Chapter # 01

INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Renewable energy is any technology that exclusively relies on an energy source that is naturally regenerated over a short time and derived directly from the sun, indirectly from the sun, or from moving water or other natural movements and mechanisms of the environment. Renewable energy technologies include those that rely on energy derived directly from the sun, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, wave or tidal energy, or on biomass or biomass-based waste products, including landfill gas. In simpler words, renewable energy is derived from resources that can never be used up. It is an energy source that is either infinite (the sun, wind and water) or constantly renewing, like municipal solid waste. These sources of energy do not rely on nuclear reaction or fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal or oil. Also, renewable resources provide flexibility and can be used in large-scale wind, solar electric power plants, or on the rooftops of residential and commercial facilities for electricity and water heating purposes.

1.2 HOW DOES RENEWABLE ENERGY AFFECT THE SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY

When homeowners install renewable energy resources in their homes, such as solar water heating, they can control and/or reduce their demand for electricity from the local utility. In conjunction with this, when utilities use resources such as solar and wind, the energy generated is added to the supply of electricity available to all customers.

1.3 WHY USE RENEWABLE ENERGY?

Renewable resources are much cleaner than the traditional fossil or nuclear fuels used to generate electricity. There are no or minimal emissions or waste associated with renewable resources to pollute the environment. Electricity generated through solar, wind and water resources will be available to us as long as the sun shines, wind blows, or water flows.

1.4 REPLACEMENT OF NON-CONVENTIONAL FUELS

Renewable energy replaces conventional fuels in four distinct areas: power generation, hot water/ space heating, transport fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy services.

Power generation. Renewable energy provides 18 percent of total electricity generation worldwide. Renewable power generators are spread across many countries, and wind power alone already provides a significant share of electricity in some areas: for example, 14 percent in the U.S. state of Iowa, 40 percent in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, and 20 percent in Denmark. Some countries get most of their power from renewable, including Iceland (100 percent), Brazil (85 percent), Austria (62 percent), New Zealand (65 percent), and Sweden (54 percent). Heating. Solar hot water makes an important contribution in many countries, most notably in China, which now has 70 percent of the global total (180 GWth). Most of these systems are installed on multi-family apartment buildings and meet a portion of the hot water needs of an estimated 5060 million households in China. Worldwide, total installed solar water heating systems meet a portion of the water heating needs of over 70 million households. The use of biomass for heating continues to grow as well. In Sweden, national use of biomass energy has surpassed that of oil. Direct geothermal for heating is also growing rapidly. Transport fuels. Renewable biofuels have contributed to a significant decline in oil consumption in the United States since 2006. The 93 billion liters of biofuels produced worldwide in 2009 displaced the equivalent of an estimated 68 billion liters of gasoline, equal to about 5 percent of world gasoline production.

1.5 Energy Crisis

For past few years, Pakistan is facing unprecedented energy crisis. There is a shortage of about 3,500 Megawatt (MW) in electric power. The energy consumption of Pakistans per capita is only 15 MMBtu, as compared to the world Average of 68 MMBtu. It is essential for Pakistan to increase its per capita energy availability and consumption to at least 50% of the world level to about 35 MMBtu in the medium term (2012- 2020). To meet the growing demand of energy and the target of 9700 MW generation by the year 2030, of the Government should speed up work on alternative sources of energy which are (i) Mega Wind Power Projects, (ii) Biodiesel, (iii) Bio Gas Projects, and (iv) Small Hydro projects. The Government needs to focus on green energy initiatives and energy saving technologies. It should hold itself accountable in making payments to IPPs, and encourage solar energy panels for houses and businesses.

1.6 RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES OF PAKISTAN

Pakistan has wide spectrum of high potential of renewable energy sources, conventional and non-conventional as well, which have not been adequately explored, exploited or developed. As a result, the primary energy supplies today are not enough to meet even the present demand. Moreover, a very large part of the rural areas does not have the electrification facilities because they are either too remote and/or too expensive to connect to the national grid. So, Pakistan, like

other developing countries of the region, is facing a serious challenge of energy deficit. The development of the renewable energy sources can play an important role in meeting this challenge. Considering the geological setup, geographical position, climatologic cycles and the agricultural activities, various renewable resources are technologically viable and have bright prospects to exploit commercially in Pakistan, which include Solar (PV, thermal), Water (mega & macro-micro-hydel, and sea wave & tide), Wind. Wastes (City solid waste, waste from local chicken farms, forestry waste, wood waste from furniture factories, agricultural waste, hospital waste and animal slurry from farms), geothermal and others. Pakistan can be benefited from these as substitute energy in areas where these renewable energy sources exist.

1.7 ADVANTAGES
One major advantage with the use of renewable energy is that as it is renewable it is therefore sustainable and so will never run out. Renewable energy facilities generally require less maintenance than traditional generators. Their fuel being derived from natural and available resources reduces the costs of operation. Even more importantly, renewable energy produces little or no waste products such as carbon dioxide or other chemical pollutants, so has minimal impact on the environment. Renewable energy projects can also bring economic benefits to many regional areas, as most projects are located away from large urban centers and suburbs of the capital cities. These economic benefits may be from the increased use of local services as well as tourism.

1.8 DISADVANTAGES One disadvantage with renewable energy is that it is difficult to generate the quantities of electricity that are as large as those produced by traditional fossil fuel generators. This may mean that we need to reduce the amount of energy we use or simply build more energy facilities. It also indicates that the best solution to our energy problems may be to have a balance of many different power sources. Another disadvantage of renewable energy sources is the reliability of supply. Renewable energy often relies on the weather for its source of power. Hydro generators need rain to fill dams to supply flowing water. Wind turbines need wind to turn the blades, and solar collectors need clear skies and sunshine to collect heat and make electricity. When these resources are unavailable so is the capacity to make energy from them. This can be

unpredictable and inconsistent. The current cost of renewable energy technology is also far in excess of traditional fossil fuel generation. This is because it is a new technology and as such has extremely large capital cost.