A study on sustainability of internal power generation compared with imported power in Afghanistan

Abstract

Currently, Afghanistan imports a high percentage of electric energy from the neighboring coun-tries, while less attention has been paid on the utilization of internal domestic energy resources. Recently progress has been made with solar and wind energy, but other sources such as hydro energy remain underappreciated. Originally intended as a short-term solution to fulfill demand, the policy for importing power from neighboring countries is still in effect as energy demand has increased dramatically and exposed vulnerabilities in the existing power system. These issues can be categorized based on different aspects like technical, economic, political, security-related issues, natural disasters and many others that negatively affect the reliability of the energy sector. In this paper, the sustainability of the power system of Afghanistan is analyzed from different aspects. These multi-disciplinary problems are analyzed separately and linked with the weaknesses of the existing power system. The main objective of this study is to propose long-term solutions to the power sector by encouraging investment in the internal power generation to enhance sustainability and reliability. The proposed long-term solution also takes additional measures towards achieving sustainable development goals (SDG) such as economic growth, agricultural development, ground-water recharge, industrial development, flood and water control, job creation, and a green and clean environment.