Renewable Energy Resources in Nepal
- Hydropower is the primary source of electricity in Nepal, given the country's abundant potential due to its mountainous geography. NEA (Nepal Electricity Authority) is solely responsible for operating and distributing electricity in Nepal. By 2022, NEA has achieved a total generation capacity of 2,684 MW with the commissioning of new projects equivalent to the capacity of 491 MW.
- Micro/pico hydro plants offer practical and cost-effective solutions for providing electricity in rural and remote areas of Nepal where extending the national grid is challenging. The installation of these small hydro systems is showing a positive trend, indicating an increasing utilization of these technologies.
- Solar: Nepal shows great potential for various solar energy technologies, including grid-connected PV, solar water heaters, solar lanterns, and solar home systems due to its advantageous location. According to the Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) conducted by the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), Nepal has an estimated commercial potential of around 2,100 MW for on-grid solar PV systems. As of 2022, a total of 974,000 residential solar PV systems have been installed, mainly concentrated in remote districts of Western Nepal where access to grid electricity is limited.
- Wind: Despite having a significant potential for wind energy, there has been limited development in the wind energy sector in Nepal. With 10% of Nepal's area having a wind power density of 300 W/m2, the country has the potential to produce 3,000 MW of electricity from wind. Several wind-solar hybrid projects, including a 20-kW power system, have been implemented in different locations, providing electricity to rural households.
- Biogas: Biogas is also an ideal alternative energy source in Nepal due to the abundance of biomass from agriculture. As of 2022, there have been a cumulative 439,547 installations, including 355 large biogas installations.
- Other energy resources include solid municipal wastes, industrial by-products such as bagasse, secondary wood sources like logging residue, saw-milling waste, furniture production scraps, as well as agricultural residues from crops and bushes. Additionally, hydrogen fuel is also a potential source of energy and research is ongoing.
Source: Energy Synopsis Report, 2023, Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS)
Renewable Energy is one of the key priorities of the Government of Nepal to provide energy access to the energy deprived people. GoN accords high priority to the promotion of Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) in its periodic development plans as access to, and use of, RE is a national priority.
In the new federal structure, the mandate of promoting decentralized renewable energy (DRE) has been transferred to local and provincial governments. This decentralization aimed to enhance accountability, foster inclusivity in economic development, and facilitate a bottom-up approach.
However, the local and provincial administrations faced challenges in terms of capacity and resources to effectively undertake the task of promoting DRE. Concurrently, the Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) is undergoing a fundamental transition from an agency that provides services like subsidies directly to end-users, to providing support services to provincial and local governments for promoting and implementing Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs).
Given this context, the programme is ensuring the efficient and effective delivery of DRE services by,
- Capacitating Provincial and Local Governments
- Digitizing the municipal energy planning
- Market-based incentive mechanism and access to finance