Electricity crisis and energy efficiency to poultry production in Pakistan

Abstract

Intensive poultry production is heavily reliant on electricity for maintaining shed environments as well as in the supply of feed, lighting, the shed environment and water. During the last three decades, the demand and supply gap for electricity has plagued Pakistan. The energy crisis became even worse from 2006–07, with 18 hours rotational load shedding being implemented. During the last decade, there has been a major increase in environmentally controlled poultry farms in Pakistan which require continuous electricity supply to operate their automatic feeding, drinking and environmental control systems. Broiler farmers have opted for diesel generators to meet their electricity needs, which has subsequently increased total cost of production. Therefore, sustainable and economical energy solutions are required for Pakistani broiler farmers to be competitive in local and international markets. In this paper, the potential for solar energy is analysed, the poultry industry's energy needs are quantified and the use of PV-diesel hybrid power systems in environmentally controlled broiler houses is examined.