Pakistan's installed capacity to generate electricity has surged up to 36,690 MW by August 2019 which

stood at 23,337 MW in 2014, showing the growth of around 50 percent in five years.

Furnace Natural Coal Hydro Nuclear Wind Solar Total

Oil Gas power Energy Energy Energy

7925 10498 4998 10127 1405 1299 438 36690 MW

Electricity – generation by source (2019)

As the demand for energy continues to grow around the world, countries are using diverse resources to
produce and distribute power to consumers. Recent figures indicate that countries meet as much as
80% of their energy requirement from fossil fuels i.e. oil, natural gas and coal. The remaining 20% needs
are met by nuclear (5.8%), hydro (2.5%), wind, solar, biofuel, wood and biogas (10.8%). The ratio is only
4% for renewable while 64% from thermal (fossil fuels), 28% hydro and 4% nuclear. 

Electricity – generation by source (2019)

 Furnace Oil : 21% of total

 Natural gas: 29% of total
 Coal: 14% of total
 Hydroelectric: 28% of total
 Nuclear: 4% of total
 Renewable (Solar & Wind) : 4% of total
Currently, the share of renewable energy stands at meager 4% which is quite negligible despite the fact
that the country holds huge renewable energy potential particularly wind and solar.
Energy Crises and Renewable Energy Potential in Pakistan
According to International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, 74 percent of the Pakistani population around
154 million people had access to electricity in 2017, whereas, 51 million people do not have access to
electricity. In the current scenario, renewable energy (RE) resources can play an important role in closing
the deficit. With current government’s tilt towards renewable energy, new energy policy for the next 25
years is in the making. It is envisioned that renewable energy will have 20% - 30% share in the total
energy mix, by 2030. Over the last five years, 18 wind power projects of 937MW, six solar power
projects of 418MW and six bagasse projects of total 201 MW achieved commercial operations and are
providing electricity to the grid.

Renewable energy including wind and solar is now the cheapest form of new electricity generation in
Pakistan. Polluting power plants relying on fossil fuel imports are being planned in the context of
Pakistan’s weakening currency, growing current account deficit, declining foreign exchange reserves and
escalating circular debt, reducing Pakistan’s energy security. This is not necessary now that tariffs for
wind and solar are below all other generation sources.

Pakistan has immense potential for renewable energy (RE) resources. These resources, if harnessed, can
play a significant role towards the nation’s energy security. In this context, GOP has tasked the
Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) to ensure that 15% of total power generation should be
from renewable energy (other than hydro) by 2030 [27-29]. Solar, wind, and biomass are the leading
renewable energy sources of the country. The potential of each of these renewable energy resources is
discussed,
Solar

Pakistan has an average of nine and a half hours of sunlight daily, opportunities are unlimited. With the
rising costs of electricity in Pakistan and an unreliable grid supply, more industries and commercial
organizations are turning to captive solar solutions. There has been a strong surge in domestic
installation of rooftop photovoltaic panels in larger cities. For projects under 1 MW, net metering
regulations came into effect in September 2015. This sector is trending toward significant growth soon
as the GOP is targeting at least 1 million customers and adding approximately 3000 MW of solar power
through net metering.

Wind Energy
The coastal belt of Pakistan is blessed with a 60 km wide (Gharo-Keti Bandar) and 180 km long (up to
Hyderabad) wind corridor. In addition to this wind corridor, there are other wind sites available in the
coastal area of Balochistan and some northern areas of the country. The U.S. Agency for International
Development and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimate there is more than 132 gigawatts
(GW) of wind energy capacity alone across the country.

Biomass Power Plants

Pakistan is the fifth largest producer of sugarcane in the world, with an average production of about 50
million tons annually. This huge amount of sugarcane is crushed in 80 sugar mills across the country
produce, which in turn produce 10 million tons of bagasse. This huge resource of bagasse can be turned
into an immense source of energy by producing 3,000 MW of electricity. Another 5,000 MW of
electricity can also be produced from the livestock. The National Power Policy 2013 stipulated to
produce at a minimum 83 MW of electricity from bagasse. In this context, Letters of Intent (LOIs) have
also been issued to different companies by the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) to
develop a bagasse-based power plant. As such, biomass to energy power plants at Jhang and Faisalabad,
Punjab, at Mirpurkhas, Sindh and Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces are at different stages of the
development.

Small/Mini/Micro Hydro

Besides large hydro, there are certain prospects of development of small-mini-micro hydro power. Small
Hydropower is considered as one of the lucrative options for generation of electricity. This sector is
mainly handled by the provincial governments. At present 128 MW of small hydro projects are
operational, whereas, projects of 877 MW are under implementation.
IEEFA’s Electricity Model for Pakistan
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis electricity model for Pakistan out to 2029-30
takes a pragmatic view of the current power development pipeline and assumes steps can be taken to
reduce the overreliance on thermal and hydro power and increase the reliance on renewables. The
resulting electricity mix produced provides a more diversified electricity generation system for Pakistan,
roughly split in a ratio of 30:30:30:10 between renewables, thermal, hydro, and nuclear power. This
alternative path would give a more secure and cost-effective electricity system that is better placed to
serve Pakistan’s power needs into the future.

With wind and solar now the cheapest form of new electricity generation in Pakistan, RE provides a
solution to both of these issues. Domestic power sources, such as coal-fired power fuelled by domestic
coal and hydro power, avoid the pressures placed on the Pakistan economy by importing fossil fuels, but
they present other drawbacks. Large hydro power projects are highly complicated, inordinately
expensive, have a very long construction time, and are notorious for running severely over-budget and
overschedule. This is equally true of large nuclear power projects globally. Domestic coal-fuelled power
also has a long construction time compared to renewable energy. Such projects lock nations into
decades of out-dated power technology at a time when newer, clean technology is increasingly
outclassing it on cost, build time and pollution emissions.

With Pakistan needing to expand generation quickly, renewable energy is much better placed to meet
growing demand than hydro, coal or nuclear, as wind and solar projects can be built within an 18-24-
month timeframe.