Nepal should run on Hydro-electricity!

(This is my first article I am writing for Tunza. I hope for your constructive comments and suggestions so that I can come up with more structured reports in the coming days.

I guess most of the members here are quite aware about the current situation of Nepal via reports by ambassadors from Nepal. As a youth of country, I also have not been away from the problem and worries about the existing scenario. The situation is getting worse day by day and the daily life is becoming very hard to go on.)

HYDRO-ELECTRICITY

 Hydro-electricity is the most widely used form of renewable electricity in the world. Hydro-electricity refers to the electricity generated by hydropower. In other words, it is the electric power generated by harnessing the power of moving water or gravitational force of the falling water.

POTENTIALITY

Nepal has a huge hydropower potential. The sustainable hydropower development becomes the key to make Nepal's economic growth scenario brighter, gaining deep inroads into the national goal and priority of poverty reduction. In fact, the perennial nature of Nepali rivers and the steep gradient of the country's topography provide ideal conditions for the development of some of the world's largest hydroelectric projects in Nepal. The average annual precipitation is approximately 1700 mm (80% of which occurs during the monsoon season - June to September). The total annual average run-off from the nation's 600 perennial rivers is over 200 billion m3. Current estimates are that Nepal has approximately 40,000 MW of economically feasible hydropower potential although Dr. Hari Man Shrestha assessed the total hydropower potential in Nepal as 83,500 MW during the research work for his Ph.D. Thesis (1966). However, the present situation is that Nepal has developed only approximately 689 MW of hydropower. Therefore, bulk of the economically feasible generation has not been realized yet.

Though Nepal has not yet been able to tap even one percent of its potential electricity capacity and 60 percent of Nepal's population is still deprived of electricity, it is fascinating to note that Nepal's start in 1911 in the hydropower generation almost dates back to a century. As a cheap, renewable source of energy with negligible environmental impacts, small hydropower has an important role to play in Nepal's future energy supply. Accordingly, micro-hydro system is becoming increasingly popular as an energy source in rural Nepal. Use of environmentally friendly technologies and implementation of sound legal and institutional issues are critical to improve the reach of the population to hydropower.

ADVANTAGES

Hydropower has a number of benefits. It is a continuously renewable electrical energy source. It is non-polluting, i.e., no heat or noxious gases are released. It has no fuel cost and, with low operating and maintenance cost, is essentially inflation-proof. Hydropower technology is a proven technology that offers reliable and flexible operation. Hydropower stations have a long life and many existing stations have been in operation for more than half a century and are still operating efficiently & efficiencies of over 90 percent have been achieved making it the most efficient of the energy conversion technologies. It has very less output level of green house gas CO2 than other fossil fuel powered plants.

STRATEGIES

Realizing that the development and management of water resources should be undertaken in an holistic and systematic manner aimed at the sustainable use of the resources ensuring conservation and protection of environment, Nepal has adopted the National Water Resources Strategy.

Targets by 2017

1. Up to 2,035 MW hydropower electricity is developed to meet the projected domestic demand at base case scenario, excluding export

2. 50% of households are to be supplied with Integrated Nepal Power System (INPS) electricity, 12% by isolated (micro and small) hydro systems, and 3% by alternative energy and

Targets by 2027

1. 4,000 MW of hydropower is developed to meet the projected domestic demand at base case scenario, excluding export,

2. 75% of the households are to be supplied with INPS electricity, 20% by isolated (micro and small) hydro systems and 5% by alternate energy,

3. Nepal exporting substantial amounts of electricity to earn national revenue.

CONCLUSION

As a cheap, renewable source of energy with negligible environmental impacts, hydropower has an important role to play in Nepal's future energy supply. In the present global scenario where the oil prices are remaining higher and future provides an uncertain outlook with respect to oil, optimal utilization of the abundant natural endowment, viz., hydropower, would reduce Nepal's import cost substantially, contribute in improving the relative competitiveness of the economy both on a regional and global basis, and fulfill the desire of double-digit sustainable growth in the coming decades.