Integrated nuclear power planning and modeling framework: a pathway toward energy security, sustainable governance and net-zero-driven policy

Nuclear power presents a viable solution to overcome climate issues while ensuring energy security and sustainable governance. By addressing public concerns, investing in innovative technologies, and implementing supportive policies, nations can harness the potential of nuclear power to create a sustainable and resilient energy future. Hence, this study suggested increasing the share of nuclear power around 30% in total energy mix of Pakistan by 2030 and forecast the future until 2050. LEAP software is used to forecast the future of nuclear power from the period 2024 to 2050 by using the base year 2023 and suggested the energy balance with complete energy flows along with transmission and distribution losses. The results revealed that the share of nuclear power is increasing from 8.4% in 2024 to 42.4% until 2035, 57.9% until 2045, and 59.4% until 2050. The total energy generation for Pakistan in 2024 is 181.63 TWh which is sufficient to meet energy demand of 173.40 TWh. Subsequently, energy generation would be 399.42 TWh in 2035 and 1,135 TWh in 2050 which is sufficient to meet the energy demand of 337 TWh in 2035 and 965 TWh in 2050, respectively.