According to the World Bank, Balochistan has enormous renewable energy (VRE) potential that can provide electricity to the entire province and help Pakistan achieve the 30 percent target.
This could reduce electricity costs by a billion dollars and help reduce annual losses by about $500 million by 2028, which would help reduce revolving debt.
The Balochistan Renewable Energy Development Study indicates that existing import connection lines can be used to stabilize the grid, exchange power with other countries at a competitive price, and improve annual supply.
In the short term, additional renewable energy supply may not be available for continuous year-round export until 2028.
However, there may be a temporary opportunity for exports under the projected Central Asia-South Asia project CASA 1000.
This can provide an opportunity to Central Asian countries Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and possibly Kazakhstan through the HDVC transmission line.
In the Central Asia regional electricity market, many countries experience power shortages and demand increases during the winter months.
According to this study, Central Asian countries may be interested in supporting gigawatt (GW) opportunities given the shortfall in seasonal electricity demand.
Balochistan offers an impressive, large-scale untapped resource potential for economically viable solar and wind power generation.
With a capacity of 2,000 to 2,500 kilowatt-hours through photovoltaics (which converts light into electricity), Balochistan can be considered one of the resource-rich regions of the world.
The study reported that photovoltaic power in Balochistan can utilize up to 35% of the grid, and its supply profile is positively related to the demand profile.
Direct Minor Irradiation (DNI) of up to 2,500 kilowatt hours per year in many areas of Balochistan can provide an excellent opportunity for concentrated solar power in the province.
Pakistan’s Balochistan province has the best wind power locations, Chagai and Panjgur have the potential to generate 15 GW of clean energy resources at a very competitive cost.
28 different locations have been selected concerning 5 GW for different technologies.
The above-mentioned locations have been selected on behalf of the VRE locational study, where grid slots and land availability are explored in depth to obtain the most competitive output from VRE.
The same study further states that potential significant capacity up to 2028 can be achieved in the short term by leveraging the existing grid infrastructure.
According to the World Bank study, the implementation of identified VRE by 2028 will not only help Balochistan province to fully transition to clean energy but also provide competitive low-cost RE to other provinces. It will also provide access to energy.
Along with this, there is a possibility of 1.7 GW of distributed photovoltaics to equip around 28 thousand grid-connected tubewells with solar power to be used by farmers.
Installation of DPV will not only free up additional grid capacity for further VRE installation but when combined with investment in efficient motors and pumps, will dramatically reduce power losses in this segment.
