Pakistans progress in solar PV based energy generation

Hadeed Ahmed Sher a,n, Ali F Murtaza b, Khaled E Addoweesh a, Marcello Chiaberge c

a Department of Electrical Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabiab Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italyc Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 25 January 2014Received in revised form2 February 2015Accepted 4 March 2015Available online 24 March 2015

Keywords:Solar photovoltaicRenewable energy in PakistanRenewable energy technologies (RET)Policies

a b s t r a c t

Solar PV has been a cornerstone for the energy policy makers around the globe. It is because theenvironmental effects of solar energy are low as compared to the conventional energy sources. It is freeand virtually inexhaustible. Developed countries have long been in the business of using solar energy forenergy generation. However, for the third world countries like Pakistan, the use of solar energy forpower generation is a relatively new experience. In recent months, Pakistan has shown a paradigm shiftin its renewable energy policy and invested on mega power plants based on solar PV system. This paperreviews the recent exponential rise of using solar energy for power generation in Pakistan. The results ofthis paper will not only help in understanding and hence, curbing the power crisis in Pakistan, but willalso be relevant to the other countries of the third world.

& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2132. Present state of energy in Pakistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2143. Solar sites in Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2144. Organizational level efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2145. Recent development in solar PV sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2156. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2167. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Acknowledgement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

1. Introduction

Pakistan has seen a bitter taste of recent energy crises in theform of violent mob protests in major cities across the country. Thechange in international oil markets has had a constant pressure onthe national economy and with the uctuating prices of furnaceoil, the per unit cost of electricity also oscillates and under suchcircumstances, the ination rate is also difcult to control. Thedependence of furnace oil for electricity generation has costedPakistan a lot of nancial burden. In 2001 the share of powersector in consuming petroleum products was 37.8% which is now40.82% mainly because the number of electricity consumers have

increased from 17.9 million to 21.7 million [1]. The recent energycrisis in Pakistan has forced the policy makers to bring a paradigmshift in Pakistans energy policy. A good solution to reduce thedependence on imported furnace oil is to invest in RenewableEnergy (RE) technologies. Several countries have successfullyinstalled the RE based power sources to deal with their growingenergy demand [2,3]. Various forms of RE sources are used in themodern world. As far as Pakistan is concerned there has been a lotof work explaining the possibilities of using RE sources thatincludes biomass, wind, hydel solar, etc. [49]. This paper, how-ever focusses on utilizing solar energy for coping the energy crisis.

Solar PV is among the prominent renewable energy sources.They are highly valuable when it comes to the environmentalaspects. They does not produce greenhouse gases, improves thequality of water resources and if used as distributed power system,reduces the cost of transmission lines [10]. The work done by [11]

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.03.0171364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

n Corresponding author.E-mail address: hsher@ksu.edu.sa (H.A. Sher).

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 213217

shows that solar PV is among those renewable energy technolo-gies that is sustainable when it comes to the constraints like greenhouse gasses emissions, life cycle cost and net energy ratio. Thissubstantiality is evident from the fact that the total installedcapacity of PV around the globe has exceeded 100 GW [12]. Mostof the installed PV systems are in Europe, where solar plantscumulatively produce more than 70 GW. Third world countrieslike Pakistan, despite having an abundance of sunlight almostthroughout the year, are far behind in the use of solar PV systems.Recently, the policy makers in Pakistan have decided to usesunlight to harness energy in the form of electricity. The inclusionof solar PV in the energy mix will not only produce employmentopportunities, but will also boost the research activities, industrialprogress and hence new markets will emerge [13]. With the hugeeconomic burden on Pakistan, there is a need to shift from theexpensive furnace oil based power generation to cheap sources ofelectricity generation. This paper will evaluate the use of solar PVplants in Pakistan and is being set out in the following order.

It explains the present state of energy generation and con-sumption.

It then discusses the solar PV sites selected for the establish-ment of solar parks.

It explains the organizations involved in the dissemination ofsolar PV technology.

The recent developments in the use of solar PV are discussed. It argues about the paradigm shift in energy policy of Pakistan.

2. Present state of energy in Pakistan

Pakistan is currently facing an average decit of 45005000 MW in supply and demand of electricity [14]. The presentstate of energy is very stiff and controlled power outages (usuallytermed as load management by the utility ofcials) are usuallyadopted by the utility to control the peak demand of various areas.The electricity demand growth is expected to be 56% over thenext ten years, which demands the injection of new sources ofelectricity generation in addition to the already installed powerplants. The conventional national energy reserves like gas andcrude oil (30% requirement of oil is fullled by domestic oil rigs)are also at the edge of their limit as far as the conrmed reservesare concerned [15]. Energy consumption is directly related to thenational progress. In fact, the national progress can be seen as afunction of energy consumption as shown in Fig. 1 [16].

It is visible from Fig. 1 that in 2006 the GDP has seen high valuesbecause of high energy consumption per capita, while in 20082009 ithas seen the negative impact primarily because of less energyconsumption. It is pertinent to mention that 35% of electricity

generation in Pakistan is based on furnace oil and 29% is throughnatural gas, which is way high compared to the neighboring India asshown in Table 1 [16]. This certainly means that Pakistan has a veryhigh percentage of electric power generation through conventionalsources. The consumption of electricity in different sectors of daily lifehas seen dramatic changes too, as shown in Fig. 2

In view of authors, the household load as well as the load in theagriculture sector can be greatly shifted to the PV system becauseof the availability of sunlight.

3. Solar sites in Pakistan

Pakistan receives an average irradiation of 57 kWh/m2 a dayin 95% of its land [10]. Fig. 3 shows the four season solar irradiationdistribution in Pakistan [17]. It can be seen that the vast deserts ofSindh, Cholistan desert of Punjab and Balochistan offers exquisitepossibilities of installing mega solar PV power plants. In theseareas the sun shines in the range of 23002700 h per year [18]. In[19] the authors have evaluated the most suitable sites for solar PVsystems, keeping in view the monsoon weather. The authors of[19] concluded that District Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan are bestfor installing the solar PV power plants. These districts are locatedin southern Punjab along the provincial boundary of Balochistanand Punjab. It is also visible that out of four provinces of Pakistan,Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab receive above 5 kWh/m2/day in allfour seasons. Almost half of north-west frontier, and FederallyAdministrative Tribal Areas (FATA) receive 5 kWh/m2/day andabove solar irradiation round the year. This makes it feasible touse solar PV systems for energy harnessing. It should be noted thatvast area of Balochistan is remote and it is not practical to connectfar ung villages with national grid. The solar irradiation however,make solar PV an ideal candidate for electrifying these villages.Similarly, the villages in the desert of Sindh and south Punjab areideal candidates of rural electrication using solar PV.

4. Organizational level efforts

Historically the statistics show very encouraging start when in 80sPakistan installed about 18 PV sites that generate a cumulative440 kW, however, this progress was not sustained due to lack ofexpertise and technical issues related to their maintenance [20,29]. InJune 1983, Kyocera donated a 6 kW in order to electrify a villagenamed Kankoi in Pakistan [26]. Some authors believe that due to lackof marketing instruments the project was opped [27]. Later in 90s,departments were established to work in the eld of RE technologies.During the rst decade of 21st century Pakistan established two

Fig. 1. GDP as a function of energy consumption per capita [16].

Table 1Indo-Pak comparison of electricity generation W. R. T sources [16].

2012 Gas (%) Furnace oil (%) Coal (%) Hydel, nuclear, import (%)

Pakistan 29 35.0 0. 19India 9.2 0.8 71 35.7

Fig. 2. Sector wise percentage consumption of electricity in Pakistan [16].

H.A. Sher et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 213217214

dedicated departments for expediting the renewable energy work.These are the Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) and thePakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET). Besidesthese dedicated departments a small scale division is also working inthe Pakistan Council of Scientic and Industrial Research (PCSIR) fordevelopment of renewable energy products. A unit for manufacturingof solar PV panels and solar thermal products is also working inNational Engineering and Scientic Commission (NESCOM) [18].Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) runs a separate unit for thedissemination of information and technology in the eld of REtechnologies. PEC also holds information about some 26 companieswho are working in the eld of solar PV in Pakistan [21]. Twoindependent government organizations are also working to providethe legal framework for power generation in Pakistan. Among theseare Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) and National ElectricPower Regulatory Authority (NEPRA). The establishment and workingof these institutes is an important step for tilting the Pakistans energymix from thermal to renewable energy [22]. The latest legislation bythese departments is the National Power Policy [14] which aims ingetting rid of the present energy crisis by 2017. Besides the efforts atfederal government level, it is pertinent to mention that after the 18th

constitutional amendment in 2010, provinces have also establishedenergy departments to work at provincial levels. At present thecombined installations of PV systems from all these institutes ismerely 1 MW [10].

5. Recent development in solar PV sector

While it was believed by many some 5 years ago that the solarPV will not prove to be the yardstick for renewable energydevelopment [7] a lot of huge projects are underway in 2014.The tax exemption on the import of solar modules given by AEDB

has resulted in a steep rise in the imports of solar panels inPakistan [16] as shown in Fig. 6. At federal level PEC has success-fully installed 178 kWh capacity grid connected solar PV plantseach in PEC and Planning Commission (PC) sites in Islamabad [21].At the provincial level the use of solar PV for electricity generationis prominent in Punjab and Balochistan only. According to theannual report of the Punjab energy department, private entrepre-neurs are working on a cumulative 90 MW power plants in variousdistricts of Punjab [23]. As shown in Fig. 4 the majority of the workis done in southern districts of Punjab. In the Cholistan desert ofSouthern Punjab a 1000 acres land is allocated for the solar PVpark. Named after the founder of the nation, Quaide-Azam solar

Fig. 3. Four season irradiation map of Pakistan [17].

Fig. 4. Progress of Pakistan in solar PV power generation.

H.A. Sher et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 213217 215

park will contribute 300 MW to the national grid. This project isplanned to generate 1000 MW by the end of 2016. The Punjabgovernment has signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs)for setting up of 400 solar power projects for industrial zones inFaisalabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Lahore. Another project will beset up on Faisalabad Motorway and it will add 150 MW to thenational grid. In the provincial capital of Punjab the lighting loadsin Public parks are also converted on solar PV system. Fig. 5 showssome of the PV panels installed at various sites in Punjab andIslamabad. The province of Balochistan is the largest province ofPakistan by area, but it has the least population density. Most ofthe villages are located in remote far ung areas and it is veryexpensive to provide them electricity through conventional sys-tem. The Government of Balochistan (GoB) is therefore working onelectrifying the remote areas through a solar PV system. Severalsmall scale projects for providing electricity to remote villages hasbeen executed in Balochistan. Among these include 10 kW inTahsil Zehri of district Khuzdar and 7.9 kW in district Jaffarabad.Work in progress for electrifying 595 houses each with 100 Wsolar PV systems in tahsil Surab and 411 houses in tahsil Kalat ofdistrict Kalat. Similar work is going on for electrifying 343 housesin various areas of Khuzdar district. A 14.5 kW solar PV system for

a public sector hospital in district Mastung is also in progress andthe GoB intends to convert the tube wells and water supplyschemes to solar PV based systems [24]. Like Punjab the GoB hasalso signed an MoU for the construction of 300 MW solar powerproject in Khuchlk district Quetta [24]. According to AEDB projectsworth 772 MWare in pipeline and are expected to have generationby 2016 [28]. Fig. 4 is a map of Pakistan specially worked out toindicate the PV projects in various parts of Pakistan. The summaryof the projects is shown in Table 2.

6. Discussion

Considering the scenario of Pakistan it is recommended that tocope with the increasing decit of supply and demand and toreduce the nancial burden on national economy the use ofrenewable energy sources like solar is feasible. Solar PV basedpower plants can readily be set up for power generation. Thebarren land of deserts of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan providesthe exquisite possibility for PV plants. The installation of solar PVplants in these areas will not only save the agricultural land, butwill also improve the living standard of the people living there.Government of Sindh must focus on initiating the solar PV projectsin far ung areas of Thar desert. Presently, as seen in Fig. 4, theGovt. of Sindh is not investing much into the PV systems, theyhowever, have programs in the eld of wind energy. The installedplants in Thar desert of Sindh as shown in Fig. 4 are the projects ofAEDB and PCRET. The vast desert land in Sindh and the remotelylocated villages can be electried using solar PV system, on thegrounds similar to GoB. The government level initiatives are nowin a take off position and it is high time for the private sector to

Fig. 5. Installed PV modules in Pakistan (1) Race Course, Park Lahore, (2) Grand Trunk Road, Gujranwala, Punjab (3) installation in progress on Wahdat Road Lahore (4) gridconnected PV system at PEC Islamabad.

Fig. 6. Solar modules imported in Pakistan [16].

H.A. Sher et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 213217216

contribute in disseminating this technology at small scale levels.As discussed by [15] the private sector should contribute inspreading awareness among the people. The government mustrealize that by providing the policy and regulatory framework forrural renewable energy similar to China and India [25], will furtherboost the use of solar PV in Pakistan.

7. Conclusion

Pakistan is among those countries that are blessed with a bountifulamount of solar energy. The use of solar energy to generate electricitywill certainly help in reducing the import bill of Pakistan, thus it willcontribute in strengthening the energy security of Pakistan. Large as wellas small scale projects for rural electrication, and water pumping foragriculture requirements are needed. New plants installed in the desertsof Pakistan are indeed a pleasant step towards a sustainable future. Thiswill also help in bridging the demand, supply gap of electricity. Thereduction in air pollution due to this technology will improve the healthof the people. However, Pakistan still needs a well designed frameworkto attract investment in this eld. Authors like to recommend thefollowing steps for enhancing the usage of solar PV systems in Pakistan.

The establishment of mega power plants in the country calls forthe adaptation of smart grid in the country.

Peak load management during day time can be accomplishedby efciently utilizing the solar PV based systems.

Shifting lighting load of public parks and street lights on solarPV is also recommended. This will not only reduce the load ongrid, that will clip the load prole during night time, but willalso reduce the street crimes.

A dedicated engineering programs at national engineeringuniversities for energy generation through renewable energysources.

Micro nancing on the solar PV products specically targetingthe end user.

Indigenous manufacturing of solar PV panels. Business security against any possible market failures. Public private partnership. Establishment of research chairs in universities for research

and development.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge the nancial supportprovided by the College of Engineering Research Center andDeanship of Scientic Research at King Saud University (KSU) inRiyadh, KSA.

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Table 2List of PV projects in Pakistan.

Project Capacity Status Province

Grid connected PVPEC 178 kW Completed Islamabad Capital TerritoryGrid connected PVPC 178 kW Completed Islamabad Capital TerritoryQuaid e Azam Solar Park 300 MW In process PunjabIndustrial zones project N/A MoU signed PunjabFaisalabad Motorways Project 150 MW MoU signed PunjabTehsil Zahri, Dist. Khuzdar 10 kW Completed BalochistanTehsil Jaffarabad 7.9 kW Completed BalochistanRural electrication, tehsil Surab 59.5 kW In process BalochistanRural electrication, tehsil Kalat 41.1 kW In process BalochistanRural electrication, District Khuzdar 34.3 kW In process BalochistanHospital electrication, Dist Mastung 14.5 kW In process BalochistanSolar power project Khuchlk district Quetta 300 MW MoU signed Balochistan

H.A. Sher et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 213217 217

Pakistans progress in solar PV based energy generationIntroductionPresent state of energy in PakistanSolar sites in PakistanOrganizational level effortsRecent development in solar PV sectorDiscussionConclusionAcknowledgementReferences