Pakistan is one of the most populated countries in the southern Asia region, contributing approximately 2.56 % of the total global population. Due to CPEC, it is expected to serve as an international trade route and energy corridor in the near future due to its strategic location.
Therefore, with all other social, economic, and political factors, Pakistan needs to ensure its energy supplies meet the direct and indirect demands of the country. The plan should be such that it does not only ensure economic growth but also for supporting regional and global economic initiatives. In past, a vast deficit between demand and supply of electricity was recorded in 2009–2010 was 26.82 % that affected the economic activities of the country.
In the current scenario, the big challenge is that electricity supply cannot be maintained during peak hours, resulting in frequent power shutdown (load shedding). Due to these power shortages, many entrepreneurs and industrialists have invested and moved their businesses to neighboring countries.
Therefore, short- and long-term measures are pivotal to solve the existing energy problems. Sustainable energy supply to meet the current and future domestic and industrial demands in Pakistan will rely on full-scale generation from the different energy sources in order to make significant contributions to the supply chain. The present state of Pakistan’s energy resources mainly consist of oil (38 %), hydro (32 %), natural gas (27 %), and coal (3 %).
The recent new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) prepared in co-operation with the Government of Pakistan, presents options for Pakistan to strengthen its policy, regulatory and institutional framework in order to accelerate renewables deployment.
It suggests ways to strengthen renewable energy targets, examines the constraints of existing grid infrastructure, highlights the best mechanisms to reduce costs and address technical challenges, and underlines the potential for private investment in renewables for off-grid and rural electrification.
To utilize the country’s indigenous renewable energy resources, Renewables Readiness Assessment Pakistan finds that key challenges can be addressed by:
· Involving the private sector in the development of transmission infrastructure to enhance the grid
· Setting a target for renewable energy development
· Encouraging renewable energy zoning and competitive procurement to reduce overall system costs;
· Devising a comprehensive distributed power generation plan;
· Co-ordinating the development and implementation of an integrated energy plan
· Developing policy and regulatory frameworks and implementation mechanisms that facilitate private-sector engagement in rural electrification
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