The experts today claimed that up to 10 per cent of the energy mix in
Nepal could be covered by wind energy, whereas others claimed 80 per cent could be covered by
hydro and 20 per cent by solar.
During an
interaction econ-ity, organised by Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation, along
with Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) on 'Energy Mix to Power Nepal,' here today
Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) executive director Prof Dr Govind
Raj Pokharel locally generated solar power should be shared through
local grid.
Proposing
identification of three sectors on the demand side as the energy mix would look
different in each category, he stressed on industrial sector – where use of
diesel, thermal and hydro sources could be prime – domestic sector – for
heating, cooking and lighting purposes and transportation.
The use of
ethanol due to vibrant sugarcane industry in Nepal is also possible, he said,
sharing a very good example from
Baglung’s Riga VDC where people had contributed 533 days per household to
construct a 100 kW micro hydro plant with a cost of Rs 4.8 million and then
paid Rs 18 per unit for the usage of electricity. "They have now paid off
their loans and have Rs 1 million in the bank as savings."
Likewise,
president of Independent Power
Producers Association, Nepal (IPPAN) Dr Subarna Das Shrestha, on the occasion
sought decentralised production, incentivised by net metering.
"In the
context of energy mix, hydropower is the main source for industrial and
commercial use and the contribution of other sources could be mainly for household
consumption," he said, adding that therefore 80 per cent of the energy mix
could be covered by hydropower. "In
terms of energy mix, while production could be decentralised by means of
implementing the mentioned sources, it could be incentivised by the usage of
net-metering."
Net metering
is a service to an electric consumer under which electric energy generated by
that electric consumer from an eligible on-site generating facility and
delivered to the local distribution facilities may be used to offset electric
energy provided by the electric utility to the electric consumer during the
applicable billing period.
In a sector
with only a brief history of private sector involvement, the current Power
Purchase Agreement (PPA) structure and policy environment is not very
encouraging for investment in hydropower, Shrestha said, sharing that more than
10 ministries are involved in the process of developing and implementing a
hydropower project, including the same number of departments. In the 5 years
feasibility study period provisioned, most of the time is taken by licensing
and the environment impact study takes around one and half year. "The
process of receiving permissions to cut trees in the construction areas takes
the developers to the cabinet, thereby further lengthening the process, apart
from policy inconsistency and bureaucratic bottlenecks that have created real challenges for investors.
The discussion moderated by
social entrepreneur Anil Chitrakar also
discussed on energy crisis and possible solution.
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