STUDY OF USES OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

SOURCES IN NEPAL

A PROECT WORK SUBMITTED FOR THE

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENT IN PHYSICS OF CLASS XI

Submitted by:
Samip Sharma
Class: XI(A)
Roll Number: 22

Submitted to:
Department of Physics
Horizon Gautam Buddha Secondary School
Tilottama-1, Drivertole
Rupandehi, Nepal
DATE: (DD/mm/yy)
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL

The project work entitled STUDY OF USES OF

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES IN
NEPAL by Mr.Samip Sharma (RollNo:22), under
the supervision of Mr. Khem Rijal, Department of
Physics, Horizon Gautam Buddha Secondary
School, Nepal, is hereby submitted for the partial
fulfillment of requirement of Physics in Grade 11..

Supervisor :Khem Rijal,

Department of Physics,
Horizon Gautam Buddha Secondary School, Nepal
RECOMMENDATION LETTER

This is to certify that the project work entitled

STUDY OF USES OF ALTERNATIVE
ENERGY SOURCES IN NEPAL has been
carried out by Samip Sharma as a partial
fulfillment of Grade 11 in Physics under my
supervision. To the best of knowledge, this work
has not been submitted to any other purpose in this
institute. I, therefore recommend the project work
report for appraisal.

Supervisor Signature:
Khem Rijal
Physics Teacher,
Department of Physics,
Horizon Gautam Buddha Secondary School, Nepal
Date:2079-07-14
 DECLARATION

I, Samip Sharma hereby declare that the project

work entitled STUDY OF USES OF
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES IN
NEPAL under the supervision of Khem Rijal,
Department of Physics, Horizon Gautam
Buddha Secondary School, Nepal presented
herein is genuine work .

Signature:
Samip Sharma
Grade: 11
Email Address: Samip509s@gmail.com
Date:2079-07-14
 Table of Contents

Coverpage or Title Page……………………………................ (i)

Certificate of Approval..……………………………............... (ii)
Recommendation Letter…………………………….............. (iii)
Declaration…………………………………………............... (iv)
Table of Contents……...……………………………............... (v)
 1

INTRODUCTION
 Background of the Study
The demand for energy is increasing rapidly every year in
every country, including Nepal. In order to meet the growing
demand for energy, different kinds of alternative energy
sources such as Solar Energy, Bio Mass Energy, Wind Energy,
Hydropower Energy, Geothermal Energy, Animal Manure can
be used instead of non renewable fossil fuels. Renewable
resources are those energy sources that cannot be depleted and
are able to supply a continuous source of clean energy
whereas
Non Renewable energy resources include coal, natural gas, oil,
and nuclear energy. Once these resources are used up, they
cannot be replaced, which is a major problem for humanity as
we are currently dependent on them to supply most of our
energy needs.

The use of alternative renewable energy sources will not only

meet the growing demand for energy but also decreases the
expenses in the country’s economy that goes for non renewable
energy sources.

In the context of Nepal, few renewable sources of energy are

being used but still our country is highly dependent on the
supply of expensive non renewable fossil fuels. The motive of
this study is to study the use of renewable/alternative sources
of energy in Nepal. This study provides some of the renewable
sources currently being used in Nepal as well as suggest some
alternative sources of energy to be used in Nepal for the overall
development of the country in every aspect. In some portions
of this study we also talk about the energy problems and their
 Objective of the Study
The objectives of this study are as mentioned below:

• To identify the cause for using alternative sources of

energy in Nepal and suggest some of them for overall
development of the country.

• To communicate the importance of using alternative

sources of energy.

• To evaluate the benefits of replacing the non renewable

sources of energy by renewable sources of energy.

• To identify some of the alternative sources of energy

currently being used in Nepal.
 Methodology
Internet:
A big portion of this study is based on the influence of my
Internet research and some of the books written on this topic
available in the internet. The facts presented are crosschecked
in different websites and pages very distinctly and consciously.
Articles related to this topic that came in different time frame
were helpful for the completion of this study.

Report Analysis:
The reports that were made public by the government of the
country are interpreted through this study. I read the reports of
different time frame in the context of Nepal and made this
study a complete package of those all reports.
 2

RESULT
&
DISCUSSION
 In the present context of Nepal, there is huge
energy deficit that is jeopardizing our national
economy. We are compelled to import conventional
fossil fuels worth billions, which is considered as a
leading factor for huge trade deficit. Thus,
Government of Nepal must focus on alternative
energy to address such a man-made disaster. Energy
that is not popularly used and is usually
environmentally sound like wind, solar, geothermal
is simply regarded as renewable energy. The
renewable energy made available through
established sources and technology is considered as
non-conventional one, if otherwise, conventional.
Speaking strictly the forms of alternative energy or
renewable energy are environmentally favourable
and no negative impacts and economically viable.
Alternative energy sources are necessary to explored
in context to solve the present problem of energy
crisis in Nepal. Being rich in natural resources Nepal
posses’ high potential of development of energy
generation station.
Biomass and hydropower are two indigenous energy
sources in Nepal. Fuel wood supplies almost 80
percent of total energy demand and is extracted
beyond the sustainable supply capability of the
forests indicating a growth in deforestation.
Whereas, electricity supplies only one percent of
total energy consumption and only about 280 MW of
83,000 MW theoretical potential have been
developed. So far today, Nepal has not been
advanced in the technology related to alternative
energy is not satisfactory however the trend in this
area is quite appreciable. Technically biogas
digesters, small hydropower, solar water heaters, etc
are the most proven alternative energy sources.

Indicative Potential Energy in Nepal

Compared to other countries in the world, Nepal has
made significant progress in developing and using
water resources for producing power. Mostly Nepal
is investing on micro hydropower over the past three
decades. Currently there are over 900 micro-hydro
installations in the private sector in about 59 of the
75 districts of the country
Energy Sources that hold a strong potential in
the context of Nepal:
S.N Energy Type Potential
1 Solar Energy 26000 MW

2 Wind Energy 200 MW

3 Hydropower Theoretically 83 GW
Practically 25 GW

4 Fuel Wood 7 metric ton

5 Biogas About 2L plants of 10cu.m

size at existing livestock
population
 Alternative sources of energy in Nepal:

1) Hydropower :

Nepal is rich in water resources possessing about

2.2% of the world’s total water resources. About 6000
rivers and rivulets with total length of around 45,000
km and an annual discharge of 174 billion cubic
meters are available in the nation. Hydroelectricity
comes from the damming of rivers and utilizing the
potential energy stored in the water. As the water
stored behind a dam is released at high pressure, its
kinetic energy is transferred onto turbine blades and
used to generate electricity. This system has enormous
costs up front, but has relatively low maintenance
costs and provides power quite cheaply.
In Nepal approximately 83,000 MW of hydroelectric
power potential is available, and about 280 MW of
that have been developed. Nepal is famous for hydro
potential. In the world ranking Nepal lies in second
position than Brazil.
Basin-wise hydropower potential in Nepal
Basin Theoretical Economic
Potential(GW) Potential(GW)

Koshi 23 11

Gandaki 21 5

Karnali and 35 25
Mahakali

Others 4 1

Total 83 42
 regenerated by small fraction of isolation reaction
the outer atmosphere. It is estimated that nature is
generating 1.67 X 1015 KW annually but lonely a
small fraction of this can be harnessed for use in the
other forms. It is reported that the potential it’s to
generate wind energy in Mustang is reported at about
200 MW. (Rajbhandari et.al
2) Solar Energy:
Only after seventies the utilization of solar energy
was started through the introduction of domestic
solar water heaters. In rural area Nepal
telecommunication, civil aviation, Nepal electricity
authority is using solar energy as source of energy.
More than 348 KW of energy from sun is being used
by various stakeholders within Nepal. Solar energy is
very suitable for the country like Nepal. Solar energy
is the best option for the generation of energy.
Photovoltaic, thermal devices should be used to
generate the solar energy. In Nepal the total installed
photovoltaic capacity is about 350 KW.
3) Bio Gas:
Biogas, which is considered an ideal energy
converter, burns much more efficiently, and the
residue, sludge, is a better fertiliser than the raw
dung, providing the output over twice as much heat
and nearly three times as much useful fertiliser as
would have been obtained from the original dung.

The manure produced from biogas plants can be

used as a better organic fertiliser by 20 to 30 percent
than other compost fertilisers. In addition, the
residue, sludge, produced from these plants kills the
weeds and helps every crop thrive luxuriantly.
Human waste and some vegetation waste can also be
used in biogas plants. Since proper treatment
eliminates some pest disease carrying organisms, it
improves the sanitation of a country.

,
 3

CONCLUSION
 Summary
In the present context of Nepal, there is huge energy
deficit that is jeopardizing our national economy. We
are compelled to import conventional fossil fuels
worth billions, which is considered as a leading
factor for huge trade deficit. Thus, Government of
Nepal must focus on alternative energy to address
such a man-made disaster. One of the tools namely
environmental impact assessment (EIA) has proved
beneficial for sustainable development of any
development project and is commonly practiced in
many countries including Nepal. This research
focuses on finding the possibilities of available
resources and endowments in the entire geography
of Nepal and production cost of different alternative
energy. Consequently, comparative analysis of solar
and wind were made with hydro whereas that of bio-
diesel was made with conventional diesel. On the
other hand, general methodology for EIA and initial
environmental examination (IEE) in Nepal were
elaborated. Different qualitative and quantitative
methods were used for this research. Meeting,
telephone and e-mail conversation were conducted
with various experts. Furthermore, various national
and International journals (exe: ‘science direct’),
newspaper articles, books were used for desk
research. Finally citation was done using citation
tool namely ‘End Note’. It was found that among
various alternative form of energy found in Nepal;
solar, wind, biodiesel and biogas seems promising
and pragmatic. Comparative analysis of both solar
and wind with hydro-power confirmed that the
earlier two technologies can largely contribute
towards compensating power deficit, specifically in
all seasons of Nepal excluding monsoon.
Government of Nepal is focusing only on Hydro
policy which is hindering other renewable
technologies like solar and wind to penetrate in the
Nepalese market. It was found that public hearings
are never conducted during EIA report preparation
and also Nepal has not introduced the concept of
accrediting the experts and consulting firms to
prepare the EIA report. So, in order to develop
renewable energy technologies (RETs) as a viable
and sustainable option for developing countries like
Nepal, it is important to educate the people about the
potential economic, health and environmental merits
of renewable energy. In addition to this, Government
of Nepal can also experiment with consumption
based subsidies like ‘Net metering system’ together
with the existing investment based subsidies to
encourage the consumption of energy from
renewable resources. For an effective
implementation of EIA, there should be one window
approach (“Ek dwar pranali”) where different
ministry can collaborate effectively and efficiently.
Furthermore, there should be decentralization
process of environmental administration at district
development committee (DDC) via formation of
Environmental unit (EU) and Environmental Sub-
committee (ESC).
 Recommendation for Renewable Energy
Development
There are many ways which can be prioritized and
executed for the development of different renewable
energy technologies. However, here the
recommendations have been made focusing on solar,
wind and biodiesel.
i) Decentralized energy resources
Due to the rugged mountainous terrain and scattered
nature of human settlements, the national grid
extension to these areas is very difficult and
uneconomical. Hence, decentralized energy sources
could be the most effective alternative for such
remote locality. Rural populations need to be
encouraged to participate in the construction of
integrated as well as isolated grid for solar and wind
power technology in combination with small-scale
hydropower schemes. Due to Nepal’s topography
cost is high and local governments need to diversify
the use and management of resources. For example:
If an improved water mill is installed in the village
then it can be used for electricity generation,
grinding of local grains, expelling of oil and also for
irrigation.
ii) Energy Cooperatives
The implementation of a cooperative concept could
be an excellent option for Nepal for developing and
implementing renewable energy resources in rural
parts. Financial, technical and legal supports could
certainly facilitate the development of Renewable
Energy Technologies (RETs). Also, the formulation
of a cooperative model provides the effective
platform for the mobilization of local resources in
the development and dissemination of RETs.
iii) Awareness Program

To develop RETs as a viable and sustainable option

for developing countries like Nepal, it is important
to educate the people about the potential economic,
health and environmental merits of renewable
energy. There is a need to develop programs that
bring awareness and disseminate knowledge to a
wide audience through a variety of mass media and
multistakeholder dialogues.
iii) Awareness Program

To develop RETs as a viable and sustainable option

for developing countries like Nepal, it is important
to educate the people about the potential economic,
health and environmental merits of renewable
energy. There is a need to develop programs that
bring awareness and disseminate knowledge to a
wide audience through a variety of mass media and
multistakeholder dialogues.