ALBERT

Description: Energies, Vol. 11, Pages 1940: The Selection of Wind Power Project Location in the Southeastern Corridor of Pakistan: A Factor Analysis, AHP, and Fuzzy-TOPSIS Application Energies doi: 10.3390/en11081940 Authors: Yasir Ahmed Solangi Qingmei Tan Muhammad Waris Ali Khan Nayyar Hussain Mirjat Ifzal Ahmed Pakistan has sufficient wind energy potential across various locations of the country. However, so far, wind energy development has not attained sufficient momentum matching its potential. Amongst various other challenges, the site selection for wind power development has always been a primary concern of the decision-makers. Principally, wind project site selection decisions are driven by various multifaceted criteria. As such, in this study, a robust research framework comprising of factor analysis (FA) of techno-economic and socio-political factors, and a hybrid analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS) have been used for the prioritization of sites in the southeastern region of Pakistan. The results of this study reveal economic and land acquisition as the most significant criteria and sub-criteria, respectively. From the eight different sites considered, Jamshoro has been prioritized as the most suitable location for wind project development followed by Hyderabad, Nooriabad, Gharo, Keti Bandar, Shahbandar, Sajawal, and Talhar. This study provides a comprehensive decision support framework comprising of FA and a hybrid AHP and Fuzzy TOPSIS for the systematic analysis to prioritize suitable sites for the wind project development in Pakistan.

Description: Due to the lack of inertia and uncertainty in the selection of optimal Proportional Integral (PI) controller gains, the voltage and frequency variations are higher in the islanded mode of the operation of a Microgrid (MG) compared to the grid-connected mode. This study, as such, develops an optimal control strategy for the voltage and frequency regulation of Photovoltaic (PV) based MG systems operating in islanding mode using Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm (GOA). The intelligence of the GOA is utilized to optimize the PI controller parameters. This ensures an enhanced dynamic response and power quality of the studied MG system during Distributed Generators (DG) insertion and load change conditions. A droop control is also employed within the control architecture, alongside the voltage and current control loops, as a power-sharing controller. In order to validate the performance of the proposed control architecture, its effectiveness in regulating MG voltage, frequency, and power quality is compared with the precedent Artificial Intelligence (AI) based control architectures for the same control objectives. The effectiveness of the proposed GOA based parameter selection method is also validated by analyzing its performance with respect to the improved transient response and power quality of the studied MG system in comparison with that of the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Whales Optimization Algorithm (WOA) based parameter selection methods. The simulation results establish that the GOA provides a faster and better solution than PSO and WOA which resulted in a minimum voltage and frequency overshoot with minimum output current and Total Harmonic Distortion (THD).

Description: Energies, Vol. 11, Pages 1318: Regulation of Voltage and Frequency in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell-Based Autonomous Microgrids Using the Whales Optimisation Algorithm Energies doi: 10.3390/en11051318 Authors: Sajid Hussain Qazi Mohd Wazir Mustafa Umbrin Sultana Nayyar Hussain Mirjat Shakir Ali Soomro Nadia Rasheed This study explores the Whales Optimization Algorithm (WOA)-based PI controller for regulating the voltage and frequency of an inverter-based autonomous microgrid (MG). The MG comprises two 50 kW DGs (solid oxide fuel cells, SOFCs) interfaced using a power electronics-based voltage source inverter (VSI) with a 120-kV conventional grid. Four PI controller schemes for the MG are implemented: (i) stationary PI controller with fixed gain values (Kp and Ki), (ii) PSO tuned PI controller, (iii) GWO tuned PI controller, and (iv) WOA tuned PI controller. The performance of these controllers is evaluated by monitoring the system voltage and frequency during the transition of MG operation mode and changes in the load. The MATLAB/SIMULINK tool is utilised to design the proposed model of grid-tied MG alongside the MATLAB m-file to apply an optimisation technique. The simulation results show that the WOA-based PI controller which optimises the control parameters, achieve 62.7% and 59% better results for voltage and frequency regulation, respectively. The eigenvalue analysis is also provided to check the stability of the proposed controller. Furthermore, the proposed system also satisfies the limits specified in IEEE-1547-2003 for voltage and frequency.

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 9, Pages 1611: A Research on Electricity Generation from Wind Corridors of Pakistan (Two Provinces): A Technical Proposal for Remote Zones Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su9091611 Authors: Mazhar Baloch Safdar Abro Ghulam Sarwar Kaloi Nayyar Mirjat Sohaib Tahir M. Nadeem Mehr Gul Zubair Memon Mahendar Kumar The non-renewable energy resources are limited and depleting gradually. As such, energy security has attained the greatest amount of attention globally than ever before. In the meantime, energy crises are already affecting the developing countries such as Pakistan, even though one-third of the population of the country is not even not connected to the national electricity grid. The population with access to on-grid electricity is enduring load shedding of more than 12 h a day. This situation is alarming and require immediate attention is required so as to add alternative energy resources to the country, which has long been relying on imported fuels. It is, therefore, high time that the abundant potential in the renewable energy resources of Pakistan such as solar, wind, and biomass are harnessed. These renewable energy resources are economical and environmentally friendly, and thus considered as sustainable, and the utilization of these in meeting energy demands can help to conserve conventional resources early diminishing. This paper provides a detailed description of the energy consumption and load-shedding scenario in Pakistan thereby focusing specifically Sindh and Baluchistan provinces. Since, wind energy is considered one of the cost-effective renewable resources, six potential sites in these two provinces are considered in this study. These sites lie within 250 km of the southeastern and 800 km of the southwestern regions of Pakistan. One-year wind speed data have been reported for variable heights of these proposed sites which represent to have an annual average wind speed of 6.63 m/s and 5.33 m/s respectively. The power generation data for these location of two provinces is 7.653 GWh, and 5.456 GWh per annum respectively. This study also elaborates on the advantages and disadvantages of harvesting and installing the wind energy and provides a technical proposal for the generation of electricity from the wind in the selected remote zones which are off the national grid. The findings of this paper will help concerned government departments to devise appropriate policies and attract investment in the wind energy sector to eradicate the on-going electricity crisis.

Description: Energies, Vol. 11, Pages 757: Multi-Criteria Analysis of Electricity Generation Scenarios for Sustainable Energy Planning in Pakistan Energies doi: 10.3390/en11040757 Authors: Nayyar Hussain Mirjat Mohammad Uqaili Khanji Harijan Mohd Mustafa Md. Rahman M. Khan The now over a decade-long electricity crisis in Pakistan has adversely affected the socio-economic development of the country. This situation is mainly due to a lack of sustainable energy planning and policy formulation. In this context, energy models can be of great help but only a handful of such efforts have been undertaken in Pakistan. Two key shortcomings pertaining to energy models lead to their low utilization in developing countries. First, the models do not effectively make decisions, but rather provide a set of alternatives based on modeling parameters; and secondly, the complexity of these models is often poorly understood by the decision makers. As such, in this study, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) has been used for the sustainability assessment of energy modeling results for long-term electricity planning. The four scenario alternatives developed in the energy modeling effort, Reference (REF), Renewable Energy Technologies (RET), Clean Coal Maximum (CCM) and Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC), have been ranked using the Expert Choice® tool based on the AHP methodology. The AHP decision support framework of this study revealed the EEC scenario as the most favorable electricity generation scenario followed by the REF, RET and CCM scenarios. Besides that, this study proposes policy recommendations to undertake integrated energy modeling and decision analysis for sustainable energy planning in Pakistan.

Description: Energies, Vol. 11, Pages 1295: Wind–PV-Based Hybrid DC Microgrid (DCMG) Development: An Experimental Investigation and Comparative Economic Analysis Energies doi: 10.3390/en11051295 Authors: Pervez Hameed Shaikh Zohaib Hussain Leghari Nayyar Hussain Mirjat Faheemullah Shaikh Asif Raza Solangi Tariqullah Jan Muhammad Aslam Uqaili The cyclical nature and high investment costs of the wind and photovoltaic renewable energy sources are the two critical issues seeking attention for the use of such systems in backup or isolated applications. This paper aims to present the experimental and economic analysis of a wind–photovoltaic-based hybrid direct current microgrid (DCMG) system for backup power and off-grid isolated power generation system for emergency purposes. The two distributed generating units comprising photovoltaic panels and wind generator were designed and developed for the experimental study. A lead-acid battery is also added as an energy storage system to enhance the system supply. The electric load of this system comprise of 42 DC light emitting diode (LED) lamps of 12 Watt each and a 25 Watt DC fan. The charge controller provides the control and protection features for the designed system. The complete system design and fabrication of this system have been undertaken at Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET, Jamshoro, Pakistan). The compatibility of the designed system has been analysed by comparing the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) with a conventional gasoline generator system of the same capacity. The capital, running and lifetime costs of DCMG are found to be 1.29, 0.15 and 0.29 times those of the gasoline generator, respectively. Moreover, it is found that per unit cost of gasoline generator is $0.3 (i.e., PKR 31.4) which is almost 3.4 times higher than that of the hybrid DCMG system. The performance and cost evaluation of the designed system indicate its broad potential to be adopted for commercialisation to meet backup power and off-grid power requirements. This study concludes that proposed DCMG system is a not only low cost, but also a pollution-free alternative option compared to the existing traditional small gasoline generator system.

Description: Energies, Vol. 10, Pages 1868: An Integrated Modeling Approach for Forecasting Long-Term Energy Demand in Pakistan Energies doi: 10.3390/en10111868 Authors: Syed Rehman Yanpeng Cai Rizwan Fazal Gordhan Das Walasai Nayyar Mirjat Energy planning and policy development require an in-depth assessment of energy resources and long-term demand forecast estimates. Pakistan, unfortunately, lacks reliable data on its energy resources as well do not have dependable long-term energy demand forecasts. As a result, the policy makers could not come up with an effective energy policy in the history of the country. Energy demand forecast has attained greatest ever attention in the perspective of growing population and diminishing fossil fuel resources. In this study, Pakistan’s energy demand forecast for electricity, natural gas, oil, coal and LPG across all the sectors of the economy have been undertaken. Three different energy demand forecasting methodologies, i.e., Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Holt-Winter and Long-range Energy Alternate Planning (LEAP) model were used. The demand forecast estimates of each of these methods were compared using annual energy demand data. The results of this study suggest that ARIMA is more appropriate for energy demand forecasting for Pakistan compared to Holt-Winter model and LEAP model. It is estimated that industrial sector’s demand shall be highest in the year 2035 followed by transport and domestic sectors. The results further suggest that energy fuel mix will change considerably, such that oil will be the most highly consumed energy form (38.16%) followed by natural gas (36.57%), electricity (16.22%), coal (7.52%) and LPG (1.52%) in 2035. In view of higher demand forecast of fossil fuels consumption, this study recommends that government should take the initiative for harnessing renewable energy resources for meeting future energy demand to not only avert huge import bill but also achieving energy security and sustainability in the long run.

Description: Energies, Vol. 10, Pages 1858: The Future of Sustainable Energy Production in Pakistan: A System Dynamics-Based Approach for Estimating Hubbert Peaks Energies doi: 10.3390/en10111858 Authors: Syed Rehman Yanpeng Cai Nayyar Mirjat Gordhan Walasai Izaz Shah Sharafat Ali This paper presents an effort pertaining to the simulation of the future production in Pakistan of different primary energy resources, i.e., coal, natural gas and crude oil, thereby constructing Hubbert peaks. In this context, the past 45 years’ production data of primary energy resources of Pakistan have been analyzed and simulated using a generic STELLA (Systems Thinking, Experimental Learning Laboratory with Animation) model. The results show that the Hubbert peak of Pakistan’s crude oil production has been somehow already achieved in 2013, with the highest production of 4.52 million toe, which is 1.51 times the production in 2000. Similarly, the natural gas peak production is expected in 2024 with a production of 32.70 million toe which shall be 1.96-fold the extraction of the resource in the year 2000. On the other hand, the coal production in the country has been historically very low and with a constant production rate that is gradually picking up, the peak production year for the coal is anticipated to be in the year 2080 with an estimated production of 134.06 million. Based on the results of this study, which provide a greater understanding of future energy patterns, it is recommended that an energy security policy be devised for the country to ensure sustained supplies in the future.