Chapter 3: Power Resources

Renewable & Non-Renewable Energy

➔ Renewable energy comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and
geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished)
➔ A Non-renewable energy is a natural resource which cannot be produced, grown,
generated, or used on a scale which can sustain its consumption rate
● These resources often exist in a fixed amount, or are consumed much faster
than nature can create them
● Fossil fuels (such as coal, petroleum and natural gas) and nuclear power (uranium)
are examples

Non-Renewable Sources of Power

Coal
➔ It is mined by shaft or adit mining
➔ Coal is transported outside from the mine on the back of miners. donkey backs or trolley
➔ It is then loaded on trucks, trolleys and railways carriages to be taken to the industries

- Types of Coal

➔ Anthracite: Best quality coal with the most carbon content

➔ Bituminous: Hard coal which is easily burned
➔ Lignite: Lower quality and with high moisture and ash content. It has a low heating value
➔ Peat: Least quality coal having high vegetative matter,difcult to burn
-Uses of Coal

➔ Thermal power generation for brick making process

➔ Making cement
➔ Steel Making
➔ Used in steam engines
➔ Cooking purposes
➔ Source of energy

- Why is Coal used in Pakistan?

➔ Cheap source of energy

➔ Found abundantly
➔ Oil is not afordable due to its increasing prices
➔ A substitute for energy

- The Need to import Coal

➔ High Demand
➔ Coal found in Pakistan is of poor quality
➔ The production coal in Pakistan is too low, as coal seams are thin and mineral layers have a
lot of faults
➔ Pakistan lacks technology, capital,and skilled labours to extract coal

- Provinces where coal is found/extracted

➔ Balochistan:
● PMDC has opened three coal mines: Shahrig, Sor-range and Degas
● Coal is also found in Quetta Coal fields
● Coking coal is found
➔ Sindh:
● PMDC and Lakhra Coal Development company are engaged in coal mining
and production
● Coal is found in lower Sindh coal fields
● It is of lower quality lignite
➔ Punjab:
● PMDC is engaged in mining coal in the Salt Range and Kalabagh areas
● Sub-Bituminous to lignite highly volatile coal is found
● deteriorates badly during storage
➔ NWFP:
● Private companies are working
● Sub-bituminous coal is found, which is a better quality coal
● Coal is also found in Khost, Mach, Jhimpur, Sonda, Dandot, and Harnai
Location of Petroleum, Natural Gas, Coal & Respective Coalfields

Mineral Oil
➔ It is a fossil fuel known as "Black gold"
➔ It is trapped in dome shaped anticlines between two layers of non-porous rocks
➔ Once the drilling site is chosen, a derrick or drilling rip is setup
➔ The derrick is a steel structure that holds the drilling pipes and other equipment
➔ The oil is pumped up and flown by the pipelines to the refinery
➔ Crude Oil: Oil with impurities and so 36.15% is extracted
➔ Refined Oil: Oil without impurities and so 63.85% is imported
- Uses of Oil

➔ By products such as parafn, wax, plastics, synthetic rubber, detergents,

insecticides, pharmaceutical products, chemical products
➔ Bitumen for roofing and furnace oil
➔ Source of thermal power generation
➔ Used as a lubricant for machines
➔ Diesel, petrol, kerosene oil for vehicles and burning

- The need to import Oil.

➔ The Oil required is 400, 000 barrels per day, while Pakistan produces 55,000 barrels per day
➔ The production of Oil in Pakistan is low, which cannot satisfy its needs
➔ With more Industrialisation and mechanisation,the demand for oil is increasing
- Transportation of Oil

➔ By land through road and rail tankers

➔ Costly and time consuming
➔ Inefcient compared to transmission by pipelines
➔ Can cause accidents and explosions
➔ Pipeline transport is more efective and environmentally friendly
➔ Oil is transported in special ships by oil ship tankers from UAE at Karachi, Keamari and
Port Bin Qasim
➔ The pier helps to flow oil to upland countries and oil refineries. The PAK ARAB
REFINERY COMPANY (PARCO) is located at Mehmood Kot for refining of oil
➔ WOPP (White Oil Pipeline Project) is helping to transport oil there and later the refined
oil is flown to the upland areas to Caltex, Shell, Parco, Total, PSO, etc

- Fields from where Oil is extracted:

➔ Punjab:
● Meyal
● Dhurnal
● Adhi
● Joya Mir
● Balkassar
● Tut
➔ Sindh:
● Tando Adam
● Ghotana
● Mazari
● Dhabi
● Leghari
● Khaskheli

- Oil Refineries

➔ PRL – Pakistan Refinery Limited (Korangi, Karachi)

➔ NRL – National Refinery Limited Korangi, Karachi)
➔ Parco Refinery – Pak Arab Cooperation (Multan, Mehmood Kot)
➔ Hub Refinery – (Hub, Balochistan)
➔ Attock Refinery – Potwar Plateau

Natural Gas
➔ An important fossil fuel
➔ A Cheap fuel
➔ Trapped in anticline underground
➔ It is made up of methane, ethane, propane and butane
➔ Pumped and transported mostly by pipelines
➔ Was discovered at Sui in 1952 by PPL
➔ Oil and Gas Development Corporation, established in 1961, is working on its extraction
and exploration
- Transportation

➔ Transported by pipelines
➔ Cheapest and Safest way
➔ Disadvantage is that when it leaks, it causes accidents or explosions
➔ Pipeline extends to Multan, Faisalabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad
➔ Natural Gas is cooled at a very low temperature to turn it into liquid (LPG). LPG stands
for Liquefied Petroleum Gas
➔ This can be moved from place to place in special cylinders especially in northern areas.
Natural Gas can also be compressed to become CNG

- Uses of Gas

➔ Domestic use: Cooking and heating

➔ Used in fertilisers
➔ Cement industry
➔ CNG for vehicles

- Areas

➔ Sui, Zin, UCH, Pirkoh, Khandkot, Khanpur, Mari, Dodhak

- Organisations

➔ These organisations are working for exploration and extraction of Gas and Oil
● SS NGPL: Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited
● SSGCL: Sui Southern Gas Pipeline Limited
● PARCO: Pak Arab Refinery Corporation Limited
● PSO: Pakistan State Oil Company Limited
● HDI: Hydrocarbon Development Institution of Pakistan
● OGDCL: Oil and Gas Development Company Limited
● GSP: Geological Survey of Pakistan

Nuclear Energy
➔ In atomic fission, energy is released when atoms split into their constituent part
➔ In atomic fusion, energy is released when atoms fuse together
➔ Nuclear plants are based on atomic fusion
➔ Usage of heat to make steam which turns the turbines for generation of electricity
➔ Uranium is used for this purpose and is found in large amount in Pakistan
➔ KANUPP ( Karachi Nuclear Power Project) in 1971 started working with the capacity of 137 MW
➔ Chashma Nuclear Plant was made at Chashma in 1999 with the help of China

- Advantages

➔ Produces more energy than all other sources

➔ Chances of Accidents are rare
➔ Contributes less to pollution compared to fuels
➔ The cost of running a Plant is cheap
- Disadvantage

➔ The rays that are produced in the reactors can cause cancer or deformation in new-
born babies.
➔ Problems of reprocessing and nuclear waste
➔ Plants are very expensive to build
➔ Explosions are very dangerous and can make the neighbouring area inhabitable

Thermal Energy
➔ Electricity produced by fossil fuels such as Gas, Oil, coal and nuclear energy
➔ Used in the generation of electricity by the turning of turbines
➔ Construction costs of Thermal plants are low
➔ Running costs are high
➔ Many accidents can occur

Hydroelectric Power (HEP)

➔ Stations/Plants use the force of flowing water to move turbines
➔ It is best developed in Mountainous areas with high precipitation, melting of snow and
low temperature
➔ The slope should be steep but low gradient
➔ Water is a renewable source
➔ HEP is known as "White Coal"
➔ Produces energy without the burning of anything
➔ Construction cost is high but running cost is low
➔ HEP is environmentally friendly
➔ Major HEP plants are Tarbela, Warsak and Mangla
Location of Thermal, Nuclear & HEP Power station

- Organisations

➔ WAPDA: Water and Power Development Authority

➔ KESC: Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation
➔ IPP: Independent Private Producers

Solar Energy
➔ Produced by collecting sun rays in photovoltaic cells
➔ Solar furnaces are giant mirrors to focus sun rays on a boiler
➔ Steam from the boiler is used to make electricity
 ➔ Solar panels help to collect heat energy
➔ Supply power through transmission lines
➔ Used for electrification, water heating, pumping water from wells and for cooking
➔ It is safe, and environmentally friendly
➔ Limitless supply as Pakistan has 250-300 sunny days
➔ Though building costs are high, running costs are low

Biogas
➔ Produced on the fermentation of cow dung when it gives of methane gas
➔ Used for cooking, heating, etc
➔ Cheapest source for energy
➔ Increases air pollution and causes diseases
➔ Gives energy to 40-80 houses
➔ Usage leads to less natural manure in fields

Geothermal Power
➔ Energy is taken from the heat of Earth's core
➔ Produced from hot springs
➔ Drilling is done into the land to pump out hot water
➔ This hot water/steam is used to drive the turbines to produce energy

- Advantages

➔ Renewable
➔ Provides constant supply
➔ Pollution Free
➔ Ofers sustainable energy

- Disadvantages

➔ High cost of construction

➔ Limitation due to natural disasters such as earthquakes or eruptions
➔ Pakistan has the potential of commercially exploitable sources of Geo-thermal energy
in Himalayan regions and Chaghi area in Balochistan Plateau

Tidal Power
➔ Production energy by the movement of tides
➔ Tide comes in and out once and usually twice in 24 hours. This is due to the gravitational
pull of the moon
➔ Indus Deltaic creek is a great option for energy supply in Sindh

- Advantages

➔ Renewable source of energy

➔ Constant supply
➔ Being relatively non-pollutant
- Disadvantages

➔ Very expensive to build

➔ Can destroy wildlife habitats
➔ Could disrupt local supply if arrangements are made for it

Wave Power
➔ Wave motion is used to compress air to drive a turbine to generate electricity
➔ Makran coast has a strong wave energy
➔ Coastal cities like Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara, Gidani are being developed and can help in
future energy production
➔ Building costs are high

Biomass
➔ Refers to organic material, plants and vegetable matter, both living and decaying are used
as a fuel
➔ Produces biofuel
➔ Gasification and fermentation are some processes used
➔ Inefcient use leads to air pollution indoors and it leads to infections like chest and lung

Wind Power
➔ Use of wind to generate energy
➔ Windmills and wind pumps convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical pumps
➔ A wind turbine has a generator which converts the mechanical power into electricity
➔ Used on large scale farms
➔ A Wind Turbine is used to generate wind power
➔ A wind turbine is a three bladed wind turbine with a generator

- Advantages

➔ Environmentally friendly
➔ Renewable source
➔ Are an attraction for tourism
➔ Wind turbines are available in diferent sizes according to requirement
➔ Can help reduce energy issues in Pakistan

- Disadvantages

➔ Expensive to build
➔ Doesn't produce a constant supply of energy
➔ Wind turbines can kill birds
➔ Increases burden on land
➔ Can only be developed in mountainous and coastal areas
➔ 7500 turbines are needed to produce the same amount of energy as that of a nuclear plant
Load Shedding
➔ Load shedding occurs when the demand is more but the energy produced and
supply is less
➔ Results in great economic damages

- Load shedding occurs when:

➔ Many power plants are working to their full capacity

➔ During winter, the HEP decreases with reduced flow of water rivers
➔ Long transmission lines cause loss of electricity
➔ Siltation in reservoirs can cause disruption in movement of turbines
➔ Power theft on a large scale
➔ High price of fossil fuels increases the cost of electricity generation
➔ Industrialization, urbanisation and rural electrification has increased the damage

- Rural Electrification

➔ To provide electricity to rural areas in rural electrification

➔ It can help in social and economic development
➔ Small scale industries are developed
➔ Standard of living will increase

Sustainable Development of Power Resources

➔ Use of advanced technology can help develop renewable resources
➔ Public awareness program through media, government and private sector
➔ Avoid non-productive uses
➔ Replacement of faculty and damaged transmission lines
➔ Check strictly for power theft and wastage
➔ Preservation and conservation of non-renewable resources