Date palm trees, being an important source of nutrition, are grown at a large scale in Saudi Arabia. The biomass waste of date palm, discarded of in a non-environmentally-friendly manner at present, can be used for biofuel generation through the fast pyrolysis technique. This technique is considered viable for thermochemical conversion of solid biomass into biofuels in terms of the initial investment, production cost, and operational cost, as well as power consumption and thermal application cost. In this study, a techno-economic analysis has been performed to assess the feasibility of converting date palm waste into bio-oil, char, and burnable gases by defining the optimum reactor design and thermal profile. Previous studies concluded that at an optimum temperature of 525 °C, the maximum bio-oil, char and gases obtained from pyrolysis of date palm waste contributed 38.8, 37.2 and 24% of the used feed stock material (on weight basis), respectively, while fluidized bed reactor exhibited high suitability for fast pyrolysis. Based on the pyrolysis product percentage, the economic analysis estimated the net saving of USD 556.8 per ton of the date palm waste processed in the pyrolysis unit. It was further estimated that Saudi Arabia could earn USD 44.77 million per annum, approximately, if 50% of the total date palm waste were processed through fast pyrolysis, with a payback time of 2.57 years. Besides that, this intervention will reduce 2029 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, contributing towards a lower carbon footprint.

Sun drying in the open air is quite popular worldwide. However, the use of solar dryers to preserve various perishable agricultural products is a relatively new area of study, and the long-term effects of this method are not yet fully understood. The slow drying process in direct sunlight can contaminate the dried materials by soil and insects. To overcome these challenges, we devised a sun drying system that included a heating part, a drying area, a portable stand, fans, and a 50-W photovoltaic panel. An alternate energy source was used to power the drying process during cloudy days and at night. Fresh Freestone peach, Golden apple, and Anaheim chilies weighing 10 kg each with the initial moisture content of 89%, 87%, and 75% on a wet basis (w.b), respectively, were used in the experiments. The final moisture content of the samples was reduced by an average of 16%, 15%, and 11% for Freestone peaches, Golden apples, and Anaheim chilies, respectively. The quality analysis was carried out to determine sample composition, total bacteria, and color of dried products. The results indicated that the dried products met the recommended quality standards for food products in terms of composition, total bacteria, and color. This research supports the use of a hybrid mixed-mode solar dryer for drying a wide range of perishable agricultural products.

Pakistan is a developing economy with a mainstay shifting gradually from agriculture to industry. Improving lifestyles, population growth, and rapid urbanization have led to a continuous increase in the demand of energy. The demand-supply gap amounts to 5000 MW on average which reaches 7000 MW in the month of July when the energy demand is at peak. This shortfall causes 4%–7% loss to the gross domestic product. Energy demand is at a constant peak of 8%–10% per annum. Fossil fuels make 61% of energy mix, while the share of renewables is less than 1%. This situation calls for careful analysis and review of Pakistan's energy dynamics and to explore the potential of renewable energy resources. Biomass, a promising resource of renewable energy, is abundantly available in Pakistan. Biomass is found in various forms from firewood to crop residues to municipal solid waste. About 50% of domestic energy requirements are fulfilled by fuelwood and 34% by animal and crop residues. However, the availability of fuelwood reduces as the rate of growth of forests has shrunk to 8.8%. Other biomass resources like charcoal are used at the minor level. Bagasse produced by 70 sugar industries in the country has been found to be sufficient for the generation of 5700 GWh of electricity. Major crop residues include cotton stalks, wheat straw, rice straw, sugarcane trash, and corn stalk having production of 49.4, 34.581, 16.75, 7.83, and 5.325 million tons, respectively. Collective processing residues per annum of these crops amount to 25.271 million tons having a power generation potential of 689.25 TWh annually. Animal dung also offers encouraging potential of power generation. The total number of animals in the country is 51 million. The potential of electricity generation from animal dung at the national level has been estimated to be 4761 to 5554 MW. The municipal solid waste potential for production of energy by biochemical and thermochemical conversion is 216 kWh/t and 552 kWh/t, respectively. It was found that the country possesses potential of successfully running 15 million biogas plants. This review, which policymakers and researchers may find to be useful, revealed that biomass energy could help to achieve the target of increasing share of renewables in energy mix of the country from less than 1% to 5% by 2030 as envisaged by the Government of Pakistan.

Pakistan faces water scarcity and high operational costs for traditional irrigation systems, hindering agricultural productivity. Solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) can potentially provide a sustainable and affordable solution, but face technical, financial and policy barriers to adoption. A comprehensive study is needed to examine feasibility and identify barriers. Therefore, a comprehensive review study is conducted to identify the potential for solar irrigation, key issues and challenges related to its implementation in Pakistan. The analysis is based on published studies, technical reports and a survey of solar-powered drip irrigation systems. The use of SPIS in Pakistan is becoming a cost-effective and sustainable option for irrigation, particularly in remote and off-grid areas. However, these systems also have their challenges, such as high initial costs, maintenance and repairs, limited access to spare parts, lack of government policies and regulations, lack of technical expertise, lack of financing options and social acceptance. The most pressing issue is the risk of groundwater exploitation by using SPIS. Based on the analysis of the energy and water situation in Pakistan, it is important to sustainably use both solar energy and groundwater resources, through the implementation of effective management strategies and policies. With the right policies and investment in research and development of SPIS and groundwater, farmers can benefit by increasing crop yields, conserving water resources, reducing the cost of energy, increasing productivity and improving the standard of living and access to electricity in remote and off-grid areas. It is recommended that the adoption of solar energy be promoted to run high efficiency irrigation systems (HEIS) with urgent capacity improvement among farmers, advisors and system installers to sustainably manage water resources in SPIS. This would not only help to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and associated environmental impacts, but also increase farmers’ income and reduce their operational costs. Moreover, the use of SPIS can improve crop yields, leading to food security and poverty reduction. Thus, the government and policymakers should consider implementing policies and incentives to encourage the large-scale adoption of solar energy in the agricultural sector.

Transcontinental grid interconnection and clean energy development for sustainability are the prime objectives to address through global energy interconnection (GEI) platform. Key issues can be solved through GEI such as environmental pollution, climate change, resources scarcity and unbalanced development. The growing concern of fossil fuel depletion leads to the exploitation of renewable energy which is mostly located on Arctic and Equator zones. This study addresses about the importance, current projects and research directions of clean energy, smart grid, ultra-high voltage transmission, grid interconnection trends around the world in order to globally interconnect the future grid. The review results provide comprehensive background knowledge to all the researchers in order to investigate further into the field.