An initial assessment of tidal energy resources using GIS for Miani Hor, Baluchistan province, Pakistan

Abstract

An attempt is made for the first time to assess tidal energy resources at Miani Hor tidal lagoon of Baluchistan province of Pakistan by applying an innovative approach using Geographical Information System (GIS) tools/techniques to develop different geo-statistical models. Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan and fortunate to have a natural tidal lagoon called Miani Hor. The potential of harnessing tidal energy in Miani Hor tidal lagoon is considered to provide great benefits for future energy resource in Baluchistan province of Pakistan, but no relevant research has been carried out to estimate potential of tidal energy at Miani Hor tidal lagoon; the main reason seems to be unavailability of tidal data at said site. Therefore, a study is required to estimate and exploit energy resources of Miani Hor tidal lagoon. For this purpose, tidal data of five different locations was acquired along the coast, predictions were made for tidal data at Miani Hor, and validation was performed. To estimate the energy resources at Miani Hor, best-fitted method was selected for the model development. Based on the results of model, consideration of tidal lagoon impoundment and location for the sluices is discussed. Finally, with an impoundment area of 161.50 km2 and sluices’ width of 1.72 km, 121.1 MW power generation is estimated with proposed turbine array.