Understanding sustainable operation of micro-hydropower: a field study in Nepal

Butchers, Joe; Williamson, S. J.; Booker, Julian D; Tran, Anh; Karki, Prem Bikram; Gautam, Biraj

doi:10.1016/j.esd.2020.04.007

Cited by 22 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…As a result, the number of hydroelectricity projects has gradually increased since 2010. As of 2019, the installed electricity capacity in Nepal reached approximately 1120 MW, including both the private and public sectors [23,24,29]. Some other new hydropower projects are currently under development for electricity generation, which will add another 1300 MW to the national grid, creating a surplus for the export of clean hydroelectricity during the fiscal year 2020/21 [13,14].…”

Section: Trends In Hydroelectricity Development In Nepalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Transition toward Cleaner Energy Resources in Nepal

Pokharel

Rijal

2021

Sustainability

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Energy is an important input for socioeconomic development and human well-being. The rationality of energy transitions toward cleaner energy resources is not only to improve individual living conditions, but also to enhance the economic growth of a nation. Nepal is considered to be one of the countries with a low per-capita electricity use, heavily relying on traditional energy resources such as firewood and agricultural residues. The country is rich in hydropower resources. However, various economic and socioeconomic constraints have left the significant potential for hydroelectricity untapped. This study describes the energy transition patterns in Nepal based on a literature review and field survey of household energy use in the winter. We collected data from 516 households in the Solukhumbu, Panchthar, and Jhapa districts of Nepal. The rate of per-capita electricity consumption was 330 kWh/capita/year, which is significantly lower than that of other contemporary global societies such as India 1000 and China 4900 kWh/capita/year. The increasing trend in hydroelectricity production has optimistically transformed the energy sector toward cleaner resources; this correlates with the GDP per capita. Solar home systems, mini- and micro-hydropower plants, biogas technology, and improved cook stoves have been widely used, which has lowered the health and environmental burdens in rural areas. By analysing the survey data, we found that 25% of the households only relied on traditional cooking fuel, while 67% and 8% of the households relied on mixed and commercial cooking fuels, respectively. Moreover, 77% and 48% of traditional and mixed-fuel-using households were unhappy with current cooking fuels while 40% and 66% of these households preferred to use clean cooking fuels. The share of traditional energy resources decreased from 78% to 68%, while that of commercial energy resources increased from 20% to 28% from 2014/15 to 2019/20. This study suggests that future energy policies and programs should acknowledge the reality of energy transition to achieve sustainability by establishing reliable and clean sources of energy.

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Section: Trends In Hydroelectricity Development In Nepalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Transition toward Cleaner Energy Resources in Nepal

Pokharel

Rijal

2021

Sustainability

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“…Tariff and benefit for financial viability and sustainability development system. Development of microhydro identifies potential, design, and opportunities to introduce technology reliability of micro-hydro [30]. Development of cascade micro-point potential 5 and 6, with the benefit of two hamlets, was in Kedungrong Hamlet, Purwoharjo Village Samigaluh District as many as 35 houses and 100 houses Blumbang Hamlet, Banjararum Village, Kalibawang Subdistrict.…”

Section: E Micro-hydro Development and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Potential of Micro-hydro Power Cascade in Irrigation Channel of Kalibawang, Indonesia

Alatas¹,

Budiastuti²,

Gunawan³

et al. 2021

International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology

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“…There are around 3300 micro-hydropower plant (MHP) mini-grids in rural Nepal, each providing renewable electricity to hundreds or thousands of beneficiaries [2]. However, this energy provision varies widely in affordability, reliability, and sustainability [3][4][5][6], and the use of traditional energy sources such as firewood is prevalent [7,8], resulting in indoor air pollution which accounts for the premature deaths of 22,000 people in Nepal every year [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As well as powering households in a community, MHPs provide energy for commercial connections such as shops and mobile phone masts, community services including schools and health posts, and industrial end uses such as flour and grain mills, all of which can be referred to as productive end uses (PEUs) [3,[10][11][12][13]. MHPs are operated at constant power but community electricity demand varies widely, often from a relatively low level at off-peak times to a high level at peak times in the morning and evening [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Modelling of Micro-Hydropower Mini-Grids in Nepal to Improve Financial Sustainability and Enable Electric Cooking

Clements

Pandit²,

Bajracharya

et al. 2021

Energies

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In rural Nepal, micro-hydropower plant mini-grids provide renewable electricity to thousands of communities but the plants often have poor financial sustainability. Widespread uptake of electric cooking in such communities is currently not feasible due to high peak loads and limited capacity. In this paper, we develop a Remote-Areas Multi-Energy Systems Load Profiles (RAMP)-based stochastic techno-economic model for evaluating the economic viability of off-grid communities and improving their financial sustainability by introducing new appliances, productive end uses, and demand-side management measures. The model can be used to understand community electricity demand, assess economic status, determine equitable and profitable tariff structures, and plan new connections including electric cooking promotion or new industrial machines. Detailed electric cooking load modelling functionality was developed to represent Nepali cooking practices, scalable to approximate widespread uptake of electric cooking, and adaptable to other cookers and contexts. The model showed that a payment structure based on electricity consumption rather than a flat tariff could increase the income of a case study community in Eastern Nepal by 400%, although increased monthly payments for certain households from NPR 110 (USD 0.93) to NPR 500–1100 (USD 4.22–9.29) could present difficulty. However, households could reduce their electricity consumption and a more equitable tariff structure could be chosen while preserving plant profitability. The number of industrial machines such as mills could be doubled and up to 40 households provided with electric cookers if demand-side management measures were introduced.

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Understanding sustainable operation of micro-hydropower: a field study in Nepal

Cited by 22 publications

References 23 publications

Energy Transition toward Cleaner Energy Resources in Nepal

Energy Transition toward Cleaner Energy Resources in Nepal

The Potential of Micro-hydro Power Cascade in Irrigation Channel of Kalibawang, Indonesia

Techno-Economic Modelling of Micro-Hydropower Mini-Grids in Nepal to Improve Financial Sustainability and Enable Electric Cooking

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