A retrospective on the progress of renewable energy in Pakistan: trends, challenges and sustainable solutions

This research explores Pakistan’s potential for renewable energy, focusing on legislative and regulatory frameworks, technological advancements, investment prospects, challenges and future outlook. Pakistan is making significant progress towards clean energy solutions, thanks to the government's commitment to sustainable energy, abundant renewable resources and increased private sector engagement. This article provides a retrospective on the development of renewable energy in Pakistan by looking into the trends, challenges, and potential solutions. There are significant developments in the renewable energy infrastructure but major bottlenecks like grid access, regulatory challenges, and financial difficulties persist. This paper also analyzes the growing share of solar, wind and hydro in the energy mix and discusses how AI and other technologies can enhance future energy generation and distribution efficiencies. Strategies for correction of grid deficiencies, strengthening of regulatory regimes and boosting of private sector participation are presented. The results point towards the importance of specific changes in policies to ensure a more robust and sustainable energy future.