Globally, the production cost of solar and wind power has decreased rapidly in the last decade. Solar is now the cheapest energy resource for many regions due to its low levelized cost for every kWh produced with tariffs as low as 0.03 USD/kWh for utility-scale plants. Similarly, wind energy production is becoming cost-effective in many coastal regions with high wind potential. For Pakistan, to reduce the basket price of electricity and minimize the dependence on fossil fuels, it is important to utilize renewable energy potential in the country for power generation. In this work, we evaluate the renewable resource potential (solar and wind) for Pakistan considering the transmission network of the country to incorporate economically viable generation.

The government of Pakistan (GOP) plans to increase the share of wind and solar power (i.e. variable renewable energies (VRE) in the electricity generation mix from today’s 5% to 20% by 2025, and 30% by 2030. This increased penetration of intermittent renewable energy is likely to raise the issues of stability and reliability onto the grid. Henceforth it is high time to evaluate the impacts for VRE integration on the grid and power quality parameters of corresponding renewable energy added to the system. In this thesis, we evaluate the VRE integration in Pakistan's power system network incorporating the relevant network constraints with the objective of low-cost electricity generation keeping suitable system flexibility.