Biomass for renewable energy production in Pakistan: current state and prospects

Energy security and environmental problems are important factors behind the increasing biomass consumption around the world including the lower-income countries such as Pakistan. To utilize local biomass reserves more efficiently in the context of future energy demand, the possession of knowledge about recent energy system in different sectors of the country has become interestingly important. A few initiatives and technologies are currently under process in order to move towards renewable resources from non-renewable resources and minimizing dependency on fossil fuels and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In recent past, some ideas have been developed for sustainable biofuel production which will make sure a rapid shift from an unsustainable attitude towards a potentially sustainable approach. Hence, in this review, detailed data about the potential of biomass for the production of renewable energy in Pakistan have been presented, keeping in view the recent energy mix and future perspectives. The feasibility of local/indigenous biomass reserves and important conversion methods to transform such biomass reserves to bioenergy has also been discussed. Here, we also highlighted the drivers for consumption of local/indigenous biomass reserves in future energy system along with the challenges related to energy systems among various stakeholders. Finally, the suggestions/recommendations on the government policies and future directions for successful implementation of the energy production from local/indigenous biomass resources have been given which could be sufficient to meet increasing energy demands of Pakistan.