Building of Sustainable Energy System in Nepal

Name: - Maharjan Sushila

ID: 3113999040

Energy Strategy and Energy Economy Class, Xi’an Jiao tong University

ABSTRACT: Nepal is one of the developing countries in South Asia. Though it is very rich in natural resources, it is still not developed due to various technical, political and other reasons. Most of the rural population is still dependent on traditional sources like fuel wood and other sources of biomass for meeting their basic primary needs. Traditional resources are neither sustainable nor desirable in consideration to environmental aspects. It is very important to substitute those traditional resources with modern environment friendly and efficient technologies for sustainable development of the country as well as improving quality of life of people.

1. Introduction

Nepal is one of the developing nations located in South-east Asia. It is rich in natural resource, though it is a small country. These natural resources are gift of nature. Natural resources found are like forest, water, soil, mineral etc. Forest is one of the important natural resources. Different types of forests are found in different regions of Nepal. It occupies about 37% of the total land of Nepal. Forest is the source of all wood-based industries. Industries like paper, furniture and timber are based on the forest. Forests are rich in herbs. The herbs have medicinal values. Many medicines are made from these herbs. Timber and herbs are valuable natural resources. The value of timber and herbs is very high in the world market. Nepal is rich in water resource. Nature has been very kind to us by providing us with unlimited supply of water. Nepal is the second richest in the water resources in the world after Brazil. Nepal is a landlocked country. So Nepal does not have access to the sea or oceans. But there are lots of rivers that flow from the

Himalayas. When snow melts in the Himalayas, the glacier and rivers are formed. The rivers flow through the mountain regions to the Terai. The main rivers of Nepal are Mechi, Koshi, Narayani, Gandaki, Karnali and Mahakali. These rivers have several tributaries. In addition to these Kankai, Bagmati, Trishuli, Marshyangi, Seti, Rapti, Bheri and also important rivers of Nepal. Land is the other natural resource of Nepal. In Nepal most people depend on land. They do farming and earn their living from land. Land includes soil and minerals. The cultivable land in Nepal is about 17%. About 38% of the land is rocky and covered with snow. Minerals like slate, stone, rock, coal, iron, copper, limestone, magnetite, mica and natural gas are natural resources. The marbles are made of rocks. Limestones are used in cement industries. Hetauda and Udaypur cement factories are the examples of such industries. Nepal is quite rich in mineral resources. Mineral deposits such as gold, mica, limestone, iron ore, copper are found in different parts of Nepal. Because of

financial constraint and lack of technical and skilled manpower, progress in the field of mining is negligible. If we utilize the mineral resources of Nepal properly, we can earn foreign currencies and people will get job opportunities also.

Nepal's economic development depends critically on natural resources that are fragile and being rapidly degraded. In Nepal, the links between poverty, economic incentives, institutional weaknesses in government, and the destruction of land, water resources, and forests are more starkly visible than in countries where environmental damage is not, or not yet, so severe. A new OED study analyzes the projects, policies, and institutional reforms that have affected the management of Nepal's natural resources over 25 years (1966-89). The study finds that despite $4.5 billion of aid for projects affecting natural resources, Nepal still has worsening environmental problems and no effective strategy to address them. The Bank's own assistance has done little to promote better natural resource management except within the sphere of the individual projects it has financed. Yet, as resource degradation continues, the country's scope for improving living standards diminishes. Because better resource management will require not only financial investments but changes in policy, institutions, and individual behavior, environmental concerns urgently need to be incorporated into decision making at all levels. It is very important build a sustainable energy system. Sustainable development comes from attaining a balance across the various forms of capital over space and time. The forms of capital participate in the development

process-- human, natural, institutional, cultural, physical, and financial. In Nepal, the accumulation of physical and financial capital has been sought more aggressively than the acquisition of human and institutional capital or the conservation of natural capital. But as natural capital continues to deteriorate, the possibilities for sustainable development diminish. Sustainable use might have been made of both financial and technical assistance. Looking ahead Nepal's decisions on development policy and economic management at all levels urgently need to take more systematic account of environmental concerns.

2. Present energy scenario in Nepal

Nepal relies heavily on traditional energy resources and there is no much more availability of fossil fuels. Nepal uses the lowest commercial energy (around 500kwh per capita per year) of all south Asians by so far. The total energy consumption in Nepal for the year 2003/04 was 363 million GJ of which the residential sector consumed 90% and agriculture sector 1%. Based on the fuel type, biomass provided 86% of the total energy consumption, petroleum 9%, which is mainly consumed by urban areas, electricity only 2% and renewable 1% of the total energy consumption.

About 40% of the total population has benefited from electricity by the end of the ninth plan. This 40% is reported to include consumption of 33% from National grid and 7% from alternative energy.

About 84% of Nepal population lives in rural areas, and agricultural work are the

mainstay of the rural population. For the year 2003/04, total rural energy consumption is 288 million GJ of which the rural residential consumed 97%. From end use perspective, of the total energy consumed in rural Nepal, 63.9% was used for cooking, u8.5% for heating purposes, 1.31% for lighting, agro processing accounted for 3.4%, for animal feed preparation 16.5% others such as religious occasions and ceremonies for 4.3%. Of the total energy consumption of 288 million GJ in rural Nepal, biomass accounts for 98% while electricity accounts for only 0.1% of the total energy consumed and petroleum products comprise 1.6% and renewable source 0.5% of the total energy consumed.

The millennium development goal put forward by the United Nations are development milestones for developing countries to be met by 2015. Every one of the six goals requires the usage of energy to meet the goals. They are:

Halving extreme poverty: Energy for income generation

Halving the number of people living with hunger: Energy for agriculture and food processing and irrigation

Achieving universal education: Energy for lighting, communications and internet

Promote gender equality: Reduce burden of firewood collection and cooking time and indoor pollution, opportunities for education

Reducing mortality/ improving health: Reduce indoor air pollution, vaccinations using refrigeration

Ensuring environment sustainability: Reduction in the use of firewood, reduce production of greenhouse gases.

3. Energy resource base in Nepal

The major energy resource base in Nepal consists of biomass, hydroelectricity, petroleum products, and natural gas and coal reserves. Among the entire energy resource base, it is evident that biomass is the dominant resource base of the country with respect to its utilization. Nepal has a huge potential for hydropower production, but currently this remains mostly untapped.

3.1 Biomass energyNepal relies heavily on biomass fuel as a result of the lack of development of other energy alternatives and the overall poor economic condition of the nation. Fuel wood is the main source of energy in Nepal and will continue to remain so for a long time. It is estimated that sustainable annual yield of fuel wood in Nepal is 25.8 million tons, or an average of 2.8 tons per hectare of forest. However, only 42%, or 10.8% million tons, of the theoretical sustainable supply is accessible. Forest resources are under increasing threat from the burgeoning human and livestock populations and their need to meet annual requirements for fuel wood, fodder, timber, and other minor forest products. About 44000 ha of forest area is believed to be degraded and deforested annually, while only about 4000 hectares are

reforested. Conversion of forestland for cultivation, high population growth, and a low level of development have all aggravated the pressure on forests throughout Nepal. Where forests are becoming relatively scarce, people are relying increasingly on crop residue and animal waste, resulting in the degradation in fertility of the agricultural land. In 1994/95, the supply of crop residues in the country that could be used as energy was estimated to be 112.13 million tons (WECS I 994, PEP1995). Likewise the country has 4.8 million tons of animal dung annually potentially available as fuel.

3.2 HydropowerThe hydropower potential of Nepal’s river systems is about 83000 MW, out of which only 25% is potentially available for development (WECS 1994; WECS 1996). Hydropower utilization is currently less than one percent of the proven potential. The total installed hydroelectric generation capacity is 586 MW (NEA 2002). This power has been made available to 878100 consumers through 1962km of transmission and distribution lines. The national grid represents the overall hydroelectric industry of Nepal as it accounts for almost 98% of the capacity and 99% of the energy supplied. A part from national grid, both the public and private sectors and independent power producers manage isolated supply systems. At present, there are 35 small/ mini hydroelectric plants in

operation in remote areas of the country.

3.3 Petroleum, Natural Gas and CoalThere are no proven reserves of petroleum suitable for commercial exploitation have been found in Nepal. Thus all petroleum products consumed are imported in refined form for direct consumption. The alternative fossil fuel, natural gas, has also not been discovered as yet in any significant amount. Coal is in many countries among the cheapest sources of energy known. Two deposits are believed to have some economic significance, one in Kathmandu and one in Dang. Even these deposits, however are believed to be insignificant in terms of energy demand (WECS 1994).

4. Renewable Energy development scenario in Nepal

It is quite important to substitute as well as supplement the traditional energy supply by modern forms of sustainable energy in terms of resources and technology. Because of the country’s dependence on imported fossil fuel, high cost of grid connection and low and scattered population density, a decentralized energy supply system becomes the natural and feasible choice. Decentralized new and renewable energy systems such as micro hydro, solar photo voltaic, biogas, improved cooking stove etc. provide feasible and environment friendly energy supply options in rural areas. The most important renewable energy technology in Nepal is related to Pico

hydropower and micro hydropower (up to 100 KW), biomass energy (biogas, briquettes, gasifiers, improved cooking stoves), solar photovoltaic (solar home systems, solar PV water pumping, solar battery charging), solar thermal energy (solar water heater, solar dryer, solar cookers etc).

5. Government policies for promotion of Renewable energy

The positive role of renewable energy technology for the fulfillment of energy needs of the rural people was recognized by the National Planning commission/ Nepal during the Seventh Five Year Plan. The Eight Plan (1992-1997) envisaged the need for a coordinating body for large scale promotion of alternative energy technologies in Nepal and Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) was thus established to promote the use of Renewable Energy Technology and act as the government coordinating body. Though renewable energy programs have positive implications on poverty reduction, but this has not been the explicit goal of renewable energy programs in Nepal until the commencement of the Tenth plan in 2002. A separate subsidy policy has been made effective by His Majesty’s Government of Nepal (HMG/N) channeling through the APEC, for extensive promotion of Renewable Energy Technologies in the rural areas.

The improved cook stove and biogas programs initially had goals to reduce firewood consumption but now they also justify themselves on health ground and are linked to income generation as well as reduction of women’s drudgery. Biogas has

been mainly used for cooking and the bio slurry has been used as a high quality fertilizer for increasing agricultural productivity. Few households have used the biogas for lighting. Micro hydro was seen as a technology to reduce drudgery, provide lighting but now the productive end uses are considered as the desired priority. Solar energy has served widely as a home lighting device. Solar energy has also been used for drying and cooking food, powering computers, irrigation and drinking water systems but these uses are very limited.

The national long term vision of alternative energy sector as outlined in Nepal poverty reduction strategy paper explicitly recognizes the role of renewable energy technology in the socio economic development of rural people and aims at “Accelerating economic development, improving living standard of rural people, increasing employment opportunities and maintaining environmental sustainability through the development of rural energy systems”. To realize this long term vision the Tenth Plan has set the objective of renewable energy development as “developing and expanding alternative energy as a powerful tool for alleviating poverty, raising purchasing power of the rural people by developing alternative energy technologies based on the local resources, skill and increasing consumption of alternative energy and reducing dependency on imported energy by lowering the cost of installation through the proper utilization of local resources and means.

The Tenth Five year plan (2002-2007) emphasizes on:

Increasing the consuming capacity of rural families by developing and extending the alternative energy sources, seen as powerful tool for poverty alleviation.

Supplying energy for commercialization of the domestic needs and the professions of rural population by developing alternative energy technologies based on local resources and tools.

Reducing dependency imported energy sources and reducing negative environmental effects by the proper use of resources and tools of local energy.

Improving and increasing the energy use competency and increasing the access of rural people by reducing the cost of development and installation of alternative sources of energy.

In the current Tenth Five Year Plan, HMG/N plans installation of

52000 units of solar PV home systems

200000 biogas plants 250000 improved cook stoves in

45 districts of Nepal Installation of extra 10000KW

(10 MW) of electric capacity through pico and micro hydro installations within the plan period.

6. Status of Renewable energy technologies and energy saving devices

6.1 Micro-hydropower

Various kind of micro-hydro technologies such as use of propeller turbines, cross flow turbines, pelton wheels, multi purpose power units (MPPU), peltric sets and improvements in traditional ghattas (water wheels) with better efficiency system have been developed in the past to tap the water resources more effectively. They are mainly used for agro processing activities and electricity generation. By 2002, about 1000 improved ghattas have been installed mainly for agro processing activities, in comparison to the traditional ghattas estimated at 25000 thus providing a huge potential for its improvement to generate rural energy in Nepal. Since, January 2003, improved water mill support program has been initiated as a part of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal and Netherland Development Organization Program support to Renewable Energy sectors to develop and disseminate improved water mill as a sustainable energy source in the mid hill and high hill district of Nepal. The program is being implemented by CRT/N and aims to install 4000 improved water mill in a five year period. Till June 2005, 1092 improved water mills have been installed under this program (CRT/N, 2005).

The distribution of micro hydro units is among other things, by proximity to the manufacturer, the extent of the development of the region, donor support and the availability of electricity from NEA. From 1986 onwards the number of micro hydro plants being installed within accessible areas of the country declined. At present, NEA has no plans to construct new hydro plant in the micro range and thus rural areas, especially in hills and mountains, can only receive electricity through private utility

micro-hydro plants. The success of privately summed micro-hydro plants largely depends upon the commercial end use as well as the management capacity of the owner.

6.2 Solar energy

Solar energy has been used traditionally for dring such things as crops, clothes, fuel wood and crop residues. The solar energy potential in Nepal is estimated to be about 26 million MW. Currently there are two types of solar energy technology in the country: solar thermal systems and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Solar water heaters and solar dryers are the two main types of solar thermal devices. Of these, solar water heaters are popular in Kathmandu. These heaters are suitable for use throughout the country except in those regions that have long and harsh winters where the temperature falls below freezing point. However, because of the high cost, this technology is too expensive for most people.

Solar cookers were introduced by the Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST) in 1977 as parboiling cookers. The Centre for Rural Technology, Nepal (CRT/N) took further initiative to promote Solar Cookers since early 1990’s with the government subsidy channeled through Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC). Because of their high cost, this technology has not become popular in the rural areas. Although various types of solar cookers have been developed to reduce cost, efforts to improve the efficiency of solar cookers have yet to be undertaken.

The Solar PV (photovoltaic) systems convert solar energy directly into electricity. The NEA has carried out centralized solar photovoltaic based rural electrification in different locations. The cost of a centralized solar PV-based power system is high, compared to electricity generation by smaller micro-hydropower units.

Lately, private entrepreneurs and non0govermental organizations (NGO’s) have been showing interest in the dissemination of solar PV home lighting systems. These home systems are gaining popularity in some areas of Nepal. There are around 57875 PV home systems are installed in the country by the end of 2004 covering 74 districts (Nepal, 2004). Energy Sector Assistance Program (ESAP) of Danish Government and AEPC has supported promotion and installation of household PV systems in Nepal.

6.3 Biogas Technology

Biogas technology is considered to be one of the most promising and sustainable sources of renewable energy in Nepal. At present most biogas plans are in the Terai, but they are gaining popularity in the hill regions as well. The mountain region is unfavorable for biogas production because of the cold climate. It is estimated that there is potential of 1.3 million household biogas plants in the country. By the end of December2004, 123395 biogas plants of different sizes have been constructed so far in the country benefiting 860000 persons directly. Annually, biogas plants in Nepal save 239386 tons of firewood and they replace 383000 liters of kerosene every year (Nepal 2004). There are 65 authorized biogas

companies involved in the installation of biogas plants in Nepal.

Despite biogas technology being fairly successful at present, a number of technical and institutional problems had emerged that will greatly retard diffusion of this technology. Lack of adequate water supply required for operating the biogas plants in the hills and the mountain areas is often reported as a hindrance to the establishment of such plants. It is also found in some cases that the operation and maintenance of biogas plants has increased the workload for women, as they have to carry more water. Uniformity or standardization of design, installation, construction materials, or supply of accessories has not yet been achieved. Community level biogas plants have not yet been fully developed and promoted. There is still no competent biogas development and promotion unit in the country. Costs are escalating and beyond the affordable limit of poor households. The interaction between designers and end users is poor, which does not help to improve the design. (WECS 1996; Gongal and Shrestha 1998). If all the available dung were to be used for biogas, the potential biogas production would be around 12000 million m3 per year, which is equivalent to 29 million GJ (about 10% of the present energy consumption) and the use of this dung would not affect agricultural productivity (WECS 1996).

The current state of development of biogas in Nepal is largely the result of incentives provided by His Majesty’s Government (HMG/N). A plan for the installation of biogas plants was first incorporated in the

Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-90). During this plan period both capital and iiiiinterest

Interest subsidies for the biogas program were provided by the government through the Agricultural Development Bank. This subsidy program is now being continued with the assistance of the government of the Netherlands. Cost effective designs, long-tern biogas development programs, as well as institutional and credit/incentive mechanisms are required to further exploit their potential.

6.4 Improved Cooking Stoves

Improved cooking stoves have the potential to save the fuel wool used for household cooking. About 11 million tons of fuel woods are burnt annually for cooking alone. Theoretically, it is possible to reduce fuel wood consumption for cooking by 50%. Improved Cooking Stoves have an efficiency factors in the range of 15 to 30 percent, whereas the efficiency of traditional mud stoves varies from 3 to 15 percent. There are various types of Improved Cooking Stoves and the efficiency of these stoves varies. The amount of fuel wood saved depends among other things on the type of Improved Cooking Stoves, and the type, the condition of the fuel wood, the type and amount of food prepared, and the type of pot used for cooking. Even with a low performance of 11% fuel wood savings, estimates indicate that one Improved Cooking Stoves can save an average of 1 tons of fuel wood annually.

Since the introduction of Improved Cooking Stoves in the early 1950’s, more than 200000 Improved Cooking Stoves have

been installed. However, the actual status of Improved Cooking Stoves currently in use is not available. After the initiation of AEPC/ESAP supported by the Danish Government assisted Improved Cooking Stoves promotion program in 1999, Improved Cooking Stoves is gaining popularity in the mid hills of Nepal. From 2001 as of March 2005, 125498 Improved Cooking Stoves have been installed in the country under this program in 33 districts (AEPC 2005).

6.5 Wind Power

This technology is still in its initial experiment phase. A wind power system was installed in kagbeni to generate about 20 KW of electrical power (annual energy of 50 MWh) but was damaged as a result of the poor design. The high installation cost (about US $6800 Per KWh) did not justify further development (WECS 1994).

7. Major issues and constraints in the Development and Promotion of Renewable Energy Technologies

Various factors such as wide geographical variability, lower literacy rate among the users and high cost factor are some of the major issues associated with the promotion of sustainable energy in the country. Some of the constraints are explained below:

RETs Technical Financial Policy & Institutional

Micro Hydropower

-Most mill managers are not trained in management.- Operation and Management ignored.- Cost of feasibility studies borne by manufacturers, studies are biased leading to various technical and socio economic problems.

- High cost of plant and low load factors of the plant make projects economically unviable.- Lack of data is another constraint.

- Investment allocated to this sector is too meager to have any impact.- Lack of systematic monitoring & evaluation.- Priority given to project themselves rather than to developmental activities of end use devices.

Biogas -Quality of construction material and monitoring differ among the companies installing such plants.- Poor performance as a result of inferior construction material, selection of wrong size and negligence in construction and operation.- The main

-Although biogas production is superior to direct burningof cake (dung) in terms of energy utilization (thermalefficiency of 60%against 11% for dungcake), it can only beprofitable & attractive for

-Institutional gaps are the main bottleneck to promoting and carrying out to the government policy and program smoothly.- There is no research and development institute to concentrate on developing less expensive biogas plants.- There is a

problem in family size plants is low gas yield during the winter and rainy seasons.- The problem for community sized plants relate to ineffective management, sharing of benefits etc.

marginal farmers if a subsidy is provided along with appropriate financingMechanism.-Biogas production will become more popular as fuel wood becomes scarcer.

need for competent biogas development and promotion unit will full authority for overall policy development, planning, monitoring, evaluation, quality control, research & training and able to establish functional linkage between the biogas related organizations.- More than 50 privately biogas companies actively engaged.- Subsidy in the biogas installation decreased.

Improved cooking stoves (ICS)

-Holes for pots are too small to accommodate the large pots used in many households.- The baffle is too small to achieve good heat transfer.- ICS cannot provide both space heating and cooking, especially important in the higher hills and mountains.- ICS cannot handle agricultural biomass and industrial residues.- Inserts are too heavy and too fragile for widespread dissemination in Nepal.- Lack of quality control at production sites results in the production of low quality stoves.

-ICS programs are largely dependent on funding from external donors rather than on mobilization of internal funds.

-No national policy framework and program direction integrating ICS as a multisectoral component.- AEPC has the overall responsibility for the development and promotion of ICSs which has been adopting subsidyless promotion of ICS.- Five Renewable Energy Service Centers established under the national ICSs program provides institutional framework for ICSs.- Lack of extensive and continue research.

- Overemphasis on achieving dissemination targets with little attention given to extension and monitoring.- Lack of interaction between researchers, extension agencies and policy planners, as well as between producers and end users.- ICSs network coordinated by CRT/N with the support from ARECOP provides a forum for interaction among the ICS stakeholders.

Solar -Lack of knowledge, information and technical know-how among the manufactures is the major problem for solar water heaters.-Leakage problem in store tank and hot water pipelines is a problem for industrial solar heaters.- Solar cookers cannot be used for frying, cooking time is longer, and their use is limited to time of good sunshine.-Frequent breakdown of electrical component

-The financial performance of solar thermal devices appears sound, financial aspects of PV system have been found to be negative.- Solar drivers have high capital investment costs.

- Strong needs for institutions to enforce standards and provide quality control for manufacturers, especially in the case of solar water heating systems.- Lack of institutional set up for the technical back up to the private manufacturers.

8. Conventional forestry systems for sustainable production of bio energy.

Nepal is abundantly rich in forest resources. Most of the people living in rural areas depend upon forest resources for many purposes. Forest ecosystem constitutes the world’s largest accessible source of biomass, which may be available from forest operations in conventional forestry systems and thus may be one of the most important suppliers of fuel to the bioenergy industry. An important way to realize this potential is the integration of biomass production and forest fuel harvesting into conventional forestry practices. This was the focus of IEA Bioenergy Task 31 ‘Conventional Forestry Systems for Sustainable production of Bioenergy’. Silvicultural and forest management system offering opportunities for biomass recovery for energy were identified, including different stand treatments, mixed stand management and expanded utilization. Forest operations systems were developed to enable cost efficient and environmentally acceptable recovery of biomass for energy and conventional forest products. The sustainability of production system was accessed, based on forest ecosystem research with a focus on nutrient cycling and wood ash recycling, carbon sequestration, stand productivity, and soil and water conservation. Several current situations present specific challenges and opportunities for biomass recovery for energy. In densely-populated regions, energy needs are often greater than elsewhere, but public opinion may dictate that forest conservation for recreation and environmental purposes takes

higher priority than harvesting of forest fuels. A related situation exists in the’ urban wild land interface’ where long term exclusion of fire from forests in which it was a normal feature of the ecosystem has resulted in dangerously high forest fuel build-ups and potential for disastrous wild fires. Bioenergy use can help make the management of such fuel loadings economic and effective. A third issue is the contribution of forest-derived bioenergy to Greenhouse balances, currently one of the key drivers for increased use of biomass energy.

9. Biomass briquetting

Biomass briquetting is the densification of loose biomass materials (agricultural residues, forestry wastes etc.) to produce compact solid composites of different sizes called briquettes. Densification is the general process of compressing the raw materials to a certain form using a mould and pressure. In 1982, two different briquetting technologies were introduced in Nepal, namely pyrolysing and extrusion technology. Nearly 20 enterprises registered with the Ministry of Industry for the installation of briquette plants. However, about 65% of them have not yet started operating due to poor profitability and marketing problems, as well as shortage of rice husk. Only one manufacturer has continued to produce rice husk briquettes in Nepal. Many other plant owners have closed the plants due to technical and marketing problems. This briquette is not used in household cooking but can be used. It is mostly used in institutional cooking. It is also used in space heating in urban areas.

High initial investment, increase price of raw material, and frequent repair of extruder are problems associated with it.

A technique for producing beehive shaped charcoal briquettes from leaves twigs, and forestry/agricultural residues has been developed in Nepal. It is claimed that briquettes are easy to ignite, burn quite cleanly and could be appropriate for rural areas of Nepal. This technology has gained wide scale popularity through the Community Forestry Users Groups and has been disseminated throughout the country.

10. Future direction for Promotion of Renewable Energy Technologies for sustainable development

Need to encourage financial institutions for formulating effective and appropriate policies, and to increase more and more financial institutions, besides the existing ones to participate in the development of Renewable Energy sector in Nepal.

Need to allocate adequate subsidies in a consistent manner to promote the renewable energy sector. Subsidy allocation should be determined by the accessibility of the project area, and the appropriate method of energy generation.

Need to strengthen education and training in renewable energy, especially end users training,

technical/vocational training and trainers training.

Need to emphasize research and development works.

Need to execute awareness program targeted to policy makers, government officials, entrepreneurs, social workers, consumers and people at District Development Committee and Village Development Committee levels.

11. Conclusion

Nepal’s energy scenario is dominated by traditional energy resources as it supplies more than 85% of the total energy demand. Improved cooking stoves are being used in the place where access to fuel wood is limited. Micro-hydro and biogas technologies have been proved to be viable alternative energy technologies in Nepal. These technologies creates awareness among the rural people, make life of people more comfortable, improves the educational status of rural children and will promote some industrial activities which will generate some opportunities. Solar energy technologies, both photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Technologies have been promoted gradually in the country while the Wind energy and geothermal energy technologies have yet to be harnessed.