The World Bank recommends that the Pakistani government immediately launch projects based on large-scale clean energy parks for photovoltaic systems and wind power facilities, as well as small-scale tendering campaigns led by photovoltaic systems. Pakistan, on the other hand, has set a target of 12.9GW of installed photovoltaic systems and wind power facilities by 2030.

If Pakistan is to meet its clean energy goals, it will have to speed up the introduction of renewable energy auctions approved by its energy regulator in 2017, according to a survey report released by the World Bank. Five years ago, the National Electricity Regulatory Authority of Pakistan approved the payment of fixed tariffs for clean energy electricity, but the proposed auction system has yet to take shape. Pakistan has installed a cumulative 1.7GW of photovoltaic systems and wind power facilities by September 2021, and plans to increase this number to 12.9GW by 2030, so there is an urgent need to solve this problem, and the World Bank recommends Pakistan to quickly start this a process.

The 482MW PV project planned for installation in Pakistan has been approved but has not yet been installed. Some of the other 72 PV projects with an installed capacity of 4.34GW have been approved but have not received fixed tariffs, and bidders are expected to benefit from auctions after the country develops the auction system recommended by the report. By then, Pakistan will install 1 GW of photovoltaic projects per year through auctions from 2024 to 2030, hoping to achieve 20% clean energy (excluding hydropower facilities) by 2025, and 30% by 2030. Renewable energy target.

The World Bank recommends a two-track approach of building large renewable energy parks mainly in wind-rich Balochistan and Sindh provinces, and auctioning smaller projects within substations with spare capacity. The Clean Energy Park auction will target either PV systems or wind power installations to secure a hybrid energy facility to maximise power generation, and while the substation tender is technology neutral, it is expected to be very favourable for PV system installations.

The report recommends that government agencies replace the Pakistan Energy Development Board (AEDB) with oversight of clean energy park tenders, with provincial power distribution companies performing substation capacity procurement duties, and government agencies responsible for subsequent renewable energy auctions. Tendered energy projects should have an installed capacity of at least 50MW, and large clean energy parks should have an installed capacity of 300MW to 600MW, and their tariffs should be determined within 33 weeks of the start of each auction process. The study noted that each auction should have a maximum bid price, which was set based on previous projects, and the resulting power purchase agreement (PPA) should last 20 to 25 years. , unlike what the Pakistani government proposed in its 2019 Alternative Renewable Energy Policy, the World Bank does not recommend strict requirements for local products.

Since Pakistan mainly uses imported PV modules and is unlikely to develop a local PV industry, the report recommends setting higher technical standards for auction bidders to avoid dumping of low-end overseas products. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering news

The Pakistani government has approved reforms to its national energy market, which were supposed to take effect in April 2022, but have not yet been implemented, complicating the transition to an auction system. Under the new system, the provincial distribution companies will replace the Pakistan Central Power Procurement Board as the off-taker of clean electricity, and the provincial distribution companies will also take over the management of the auction from the Pakistan Energy Development Board (AEDB). Approved 4.34GW of tariff-free PV projects can participate in the auction, offering power purchase agreements that will last for 25 years, with bids capped at $0.032/kWh.Editor/XingWentao