ORIGINAL PAPER An initial assessment of tidal energy resources using GIS for Miani Hor, Baluchistan province, Pakistan Ambreen Insaf 1 & Zaheer Uddin 2 & Mirza Salman Baig 1 Received: 26 November 2018 /Accepted: 30 January 2020 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2020 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 km 2 and sluices’ width of 1.72 km, 121.1 MW power generation is estimated with proposed turbine array. Keywords Tidal power . Power density . Geo-statistical analysis . Miani Hor . Baluchistan . Pakistan Introduction Renewable energy is a clean alternative to fossil fuels, is ready to be harnessed, and is inexhaustible. It is derived directly from the sun or from heat generated deep within the earth or from wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass or biofuels, etc. International Energy Agency defines renewable energy as “energy that is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly” (EMSD 2013). Conventional sources of energy cause enormous atmospheric pollution; for exam- ple, emission of greenhouse by oil and coal. Accumulating nuclear wastes from nuclear power plants are also hazardous because of slow degradation (Gorlov 2001). Renewable ener- gy has enormous potential. They can enhance diversity in energy supply market, secure long-term sustainable energy supplies, and reduce local and global atmospheric emissions (UNDP 2000). Apart from looking for clean energy sources from environmental point of view, the renewable energy is being considered as substitutes for fossils fuels (EMSD 2013). One can distinguish various forms of renewable energy as wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, ocean ener- gy, hydropower, and biomass energy (UNDP 2000). Pakistan and renewable energy Pakistan’ s energy resources depend on conventional energy resources, which includes thermal (coal, gas, and furnace oil) and nuclear for electricity generation, whereas gaso- line, diesel, and compressed natural gas for transport appli- cations. With increasing population, energy consumption is increasing but energy resources are depleting with time. This situation is leading towards huge deficits of energy supply. To overcome this problem, Pakistan is now switching from traditional resources to sustainable and re- newable resources for power generation. Some projects have been developed in the country utilizing solar, wind, hydropower, and biomass energies, whereas, geothermal Responsible Editor: Nilanchal Patel * Ambreen Insaf ainsaf@uok.edu.pk 1 Department of Applied Physics, University of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan 2 Department of Physics, University of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan Arabian Journal of Geosciences (2020) 13:196 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-5191-5