The prospects of renewable energy technologies for rural electrification: A review from Nepal (original) (raw)
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Renewable Energy, 2011
Nepal, one of the least developed countries, is characterized by low per capita energy consumption and hugely dominated by traditional energy sources. Despite having enormous potential of hydro-electricity, only 50% of the total population has access to grid electricity. Firewood is the primary energy source for domestic purposes in rural environments. Due to geographical remoteness, a scattered consumer, higher costs of supply and maintenance, low consumption and low level of households' income linking the rural areas to national electricity grid is difficult and implausible. In order to solve the energy problem in rural areas, Nepal's government has initiated the production and distribution of several renewable energy technologies. Among several renewable technologies, micro-hydropower has been one of the most promising and widely adopted decentralized technologies to distribute electricity in rural areas. This article begins with a general overview of energy situation in Nepal. Present status and perspective of micro-hydro plants have also been discussed. Similarly, the dynamics of the relationship between electricity and socio-economic development has been analyzed by means of a typical rural electrification project in Tangting, Nepal by assessing the impacts of electricity on health, education, environment, and income in the village. The community has greatly benefitted from the arrival of environment friendly and affordable electricity. It has been concluded that the task of providing electricity to more remote and isolated villages is still challenging in Nepal. More systematic and comprehensive study supported by research and development is required to extend micro-hydro based electricity in more remote and poor communities of Nepal.
Rural electrification through renewable energy in Nepal
World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 2004
Nepal is rich in hydropower. However, due to various constraints the rural sector of Nepal is still deprived of a national electrical grid. Renewable energy resources are the most viable and accessible sources to electrify these rural sectors. Micro-hydro and solar photovoltaics (PV) are widely used renewable energies for rural electrification. Presently, this source provides electricity to only 7% of the rural population. The 10th Five-Year Plan sets a target of generating electricity equivalent to 10 MW from micro-hydro schemes and access to off-grid electrification for 12% of the then population. Different government organisations, non-government organisations, international non-government organisations and private institutions are involved in enhancing this sector. Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), Energy Sector Assistance Programme-DANIDA and Rural Energy Development Programme (REDP/UNDP) can be regarded as the apex institutions for the support of this sector.
Renewable Energy Market for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries: Country Case Nepal
2011
The availability of abundant renewable resources, lack of fossil fuels and difficult geographical terrain for grid line extensions contribute to the advantages of renewable based decentralized rural electrification in Nepal. Solar home system (SHS) and micro-hydro are the most commonly adopted off-grid renewable energy technologies in the country. This dissertation examines the market of renewable energy based rural electrification within prevailing policy and programmes framework. The study verifies ...
Policies Related to Energy in Nepal and Provisions of Rural Electrification
2015
Developing counties are thriving to develop good policies to cope up with the increasing need of infrastructure development. Making access to modern energy to the rural population is one of the daunting tasks, the main blame for poor rural electrification in Nepal goes poor policy framework. It is found that Hydropower Policy 1992 and Electricity Act 1992 are the main Act and Policy documents which have made different provisions of generation and distribution of hydro electricity in general. Whereas Rural Energy Policy 2006 is dedicated in the development and use of renewable energy technologies and it also covers rural electrification. These policies have made basic provisions but are lack in the clear plan of action and tools to achieve them. Water Resources Strategy 2002 and National Water Plan 2005 bring out some planned statistics of hydro power generation and percentage of household electrification. Other Acts like local self governance Act 2056 simply mentions that DDC and mu...
Renewable energy markets in rural electrification: Country case Nepal
Energy for Sustainable Development, 2012
The availability of abundant renewable resources, lack of fossil fuels and difficult geographical terrain for grid line extensions contribute to the advantages of renewable based decentralized rural electrification in Nepal. Solar home system (SHS) and micro-hydro are the most commonly adopted off-grid renewable energy technologies in the country. This dissertation examines the market of renewable energy based rural electrification within prevailing policy and programmes framework. The study verifies whether the market has been able to serve the poor in Nepal. It also captures the perception of various stakeholders (e.g. private supply/installation companies, NGOs, financial institutions and the donor's programme) regarding the business, financing issues and the role of government policy on the market development. In addition, the study discusses and analyses renewable based rural electrification supply models, the economics behind rural electrification, market drivers and market distribution in the rural areas of Nepal. The financial mix in the off-grid rural electrification is generally characterized by subsidy, equity and credit. The study shows that awareness about renewable energy technologies and willingness to pay for electricity access has increased considerably. However, there is a huge financial gap between the cost of electrification and affordability among the poor. The distribution analysis shows there is significant increment in the extensive growth but decrease in the intensive growth rate of rural electrification thus indicating market expansion with uneven penetration among the rural people. Solar PV technology is still not in the reach of the economic poor. Access to credit and cumbersome subsidy delivery mechanisms have been perceived as the major factors affecting the expansion of rural electrification by the stakeholders, requiring innovation in the credit and subsidy delivery system so that a larger rural population can be given access to electrification.
Renewable Energy Village Power Systems for Remote and Impoverished Himalayan Villages in Nepal
1.6 -2 billion people in developing countries live in dark homes, without access to electricity, and 2.4 billion rely on traditional biomass for their daily energy services, such as cooking, heating and lighting. Lack of electricity and heavy reliance on traditional biomass are hallmarks of poverty in developing countries, and women and children in particular suffer enormous health problems due to open fire places. The high migration and urbanization rates in developing countries will continue, forcing governments to focus more on urban energy service provision and extension. That widens the gap between poor and rich, highlighting the relationship between poverty and access to electricity further. Nepal, with the majority of its people living in difficult to access areas with no roads is a typical example of that. Belonging to the poorest and most undeveloped countries, the per capita electricity consumption is among the lowest in the world. The geographical remoteness, the harsh cl...
Electrification using solar photovoltaic systems in Nepal
Applied Energy, 2011
Historically, the rural population of Nepal has been meeting their energy needs from traditional sources like fuel wood and other biomass resources. Only about 44% of the total population has access to grid electricity. Because of country's rough and mountainous topography, high cost of grid extension, and low and scattered population density, constructing some big power plants (e.g. large hydropower) can not meet the electricity needs of all people, especially those living in rural areas. Distributed generation of electricity, using environment friendly solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, might be one of the reliable alternatives for urban as well as rural electrification. This article begins with a general overview of energy resources in Nepal. Present status and perspectives of solar PV sector have also been discussed. Benefit cost and breakeven analyses of solar PV systems in Nepalese urban areas have been carried out. The breakeven year has been calculated between 2027 and 2036 for PV systems with system life time between 40 and 25 years, respectively. It has been concluded that the solar PV systems are not the economic solutions for grid connected urban areas in Nepal. On the other hand, this article concludes that the rural electrification projects should not be decided on the basis of mere monetary benefits, rather many social aspects should be considered, and in this case, there are not convincing alternatives to solar PV systems for electrification in many rural villages in Nepal.
Identifying the Best Decentralized Renewable Energy System for Rural Electrification in Nepal
Journal of Asian Rural Studies, 2020
Access to electricity is generally recognized as an important factor for economic and social development. Moreover, the world energy consumption depends on the use of limited resources like fossil fuels that induce adverse impact on the environment and society. As an alternative, renewable energies turn into crucial alternative energy ensuring sustainable energy needs and taking care of society, economy and the environment. In order to combat such issues, the United Nations has declared universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for by 2030. In many cases, different types of renewable energy systems are being developed to serve energy need without considering the best alternative. Thus, this paper tries to prioritize the installed Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) systems for rural electrification in Nepal by analyzing nineteen sustainability indicators related to four sustainability dimensions - technical, social, economic and environmental. An Analytical Hierarc...
Promotional issues on alternative energy technologies in Nepal
Energy Policy, 2003
Alternative energy technologies are being disseminated in many countries with an objective to reduce the uses of traditional and commercial energy sources. These technologies convert local resources to usable energy forms. Since the scale of these technologies is small, their implementation is targeted mainly to individual households or small communities. However, due to various constraints, these implementation programmes have not been very successful. In this paper, the author introduces the main characteristics of alternative energy technologies used in Nepal and discusses promotional barriers for their implementation. It is hoped that this paper would help energy policy makers to devise better alternative energy programmes.