fuels on costs [22]. The cost of renewable energy will decline even further as markets mature and companies increasingly take advantage of economies of scale.

While renewable facilities require upfront investments to build, once built they operate at very low cost and, for most technologies, the fuel is free. As a result, renewable energy prices are relatively stable over time. UCS’s analysis of the economic benefits of a 25 percent renewable electricity standard found that such a policy would lead to 4.1 percent lower natural gas prices and 7.6 percent lower electricity prices by 2030 [23].

In contrast, fossil fuel prices can vary dramatically and are prone to substantial price swings. For example, there was a rapid increase in U.S. coal prices due to rising global demand before 2008, then a rapid fall after 2008 when global demands declined [24]. Likewise, natural gas prices have fluctuated greatly since 2000 [25].

Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA). 2013. Coal news and markets report.

Source: EIA. 2013. U.S. Natural Gas Wellhead Price.

Using more renewable energy can lower the prices of and demand for natural gas and coal by increasing competition and diversifying our energy supplies. An increased reliance on renewable energy can help protect consumers when fossil fuel prices spike.26].

The risk of disruptive events will also increase in the future as droughts, heat waves, more intense storms, and increasingly severe wildfires become more frequent due to global warming. Renewable energy sources are more resilient than coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants in the face of these sorts of extreme weather events.

For example, coal, natural gas, and nuclear power depend on large amounts of water for cooling, and limited water availability during a severe drought or heat wave puts electricity generation at risk. Wind and solar photovoltaic systems do not require water to generate electricity, and they can help mitigate risks associated with water scarcity. (For more information, see How it Works: Water for Electricity.)

References:

[1] Environmental Protection Agency. 2012. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2010.

[2] Energy Information Agency (EIA). 2012. How much of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are associated with electricity generation?

[3] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2011. IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. Prepared by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow (eds)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1075 pp. (Chapter 9).

[4] Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). 2009. Clean Power Green Jobs.

[5] National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). 2012. Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 1, pg. 210.

[6] Machol, Rizk. 2013. Economic value of U.S. fossil fuel electricity health impacts. Environment International 52 75–80.

[7] Renewable Electricity Futures Study. 2012.

[8] NREL. 2013. U.S. Renewable Energy Technical Potentials: A GIS-Based Analysis.

[9] Renewable Electricity Futures Study. 2012.

IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. Prepared by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2011.

UCS. 2009. Climate 2030: A national blueprint for a clean energy economy.

[10] American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). 2012a. AWEA U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report: Year Ending 2011. Washington, D.C.: American Wind Energy Association.

[11] AWEA. 2012b. Federal Production Tax Credit for Wind Energy.

[12] Wiser, Ryan, and Mark Bolinger. 2012. 2011 Wind Technologies Market Report. US Department of Energy.

[13] The Solar Foundation. 2011. National Solar Jobs Census 2011.

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). 2013. Solar Industry Data.

[14] Navigant Consulting. 2009. Job Creation Opportunities in Hydropower.

[15] Geothermal Energy Association. 2010. Green Jobs through Geothermal Energy.

[16] UCS. 2009. Clean Power Green Jobs.

[17] Environmental Protection Agency. 2010. Assessing the Multiple Benefits of Clean Energy: A Resource for States. Chapter 5.

[18] UCS. 2009. Clean Power Green Jobs.

[19] Deyette, J., and B. Freese. 2010.Burning coal, burning cash: Ranking the states that import the most coal. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists.

[20] SEIA. 2012. Solar Market Insight Report 2012 Q3.

[21] AWEA. 2012b. Federal Production Tax Credit for Wind Energy.

[22] Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). 2012. Long-term System Assessment for the ERCOT region.

[23] UCS. 2009. Clean Power Green Jobs.

[24] UCS. 2011. A Risky Proposition: The financial hazards of new investments in coal plants.

[25] EIA. 2013. U.S. Natural Gas Wellhead Price.

[26] Unger, David J. 2012. Are renewables stormproof? Hurricane Sandy tests solar, wind. The Christian Science Monitor. November 19.

Benefits of Renewable Energy Use | Union of Concerned Scientists

 

[VCheng]

Array sir ,
Welcome back

Thank you.

Very well posted.I would like to share this article below which shows advantages of renewable energy and its effective utilization by U.S


Renewable energy — wind, solar,geothermal, hydroelectric, andbiomass — provides substantial benefits for our climate, our health, and our economy:

What are costs per MW of installed capacity vs the established sources like hydrocarbons and hydroelectric? For any of the identified potential to be realized, how are projects going to be financed and maintained? Those are the tough questions, in addition to what I have posted as being the basic problem of consumers actually paying for the power.

 

[jamahir]

The current energy crisis in the country has taught us many lessons and one of the keys is to utilize indigenous sources of energy. Pakistan's electricity mix is heavily tilted towards thermal and the country is making 35.2 % of the total electricity from oil.

the problem is that much of the world, especially the developing-world governments have looked at very 50's age complicated, ecologically-based, politically unwise and non-innovative kind of power generation technologies - nuclear, hydro-power, coal, wind and oil... two of these are supposedly "renewable sources" but they are either ecologically bad or simply capitalist sales.

i must say here that it would be wiser and simpler to have only three or four methods of power generation rather burden oneself with developing/acquiring multiple technologies just because there are big old western companies selling them.

Renewable energy is a potential resource that can be tapped immediately to overcome the current energy crises and warrants energy security. Ninety-seven million people live in rural areas, comprising 7 million households.

Pakistan estimates indicate that there are over 40,000 villages across the country that cannot be provided electricity as it would not be technically and economically viable to extend the national grid to the rural areas.

therefore, this necessiates development of decentralized and elegant power generation solutions that can also be the main system for all of pakistan.

decentralized power generation is the future... one furthering of this is tesla company's "powerwall"... from ( Powerwall | Tesla Home Battery )...

Powerwall is a home battery that charges using electricity generated from solar panels, or when utility rates are low, and powers your home in the evening. It also fortifies your home against power outages by providing a backup electricity supply. Automated, compact and simple to install, Powerwall offers independence from the utility grid and the security of an emergency backup

from ( Tesla Energy announced: Powerwall batteries for the home, businesses, and industry | Digital Trends ) is from a perspective of purely solar-photovoltaic/battery-back combination...

The Powerwall is meant for residential use; for businesses and industry there’s the Powerpack, which is “designed to scale infinitely.” That product will be available in a 100-kilowatt-hour version and can scale from 500 kilowatt-hours to over 10 megawatt-hours.

The future, as Musk sees it, is in batteries supplanting the need for power lines in remote areas that don’t currently have electricity. All of this is part of a larger plan to curb carbon-dioxide emissions, and solar panels and batteries are the path he sees as getting us there. It would take 900 million Powerpacks to transition the world to completely renewable energy generation, he estimates. “It’s something that we must do and that we can do and that we will do,” he said.

POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES IN PAKISTAN
...
...
...
There are other options available but it is believed that fast-track development in solar energy for immediate impact can be obtained by exploiting the above mentioned segments.

i believe, solar thermal electricity, rather than solar photovoltaic should be the area of development... in particular miniaturized roof-top versions of ( Solar updraft tower - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ).

i think production of solar photovoltaic panel has bad side-effects on ecology and until now has had a political effect of furthering capitalism in china, because china is the largest producer so photovoltaic panels and they sell for capitalist profit even to unthoughtful usages.

besides, electricity generation technology must be simple and manufacturable anywhere.

Biomass
Millions of tons of solid biomass comprised of cotton and wheat stalks, rice husk, corn cobs and other crop residues are produced in Pakistan annually. Wheat stalk is used as feed for the livestock. Except for use of this resource by rural households, mainly for cooking, the biomass is not being used for power-generation on a wide scale. Some companies use solid biomass residues to burn in boilers to generate steam for power generation. Burning biomass is not efficient from an energy conversion point of view. World is now using new technologies like gasification that uses controlled conditions of temperature and oxygen level to convert the original biomass feedstock into producer gas or wood gas (if the feedstock is wood) and more heat content of the biomass is captured. There is a huge potential of generating electricity from biomass in Pakistan. Only the sugar industry has a potential of producing more than 1,000 MWs of electricity from bagasse.

In addition to the sources mentioned above, Pakistan is also blessed with the following other renewable energy sources:

• Biogas;
  
  
• Geothermal;
  
  
• Tidal / wave; and
  
  
• Biofuels, Biodiesel and Ethanol.

biomass ( producing biogas ) and ethanol can be seen as the second main main fuel not only in rural areas but also in cities and settlements in valleys and deserts... this necessiates active production of crops which can be used for biogas and ethanol ( wheat, sugarcane etc )... if these are growing in decentralized municipal "urban farms" or "vertical farms", it will not only solve pakistan's electricity issue but will give pakistan a surplus in food crops.

biogas and ethanol can be combined with "stirling engines" which are a two-century-old design but are very efficient rotary engines, and their efficiency when joined with the usual convertors will give efficient electricity production.

from ( Stirling engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )...

A Stirling engine is a heat engine that operates by cyclic compression and expansion of air or other gas (the working fluid) at different temperatures, such that there is a net conversion of heat energy to mechanical work.[1][2] More specifically, the Stirling engine is a closed-cycle regenerative heat engine with a permanently gaseous working fluid. Closed-cycle, in this context, means a thermodynamic system in which the working fluid is permanently contained within the system, and regenerative describes the use of a specific type of internal heat exchanger and thermal store, known as the regenerator. The inclusion of a regenerator differentiates the Stirling engine from other closed cycle hot air engines.

Originally conceived in 1816 as an industrial prime mover to rival the steam engine, its practical use was largely confined to low-power domestic applications for over a century.[3]

----------------

ideally, every house or building should have a biomass/ethanol generator ( given by government at subsidy ), other than roof-top solar thermal electrical generator... this will entirely remove the concept of "public electrical grid".

one side-effect would be to turn pakistan into a scientific society.

-------------
we should also call upon @Norwegian because he had posted a article on this topic before.

 

[Gufi]

All the power generation in the world is useless if there are no effective mechanisms for ensuring that the consumers, whether private, commercial, government or military, actually pay for the power they use.

That is the basic problem with Pakistan's energy sector, not present generation, or future potential.

I agree with the part about bill collection being the largest problem plaguing the electricity sector. It is only with collection that deficits can be stopped and money spared for new investment.

POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES IN PAKISTAN

Hydro power

This is the most feasible solution for cheap electricity which can be produced on demand. Solar I disagree with because it can give power with too many variables and expenses just like wind. And storing that power is another issue

aside from this another main issue more problematic in Pakistan is the transmission of electricity. You can only introduce a certain amount of energy or put a certain amount of load on the system before it collapses which you see in the form of transformers blowing up, grids collapsing or collapse of the whole system which has occurred at times also. The misconception that is prevalent in our society is that we can pump in more energy and the power crisis will be solved. The truth is there needs to be a total re-haul of the transmission system for it to be capable of coping with increased load.

@WAJsal I am sorry but right now my mind is preoccupied by the farce that is known as the budget which has apparently shown what the real priorities are for the sitting Government.

 

[Dubious]

@WAJsal good read bro! I just dont have the energy right now to respond to the thread with research as I so much do wanna....Will do INSHALLAH...

 

[WAJsal]

All the power generation in the world is useless if there are no effective mechanisms for ensuring that the consumers, whether private, commercial, government or military, actually pay for the power they use.

Very well said and i totally agree.

therefore, this necessiates development of decentralized and elegant power generation solutions that can also be the main system for all of pakistan.

decentralized power generation is the future... one furthering of this is tesla company's "powerwall"... from ( Powerwall | Tesla Home Battery )...

from ( Tesla Energy announced: Powerwall batteries for the home, businesses, and industry | Digital Trends ) is from a perspective of purely solar-photovoltaic/battery-back combination...

Nice, then again even the simplest of things get complicated for our politicians.

biomass ( producing biogas ) and ethanol can be seen as the second main main fuel not only in rural areas but also in cities and settlements in valleys and deserts... this necessiates active production of crops which can be used for biogas and ethanol ( wheat, sugarcane etc )... if these are growing in decentralized municipal "urban farms" or "vertical farms", it will not only solve pakistan's electricity issue but will give pakistan a surplus in food crops.

biogas and ethanol can be combined with "stirling engines" which are a two-century-old design but are very efficient rotary engines, and their efficiency when joined with the usual convertors will give efficient electricity production.

from ( Stirling engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )...

----------------

ideally, every house or building should have a biomass/ethanol generator ( given by government at subsidy ), other than roof-top solar thermal electrical generator... this will entirely remove the concept of "public electrical grid".

one side-effect would be to turn pakistan into a scientific society.

Why aren't we funding this?

I agree with the part about bill collection being the largest problem plaguing the electricity sector. It is only with collection that deficits can be stopped and money spared for new investment.

I had come across an old figure, it stated that in the year 2008-2009: KESC lost about 41%, that is, 41% of the electricity generated was not paid for by those using it.
same is the case with WAPDA, which suffers a huge loss of power, due to long transmission lines and of course theft.

aside from this another main issue more problematic in Pakistan is the transmission of electricity. You can only introduce a certain amount of energy or put a certain amount of load on the system before it collapses which you see in the form of transformers blowing up, grids collapsing or collapse of the whole system which has occurred at times also. The misconception that is prevalent in our society is that we can pump in more energy and the power crisis will be solved. The truth is there needs to be a total re-haul of the transmission system for it to be capable of coping with increased load.

I agree, then again the problem is also long transmission lines.
So much potential, just waiting, in fact begging some one to harness it and we are almost doing no justice to potential available. For example, in Gilgit there is a huge potential of producing environment-friendly electricity. Hydel and wind power based, regardless of the fact some areas don’t have access to electricity and most areas are facing the same problem as the rest of the country: Load-shedding. These areas can easily be provided with electricity, more importantly these areas can easily help tackle currently faced energy problem across the country, in fact help the country socially and economically. What a joke, right?

@WAJsal I am sorry but right now my mind is preoccupied by the farce that is known as the budget which has apparently shown what the real priorities are for the sitting Government.

No worries, give a proper read whenever you have the time.

 

[WAJsal]

Array sir ,
Welcome back


Very well posted.I would like to share this article below which shows advantages of renewable energy and its effective utilization by U.S


Renewable energy — wind, solar,geothermal, hydroelectric, andbiomass — provides substantial benefits for our climate, our health, and our economy:



Each source of renewable energy has unique benefits and costs; this page explores the many benefits associated with these energy technologies. For more information on their potential impacts — including effective solutions to mitigate or avoid them entirely — see The Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Technologies.

Little to No Global Warming Emissions
Human activity is overloading our atmosphere with carbon dioxide and other global warming emissions, which trap heat, steadily drive up the planet’s temperature, and create significant and harmful impacts on our health, our environment, and our climate.

Electricity production accounts for more than one-third of U.S. global warming emissions, with the majority generated by coal-fired power plants, which produce approximately 25 percent of total U.S. global warming emissions; natural gas-fired power plants produce 6 percent of total emissions [1, 2]. In contrast, most renewable energy sources produce little to no global warming emissions.

According to data aggregated by the International Panel on Climate Change, life-cycle global warming emissions associated with renewable energy—including manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance, and dismantling and decommissioning—are minimal [3].

Compared with natural gas, which emits between 0.6 and 2 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour (CO2E/kWh), and coal, which emits between 1.4 and 3.6 pounds of CO2E/kWh, wind emits only 0.02 to 0.04 pounds of CO2E/kWh, solar 0.07 to 0.2,geothermal 0.1 to 0.2, and hydroelectricbetween 0.1 and 0.5. Renewable electricity generation from biomass can have a wide range of global warming emissions depending on the resource and how it is harvested. Sustainably sourced biomass has a low emissions footprint, while unsustainable sources of biomass can generate significant global warming emissions.

Source: IPCC, 2011: IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. Prepared by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow (eds)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1075 pp. (Chapter 9).4]. In addition, a ground-breaking study by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory explored the feasibility and environmental impacts associated with generating 80 percent of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2050 and found that global warming emissions from electricity production could be reduced by approximately 81 percent [5].

Improved Public Health and Environmental Quality
Generating electricity from renewable energy rather than fossil fuels offers significant public health benefits. The air and water pollution emitted by coal and natural gas plants is linked to breathing problems, neurological damage, heart attacks, and cancer. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy has been found to reduce premature mortality and lost workdays, and it reduces overall healthcare costs [6]. The aggregate national economic impact associated with these health impacts of fossil fuels is between $361.7 and $886.5 billion, or between 2.5 percent and 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Wind, solar, and hydroelectric systems generate electricity with no associated air pollution emissions. While geothermal andbiomass energy systems emit some air pollutants, total air emissions are generally much lower than those of coal- and natural gas-fired power plants.

In addition, wind and solar energy require essentially no water to operate and thus do not pollute water resources or strain supply by competing with agriculture, drinking water systems, or other important water needs. In contrast, fossil fuels can have a significant impact on water resources. For example, both coal mining and natural gas drilling can pollute sources of drinking water. Natural gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) requires large amounts of water and all thermal power plants, including those powered by coal, gas, and oil, withdraw and consume water for cooling.7].

A Vast and Inexhaustible Energy Supply

Throughout the United States, strong winds, sunny skies, plant residues, heat from the earth, and fast-moving water can each provide a vast and constantly replenished energy resource supply. These diverse sources of renewable energy have the technical potential to provide all the electricity the nation needs many times over.

Estimates of the technical potential of each renewable energy source are based on their overall availability given certain technological and environmental constraints [8]. In 2012, NREL found that together, renewable energy sources have the technical potential to supply 482,247 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually (see Table 1). This amount is 118 times the amount of electricity the nation currently consumes. However, it is important to note that not all of this technical potential can be tapped due to conflicting land use needs, the higher short-term costs of those resources, constraints on ramping up their use such as limits on transmission capacity, barriers to public acceptance, and other hurdles.

Source: “U.S. Renewable Energy Technical Potentials: A GIS -Based Analysis”, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. July 2012.9].

Jobs and Other Economic Benefits
Compared with fossil fuel technologies, which are typically mechanized and capital intensive, the renewable energy industry is more labor-intensive. This means that, on average, more jobs are created for each unit of electricity generated from renewable sources than from fossil fuels.

Renewable energy already supports thousands of jobs in the United States. For example, in 2011, the wind energy industry directly employed 75,000 full-time-equivalent employees in a variety of capacities, including manufacturing, project development, construction and turbine installation, operations and maintenance, transportation and logistics, and financial, legal, and consulting services [10]. More than 500 factories in the United States manufacture parts for wind turbines, and the amount of domestically manufactured equipment used in wind turbines has grown dramatically in recent years: from 35 percent in 2006 to 70 percent in 2011 [11, 12].

Other renewable energy technologies employ even more workers. In 2011, the solar industry employed approximately 100,000 people on a part-time or full-time basis, including jobs in solar installation, manufacturing, and sales [13]; the hydroelectric power industry employed approximately 250,000 people in 2009 [14]; and in 2010 the geothermal industry employed 5,200 people [15].

Increasing renewable energy has the potential to create still more jobs. In 2009, the Union of Concerned Scientists conducted an analysis of the economic benefits of a 25 percent renewable energy standard by 2025; it found that such a policy would create more than three times as many jobs as producing an equivalent amount of electricity from fossil fuels—resulting in a benefit of 202,000 new jobs in 2025 [16].

In addition to the jobs directly created in the renewable energy industry, growth in renewable energy industry creates positive economic “ripple” effects. For example, industries in the renewable energy supply chain will benefit, and unrelated local businesses will benefit from increased household and business incomes [17].

In addition to creating new jobs, increasing our use of renewable energy offers other important economic development benefits. Local governments collect property and income taxes and other payments from renewable energy project owners. These revenues can help support vital public services, especially in rural communities where projects are often located. Owners of the land on which wind projects are built also often receive lease payments ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 per megawatt of installed capacity, as well as payments for power line easements and road rights-of-way. Or they may earn royalties based on the project’s annual revenues. Similarly, farmers and rural landowners can generate new sources of supplemental income by producing feedstocks for biomass power facilities.

UCS analysis found that a 25 by 2025 national renewable electricity standard would stimulate $263.4 billion in new capital investment for renewable energy technologies, $13.5 billion in new landowner income biomass production and/or wind land lease payments, and $11.5 billion in new property tax revenue for local communities [18].

19].

Stable Energy Prices
Renewable energy is providing affordable electricity across the country right now, and can help stabilize energy prices in the future.

The costs of renewable energy technologies have declined steadily, and are projected to drop even more. For example, the average price of a solar panel has dropped almost 60 percent since 2011 [20]. The cost of generating electricity from wind dropped more than 20 percent between 2010 and 2012 and more than 80 percent since 1980 [21]. In areas with strong wind resources like Texas, wind power can compete directly with fossil fuels on costs [22]. The cost of renewable energy will decline even further as markets mature and companies increasingly take advantage of economies of scale.

While renewable facilities require upfront investments to build, once built they operate at very low cost and, for most technologies, the fuel is free. As a result, renewable energy prices are relatively stable over time. UCS’s analysis of the economic benefits of a 25 percent renewable electricity standard found that such a policy would lead to 4.1 percent lower natural gas prices and 7.6 percent lower electricity prices by 2030 [23].

In contrast, fossil fuel prices can vary dramatically and are prone to substantial price swings. For example, there was a rapid increase in U.S. coal prices due to rising global demand before 2008, then a rapid fall after 2008 when global demands declined [24]. Likewise, natural gas prices have fluctuated greatly since 2000 [25].

Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA). 2013. Coal news and markets report.

Source: EIA. 2013. U.S. Natural Gas Wellhead Price.

Using more renewable energy can lower the prices of and demand for natural gas and coal by increasing competition and diversifying our energy supplies. An increased reliance on renewable energy can help protect consumers when fossil fuel prices spike.26].

The risk of disruptive events will also increase in the future as droughts, heat waves, more intense storms, and increasingly severe wildfires become more frequent due to global warming. Renewable energy sources are more resilient than coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants in the face of these sorts of extreme weather events.

For example, coal, natural gas, and nuclear power depend on large amounts of water for cooling, and limited water availability during a severe drought or heat wave puts electricity generation at risk. Wind and solar photovoltaic systems do not require water to generate electricity, and they can help mitigate risks associated with water scarcity. (For more information, see How it Works: Water for Electricity.)

References:

[1] Environmental Protection Agency. 2012. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2010.

[2] Energy Information Agency (EIA). 2012. How much of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are associated with electricity generation?

[3] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2011. IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. Prepared by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow (eds)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1075 pp. (Chapter 9).

[4] Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). 2009. Clean Power Green Jobs.

[5] National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). 2012. Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 1, pg. 210.

[6] Machol, Rizk. 2013. Economic value of U.S. fossil fuel electricity health impacts. Environment International 52 75–80.

[7] Renewable Electricity Futures Study. 2012.

[8] NREL. 2013. U.S. Renewable Energy Technical Potentials: A GIS-Based Analysis.

[9] Renewable Electricity Futures Study. 2012.

IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. Prepared by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2011.

UCS. 2009. Climate 2030: A national blueprint for a clean energy economy.

[10] American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). 2012a. AWEA U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report: Year Ending 2011. Washington, D.C.: American Wind Energy Association.

[11] AWEA. 2012b. Federal Production Tax Credit for Wind Energy.

[12] Wiser, Ryan, and Mark Bolinger. 2012. 2011 Wind Technologies Market Report. US Department of Energy.

[13] The Solar Foundation. 2011. National Solar Jobs Census 2011.

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). 2013. Solar Industry Data.

[14] Navigant Consulting. 2009. Job Creation Opportunities in Hydropower.

[15] Geothermal Energy Association. 2010. Green Jobs through Geothermal Energy.

[16] UCS. 2009. Clean Power Green Jobs.

[17] Environmental Protection Agency. 2010. Assessing the Multiple Benefits of Clean Energy: A Resource for States. Chapter 5.

[18] UCS. 2009. Clean Power Green Jobs.

[19] Deyette, J., and B. Freese. 2010.Burning coal, burning cash: Ranking the states that import the most coal. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists.

[20] SEIA. 2012. Solar Market Insight Report 2012 Q3.

[21] AWEA. 2012b. Federal Production Tax Credit for Wind Energy.

[22] Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). 2012. Long-term System Assessment for the ERCOT region.

[23] UCS. 2009. Clean Power Green Jobs.

[24] UCS. 2011. A Risky Proposition: The financial hazards of new investments in coal plants.

[25] EIA. 2013. U.S. Natural Gas Wellhead Price.

[26] Unger, David J. 2012. Are renewables stormproof? Hurricane Sandy tests solar, wind. The Christian Science Monitor. November 19.

Benefits of Renewable Energy Use | Union of Concerned Scientists

Wow, thanks for the share.

@WAJsal good read bro! I just dont have the energy right now to respond to the thread with research as I so much do wanna....Will do INSHALLAH...

Koi bat nahe, as long as you liked it, i'm cool.

 

[ziaulislam]

All the power generation in the world is useless if there are no effective mechanisms for ensuring that the consumers, whether private, commercial, government or military, actually pay for the power they use.

That is the basic problem with Pakistan's energy sector, not present generation, or future potential.

solution is smart meters and privitzation of distribution. government is reluctant on both of them for political reasons

 

[VCheng]

solution is smart meters and privitzation of distribution. government is reluctant on both of them for political reasons

That is only part of the solution. The government itself, and the military, are also culprits in not paying their power bills on time. Stealing by kundas requires improvements in law and order and civic sense to stop, which is a tall order indeed.

 

[ziaulislam]

That is only part of the solution. The government itself, and the military, are also culprits in not paying their power bills on time. Stealing by kundas requires improvements in law and order and civic sense to stop, which is a tall order indeed.

or you can go for the fix the Indians have, make electricity expensive and generation cheaper. This in additon with some major defaulters paying, can solve the problem.
for example even with current losses if power generation cost is brought down from 12 rs average to 8rs (via coal, hydro )we can cover up the lossess

 

[VCheng]

or you can go for the fix the Indians have, make electricity expensive and generation cheaper. This in additon with some major defaulters paying, can solve the problem.
for example even with current losses if power generation cost is brought down from 12 rs average to 8rs (via coal, hydro )we can cover up the lossess

The solution will probably need a combination of all of these measures together to be effective.

 

[Zibago]

Nah its cheaper to run coal plants in the desert of sindh and south punjab