Clean Energy, 2021, 243–253

doi: 10.1093/ce/zkab011
Homepage: https://academic.oup.com/ce

Perspective
100% renewable energy with pumped-hydro-energy
storage in Nepal

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

Sunil Prasad Lohani1,*, and Andrew Blakers2
School of Engineering, Kathmandu University, PO BOX: 6250, Dhulikhel, Kavre, Nepal
1

College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
2

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract
A radical transformation of the global energy system is underway. Solar photovoltaics and wind now comprise three-
quarters of the global net new electricity-generation-capacity additions because they are cheap. The deep renewable
electrification of energy services including transport, heating and industry will allow solar and wind to largely eliminate
fossil fuels over the next few decades. This paper demonstrates that Nepal will be able to achieve energy self-sufficiency
during the twenty-first century. Nepal has good solar and moderate hydroelectric potential but has negligible wind- and
fossil-energy resources. The solar potential is about 100 times larger than that required to support a 100% solar-energy
system in which all Nepalese citizens enjoy a similar per-person energy consumption to developed countries, without
the use of fossil fuels and without the environmental degradation resulting from damming Nepal’s Himalayan rivers.
Nepal has vast low-cost off-river pumped hydro-energy-storage potential, thus eliminating the need for on-river hydro
storage and moderating the need for large-scale batteries. Solar, with support from hydro and battery storage, is likely
to be the primary route for renewable electrification and rapid growth of the Nepalese energy system.

Graphical Abstract

100% Renewable energy in Nepal Target for Nepal for 2065:

• 100% renewable energy
2020 status • Catch up with developed countries
Electricity consumption: • 15 MWh per capita per year solar electricity
0.2 MWh/person/year
Per capita electricity, MWh

16 2065 target
Hydropower is dominant 14
in electricity, biomass is 12
dominant at home 10
8
Nepal target: install 200 Watts of
Energy resources in Nepal 6 solar per person per year
4 Australia: installing 250 Watts of
Solar PV: 50,000 TWh/year solar & wind per person per year
2
Hydro: 500 TWh/year
Bio, wind etc:small 0
2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070
Year
Keywords: solar photovoltaics; pumped-hydro-energy storage; traditional biomass; renewable energy; national
energy mix; current scenario; greenhouse gas

Received: 5 February 2021; Accepted: 7 April 2021

© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of National Institute of Clean-and-Low-Carbon Energy
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, 243
provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected]
 244 | Clean Energy, 2021, Vol. 5, No. 2

Introduction financing that tap high quality resources, solar PV is now the
cheapest source of electricity in history’ [2].
Energy is an essential commodity. Rapidly increasing popu-
Fossil fuels produce three-quarters of global green-
lations and economic growth are causing global energy
house gases [3]. According to the Intergovernmental Panel
demand to increase, especially in emerging-market econ-
on Climate Change, to limit global warming to 1.5°C, rapid
omies. Energy supply is interwoven with global warming,
reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions are required [4].
local pollution, national and international security, eco-
Importantly, developing countries such as Nepal can bypass
nomic growth and the ability to meet basic human needs.
a fossil-fuel era and transition directly to zero-emission re-
A radical and rapid transformation to a sustainable
newables at low cost.
global energy system is underway. Solar photovoltaics (PV)
Novel themes in this paper are that:
and wind now comprise three-quarters of the global net
new electricity-generation-capacity additions (Fig. 1). Coal, • Nepal can meet all of its energy needs from solar PV by
oil, gas, nuclear, hydro and the other renewables comprise covering 1% of its area with panels, even after (i) Nepal
the balance [1]. Solar and wind energy are vast, ubiquitous, catches up with the developed world in per-capita use

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

non-polluting and indefinitely sustainable, and accord well of energy and (ii) all energy services are electrified,
with the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda eliminating fossil fuels entirely (an increase of 70-fold
for affordable and clean energy. in electricity production).
The deep renewable electrification of energy services al- • Identification of off-river pumped hydro as a vast, low-
lows solar and wind to eliminate fossil fuels, not just from cost, mature storage opportunity; Nepal has 17 times
the electricity system. Renewable electrification includes more off-river pumped-hydro-energy-storage sites
conversion of land transport to electric vehicles; use of than it will ever need even under the zero-fossil-fuel
electric heat pumps for low-temperature air and water scenario described above, thus eliminating the need for
heating; powering of industrial heat with electric furnaces; on-river hydro storage. Pumped hydro is much cheaper
and, for the chemical industry, replacement of hydrogen than batteries for overnight storage.
from fossil fuels with hydrogen from water splitting. • Damming of Nepalese Himalayan rivers is unnecessary
Many jurisdictions are committing to net-zero emis- because PV is competitive with and vastly more avail-
sions by 2050–60 including Japan, the European Union, able than hydro and can be more readily implemented
China, the USA and Korea. Most countries are expected to at both small and large scales.
follow suit in the next few years.
Solar photovoltaics and wind energy are now the cheapest Section 1 of this paper describes a scenario in which Nepal
forms of electricity available in regions with good solar and catches up with developed countries in terms of per-capita
wind resources, respectively, except perhaps for very fa- energy consumption. Section 2 describes the renewable-
vourable hydroelectric sites. A dramatic acknowledgement energy options for Nepal to meet this consumption and
of the rapid pace of change in world energy markets comes identifies solar PV as by far the most prospective. Section
from the 2020 World Energy Outlook from the International 3 describes methods of balancing high levels of solar PV.
Energy Agency, which states that ‘[f]or projects with low cost Section 4 summarizes policy implications and the conclu-
sion follows.

Net new global capacity additions in 2020

140

120

100

80
Gigwatts

60 Hydro + bioenergy +
geothermal + ocean +
40 solar thermal

20

0
Solar PV Wind Other renewables Fossil + nuclear

Fig. 1: Global net new electricity-generation-capacity additions in 2020 [1]

 Lohani et al. | 245

1 Renewable energy in Nepal compatible with production of electricity at a cost of US$40

per MWh once the Nepalese solar industry becomes ma-
Traditionally, energy from biomass has dominated the
ture, falling to <US$30/MWh in 2030 [7].
domestic energy supply for most people in Nepal and oil
The speed of development of the global solar industry,
was important for motorized transport. However, electri-
arising from rapid price reductions, is so fast that previous
city is becoming increasingly important. In the past, most
reports on energy options require updating.
developing countries followed a path of increasing de-
Nepal is located at a latitude of 26–30° north latitude,
pendence on fossil fuels as they industrialized and raised
with the sun shining for >300 days per year. It has rela-
living standards for their populations. In the future, most
tively high insolation of an average of ~17 megajoules
developing countries will transition directly to solar and
per m2 per day (1.7 TWh per km2 per year) and national
wind energy, and bypass a fossil-fuel era.
average sunshine hours of 6.8 per day. This makes Nepal
Nepalese people can expect to achieve a high living
a country with moderately high solar potential [8, 9]. All
standard over the course of the twenty-first century. The
parts of the country are reasonably favourable for solar
per-capita electricity consumption in developed coun-
energy, as shown in Fig. 2.

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

tries such as the European Union, Japan, China, the USA,
A solar-energy-system conversion efficiency of 20%
Singapore and Australia is 5–15 megawatt-hours (MWh)
(utilizing solar cells with efficiency of 25% [10]) will soon
per person per year. In developed countries, complete re-
become available, which corresponds to 0.2 gigawatts (GW)
newable electrification of all energy services and complete
per km2. This assumes close-packing of solar modules to
elimination of oil, gas and coal allow the avoidance of most
form a dense array. Nepal has an area of 148 000 km2. Thus,
greenhouse emissions. To achieve this, electricity produc-
if Nepal were covered entirely by solar cells, it could gen-
tion must double or triple to 15–30 MWh per person per
erate 50 000 TWh per year (148 000 km2 × 1.7 TWh per km2
year, depending substantially on the degree of participa-
per year × 20% conversion efficiency). The nominal power
tion of the country in the chemical industry [5]. Net-zero
capacity would be 30 000 GW.
emissions in 2050 strictly require such a transformation.
This approximate calculation shows that Nepal can
Electricity demand in Nepal is rising because supply is
generate 100 times more solar electricity than would be
being extended to the whole population, per-capita con-
needed for the 500-TWh goal of high per-capita consump-
sumption is increasing and the population is growing. We
tion (similar to developed countries) coupled with the
adopt the following assumptions:
complete electrification of energy services and the elim-
(i) that Nepal with catch up with developed countries in ination of fossil fuels. Equivalently, 1% of Nepal (1500 km2)
terms of per-capita energy consumption; would need to be covered by solar panels.
(ii) that the energy systems of Nepal are fully electrified, Under our assumption of electricity consumption of
including transport, heating and industry, with zero 15 MWh per person per year, the area of land required for
fossil-fuel use; and solar collectors is 44 m2 per person with a nominal power
(iii) that the per-capita electricity consumption in the capacity of ~9 kilowatts (kW).
second half of the twenty-first century in Nepal will Large amounts of solar PV can be accommodated on
increase to 15 MWh per person per year for a popula- residential, commercial and industrial rooftops, building
tion of 33 million people. facades and in other urban areas. The global per-capita
leader in rooftop solar, Australia, has 3 million rooftop
Thus, Nepal’s electricity consumption may reach in the
solar systems with a combined capacity of ~13 GW (550
range of 500 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year. This is referred
Watts (W) per person) [11]. Most of this is located on resi-
to in this paper as the ‘500-TWh goal’. Of course, the exact
dential buildings, although other sectors are rising quickly.
number cannot be reliably predicted, but these assump-
The amount of rooftop solar in Australia may increase to
tions are adopted to illustrate trends as Nepal catches up
3.7 kW per person according to the Step Change scenario
with developed countries in energy consumption. This
of the Australian Energy Market Operator [12]. This repre-
500-TWh goal compares with current consumption of
sents 40% of the 9-kW-per-person target required to meet
electricity in Nepal of ~7 TWh per year [6].
the 500-TWh goal for Nepal.
Solar PV systems can be located in food-growing areas
2 Renewable-energy options for Nepal (Agrivoltaics, APV) whereby widely spaced solar panels
shade 10–30% of the crop or pasture but cause only a
2.1 Solar energy modest loss of production because the reduction in sun-
Solar energy is by far the largest and most sustainable en- shine is offset by a reduction in wind speeds and evapor-
ergy resource in Nepal. The solar resource is two orders ation rates [13–22]. Maize, wheat, millet, jute, sugarcane,
of magnitude larger than Nepal will require to meet the tea, tobacco, coffee soybeans, beans, lentils, fruit and
500-TWh goal. vegetables may all be suitable for APV in Nepal. However,
Very rapid reductions in the price of solar PV over recent rice farming appears to be incompatible, since partial
years has opened up enormous markets in developed and shading proportionally reduces rice output. Animal hus-
developing countries alike. The solar resource in Nepal is bandry (cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep, pigs, horses) is also
 246 | Clean Energy, 2021, Vol. 5, No. 2

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

Fig. 2: Global horizontal irradiation and solar photovoltaic power potential in Nepal (redder is better) [8]

compatible with APV. APV offers a second cash crop for electricity is now sourced from solar PV and wind, and this
farmers. Detailed research will be required to establish figure is tracking towards 50% in 2025. The state of South
the trade-off between agricultural and electricity yields for Australia sourced 60% of its electricity from solar PV and
each crop, and hence to determine the amount of electri- wind in 2020 [24] and is heading towards 100% by 2025.
city that could be provided through APV. The area of land Plainly, rapid transition to solar and wind energy is feasible.
devoted to agriculture in Nepal is ~41 000 km2 [23]. Thus, As the price of solar-energy systems continues to fall,
an average shading of 3.6% of agricultural areas by APV is solar energy becomes ever more affordable. The price of
sufficient to meet the 500-TWh goal for Nepal. utility-scale solar systems (tens to hundreds of mega-
Substantial numbers of panels may be accommodated watts) in countries that have large-scale annual deploy-
on non-forested lower slopes of hills and mountains with ment (and have thereby achieved critical mass of people
a southerly aspect. Waste land can become productive and capability) is ~US$0.7 per Watt and is likely to decline
through the installation of PV systems, including around to <US$0.4 per Watt in 2030 [10]. These prices are afford-
the transport infrastructure. For example, the area occu- able in most countries, including Nepal. However, prices
pied by roads in an advanced economy is a substantial for infrequent construction within a country can be much
fraction of the required solar PV area per person (44 m2) higher due to immature supply chains.
to meet the 500-TWh goal. Some solar systems can be Solar PV is unique among energy technologies in that
floated on lakes and hydroelectric reservoirs, although the small-scale (kilowatts) and large-scale (gigawatts) instal-
area available is small compared with the 1500-km2 target. lations are built using the same basic unit (a solar panel)
Further work is required to quantify these opportunities. and have similar energy costs. A roof-mounted system has
To reach 9 kW of solar panel per person by 2065, Nepal low land, engineering, approval and financing costs while
would need to install 200 W per person per year (~6 GW a large-scale system has low panel and deployment costs.
per year). To put this in perspective, Australia is currently Electrification can proceed both by grid extension and
installing 250 W per person per year of new solar- and through house- and village-scale small solar systems with
wind-energy systems (Fig. 3) [1]. This is 10 times faster battery storage.
than the global average and 4 times faster than in the USA, Small-scale solar systems for individual house-
China, Japan and Europe. About one-quarter of Australian holds or villages provide major benefits for lighting,
 Lohani et al. | 247

telecommunications, water pumping, grain grinding and 2.2 Hydropower

refrigeration. When many people in a village deploy house-
Hydropower is one of the two sources of energy in Nepal
hold solar, then microgrids can form, comprising distrib-
that can play an important role in Nepal’s future economy.
uted solar panels and battery storage, which can gradually
However, the hydro potential is a tiny fraction of the solar
increase in scale and power by interconnection with other
PV potential. Table 1 represents the annual energy esti-
microgrids, eventually leading to widespread intercon-
mate and power potential of four major river basins:
nection [25, 26]. Larger-scale systems can power cooking,
Narayani, Saptakoshi, Karnali and Mahakali of Nepal.
heating, industry and transport, particularly in combin-
Though Saptakoshi is the largest river basin of Nepal, the
ation with extension of the electricity grid to most citizens.
Narayani river basin has the largest annual energy pro-
Nepal’s currently installed solar capacity is ~60 MW
duction of ~113 TWh and power potential of ~18 GW [31].
(2 W per person) [27]. Much of this is in the form of 1.1
Presently, hydropower plants with a combined capacity
million small home systems that are not grid-connected.
of 1.2 GW have been installed in Nepal. Most are run-of-
Institutional solar PV systems up to a capacity of 2 kW
river with output varying according to rainfall and provide
have been installed in thousands of institutions such as

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

little storage [32].
schools, health posts and homestays. More than 10 000
Approximately 50% of the total hydropower assets are
solar streetlights have been installed [28, 29].
owned by the Nepal Electricity Authority, a government
The construction of Nepal’s largest solar-energy plant
agency, and the rest is owned by independent power pro-
with an installed capacity of 25 MW began in April 2018 in
ducers. An important achievement in 2018 was the com-
the Nuwakot district and is now in the early stage of pro-
missioning of a new Dhalkebar Muzaffarpur cross-country
ducing electricity [30].
transmission line between Nepal and India, giving an add-
An important advantage of solar is that millions of in-
itional boost to Nepal’s energy-trading system [33].
dividuals can acquire and own their own rooftop solar
It is important to understand the environmental de-
system. These systems can connect to a battery or the
struction usually associated with large-scale hydropower
grid, or both. This sidesteps institutional barriers at the
projects, particularly if they include energy storage in large
national level.
reservoirs. These include displacement of people, flooding
To put this in perspective, Australia has a population of
of farmland, destruction of river ecosystems, forest clear-
25 million, only a little less than Nepal. Most people live in
ance and methane release due to the decay of a large
south-east coastal cities where the annual solar resource
number of plants and organic residues.
is similar to that of Nepal. According to the government’s
Importantly, the cost of solar energy has fallen below all
Clean Energy Regulator, Australia is installing 3 GW per
but the most favourable hydroelectric systems.
year of new rooftop solar systems and there is now a total
of 3 million rooftop solar systems with a combined cap-
acity of >13 GW [11]. Individuals install these systems be- 2.3 Wind energy
cause they compete with retail prices, which are much Nepal has a low potential for the large-scale utilization of
higher than wholesale prices. wind energy (Fig. 4) [34]. Typical expected capacity factors

300

2018
250

2019
Watts per persom per year

200

150

100

50

0
Germany Sweden UK Europe Japan China India Vietnam Rest of USA Rest of Africa World Australia
Asia Americas

Fig. 3: Deployment rate of renewables (principally solar PV and wind) in various regions in terms of Watts per person per year [1]
 248 | Clean Energy, 2021, Vol. 5, No. 2

are <20% except on the high ridges of the Himalayas, 2.4 Biomass
which are largely inaccessible for wind turbines. This
Biomass in various forms, including wood, agricul-
means that wind energy will be much more expensive
tural residue, animal dung and biogas, is an important
than solar energy.
small-scale energy source for millions of people in Nepal.
There is potential for small turbines in some favourable
However, biomass can never be a large-scale source of
locations. Various government and private organizations
energy. The primary reason is that the conversion of
are taking initiatives to promote small-scale wind energy
solar energy into biomass and then into useful energy
in Nepal [35]. At present, there is no ongoing wind-turbine-
occurs with very low efficiency—orders of magnitude
installation project that uses wind energy alone [36]. The
lower than via solar PV. This means that a great deal of
Energy Sector Management Assistance Program of the
land is required to supply energy services, and this com-
World Bank has had a project since 2015 for the ground-
petes directly with food and timber production and with
based measurement of wind potential at 10 sites (Mustang
environmental values.
(2); Morang; Siraha; Panchthar; Dang (2); Jumla; Ramecchap;
Electricity can readily replace biomass and fossil fuels
Banke) [37, 38]. This has allowed reliable wind-power esti-

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

for heating, cooking and lighting. Importantly, electricity
mation that can be used by potential wind-power devel-
eliminates indoor air pollution. Use of biomass may de-
opers in Nepal.
cline over the next several decades, as has occurred in
most other countries as their economies have developed.
Nepal produces a large amount of organic solid waste,
Table 1: Annual energy and power potential of major river ba- manure and sewage sludge along with various types of
sins of Nepal [31] organic industrial waste. This waste needs to be man-
aged properly to protect the environment. Landfilling is
Annual energy Power potential
River basins estimate (TWh) (GW) not an environmentally friendly option. Anaerobic diges-
tion of these wastes is an environmentally beneficial and
Narayani 113 18 energy-efficient waste-management option to recover
Saptakoshi 109 17 biogas (about 60% methane) and digestate sludge as a
Karnali 102 16
by-product that is used as an organic fertilizer. This helps
Mahakali 150 2
Nepal to replace chemical fertilizer and biogas can be used
Solar PV potential 50 000 30 000
for cooking, heating and industrial applications.

Fig. 4: Wind-capacity factors in Nepal (redder is better) [34]

 Lohani et al. | 249

3 Balancing high levels of solar and very much less than the land alienated by an equiva-
electricity lent river-based system.
Nepal has enormous potential for off-river PHES. The
Balancing high levels of variable solar energy over every
Global Pumped Hydro Storage Atlas [42, 43] identifies
hour of every year is straightforward. Storage via batteries
~2800 good sites in Nepal with combined storage capacity
and pumped hydro allows the daily solar cycle to be ac-
of 50 TWh (Fig. 6). To put this in perspective, the amount of
commodated. Sharing power over large areas via high-
storage typically required to balance 100% renewable en-
power-transmission lines spanning Nepal from east to
ergy in an advanced economy is ~1 day of energy use [44].
west allows the smoothing-out of local weather and de-
For the 500-TWh goal, this amounts to ~1.5 TWh.
mand variability.
Seasonal variation in solar-energy supply in Nepal is
Australia is installing variable solar and wind faster
moderate, fluctuating from 75% of the mean in winter to
per capita than any other country. Australia only de-
125% in spring [9]. This means that significant seasonal
rives ~6% of its electricity from hydro, and hence lacks
storage may be required. A simple analysis of data in [9]
the smoothing ability of hydroelectric generation backed
suggests an upper bound in seasonal storage of 50 TWh,

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

by large dams. In response, Australia is deploying mul-
which could be accommodated with off-river pumped-
tiple gigawatts of new off-river pumped hydro, gigawatt-
hydro storage [40]. In practice, far lower storage would
scale batteries and new gigawatt-scale transmission [39].
be needed.
Large-scale demand management is also being deployed
The amount of storage needed is a trade-off between
through pricing structures to encourage the transference
the cost of the storage and the cost of providing additional
of consumption to times of excess renewable-energy
solar generation to cover winter. The latter implies sub-
availability.
stantial excess solar electricity in summer. Because the
cost of solar-energy systems continues to fall, the eco-
nomic optimum is likely to favour the overbuilding of solar
3.1 Pumped-hydro-energy storage (PHES)
rather than the deployment of large amounts of seasonal
PHES entails pumping water from a lower to an upper res- storage.
ervoir when excess solar energy is available and allowing Interconnection with neighbouring countries to the
the water to run down through a turbine at a later time to north and south, where large wind-energy resources are
recover the energy [40]. Typical round-trip efficiency is 80%. located, could substantially reduce the need for seasonal
PHES comprises ~95% of global electricity-storage storage. Excess summer solar generation can be used for
power (~170 GW) and a higher fraction of storage energy underground seasonal thermal storage and can be ex-
[41]. Most existing pumped-hydro systems are associated ported to neighbouring countries.
with river-based hydroelectric projects with large reser-
voirs. This generally entails flooding large areas of land.
PHES systems can be located away from rivers. Since
3.2 Batteries
most of the land surface of Earth is not adjacent to a
river, a vastly larger number of potential sites are avail- Batteries have a typical round-trip efficiency of ~90% for
able for off-river (closed-loop) PHES compared with river- battery chemistries based on lithium [45]. Batteries are
based PHES. Off-river PHES comprises a pair of reservoirs being deployed at the gigawatt scale around the world to
(20–500 hectares (Ha)), separated by a few kilometres, but support rising levels of wind and solar. For storage-time
at different altitudes (200–1200 m altitude difference or periods of seconds to hours, batteries have an economic
‘head’) and connected by a pipe or tunnel (Fig. 5). Water advantage. For several hours, overnight and seasonal
is pumped uphill on sunny/windy days and energy is re- storage, pumped hydro is much cheaper. Batteries and
covered by allowing the stored water to flow back through pumped hydro are complementary storage technologies.
the turbine. The water oscillates indefinitely between the
two reservoirs.
For example, a pair of 100-Ha reservoirs with a head of 3.3 Hydrogen
600 m, an average depth of 20 m, a usable fraction of water Hydrogen production in Nepal is unlikely to be significant.
of 90% and a round-trip efficiency of 80% (accounting for Hydrogen or hydrogen-rich chemicals such as ammonia
losses) can store 18 gigalitres of water with an energy po- could be used to store and transport energy in Nepal.
tential of 24 GWh, which means that it could operate at However, this is unlikely to occur because the efficiency is
a power of 1 GW for 24 hours. These reservoirs are very very low compared with those of batteries, pumped hydro
small compared with river-based hydros. Water require- and thermal storage, which unavoidably translates into
ments (initial fill and evaporation minus rainfall) are very high costs.
small compared with a comparable coal-fired power sta- Hydrogen can be sustainably produced using renew-
tion (cooling tower). It amounts to a few square metres of able electricity to electrolyse water. Hydrogen is difficult
land per person for the 500-TWh goal, which is much less to store. Options include liquefaction at very low temper-
than the land needed for the associated solar PV systems atures and conversion to a more tractable chemical such
 250 | Clean Energy, 2021, Vol. 5, No. 2

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

Fig. 5: Google Earth synthetic image of a gigawatt-rated off-river PHES system [40] at Presenzano in Italy, showing the two reservoirs (upper right
and lower left) with a head of 500 ms (vertical scale is exaggerated)

Fig. 6: Hundreds of 50-GWh off-river pumped-hydro sites in Nepal [42, 43]

as ammonia. Conversion of hydrogen energy to a useful milliseconds to grid disturbances and have a 90% round-
form such as electricity or motive power is a low-efficiency trip efficiency. It is difficult to see how hydrogen could
process. Typically, the round-trip efficiency of electricity– compete with pumped-hydro storage for overnight and
hydrogen–electricity is 20–30% [46] compared with 80–90% longer storage because pumped-hydro storage has an 80%
for batteries or pumped hydro. Basic physical constraints round-trip efficiency and is mature and already low-cost.
mean that hydrogen storage can never have a high round- Electric vehicles are being produced at the multi-million
trip efficiency. This is a large economic barrier to the use of scale per year. In contrast, hydrogen-powered vehicles
hydrogen as an energy-storage medium. have a miniscule market share. The enormous advantage
It is difficult to see how hydrogen could compete with of incumbency means that electric vehicles are likely to
batteries for short-term storage because batteries react in dominate land transport in the future, which eliminates
 Lohani et al. | 251

the automotive market for hydrogen. This includes heavy and development of sustainable energy, Nepal joined the
vehicles and long-distance transport. For example, the UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL)
Tesla electric semi with a 35-tonne load has an expected initiative in 2012, targeting the provision of clean energy
range of ≤800 km (similar to the width of Nepal) [47]. to all by 2030.
Hydrogen is needed in the chemical industry for the syn- Concerning legislation, Part 4 of Article 51 of the
thesis of materials such as fertilizers, explosives, plastics, Consitution of Nepal (2015) states that the government
synthetic jet fuels and the reduction of iron oxide. Nepal will adopt policies regarding the protection, promotion
is unlikely to play a significant part in the international and use of natural resources to guarantee appropriate,
hydrogen chemical industry because other countries have affordable and sustainable energy to citizens. Nepal has
far better wind and solar resources and land availability, established various relevant strategies and guidelines for
and will be able to produce hydrogen much more cheaply. the promotion and development of renewable energy.
Some of these relevant to large-scale renewable-energy
promotion include the White Paper on Energy, Water and
4 Government policy Irrigation- Present Situation and Future Prospect 2018 and

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

Government energy roadmaps in many countries are being the Guidelines for Development of Alternative Electricity
overtaken and rendered obsolete by a sustained rapid de- Connected to Grid 2018. These have elements that seek to
cline in the cost of solar energy and sustained rapid growth support the large-scale promotion of renewable-energy
in solar-energy deployment. New solar-energy-generation technologies in Nepal. More specifically:
capacity is being deployed about twice as fast as the net • The White Paper on Energy, Water, and Irrigation:
new coal-, gas-, oil-, nuclear- and hydro-generation cap- Present Situation and Future Prospect, released by the
acity combined. In leading countries such as Australia, Ministry of Energy and Water Resources and Irrigation
solar and wind comprise 99% of the new generation cap- in 2018, sets targets of increasing household electricity
acity [1]. usage to 700 kWh within 5 years and 1500 kWh within
The demonstrated pathway to high levels of solar de- 10 years, and to have electric cookstoves in all house-
ployment in countries with leading per-capita deployment holds by 2030. It also aims to promote a renewable-
rates such as Australia and Germany is two-fold: deploy- energy mix mainly from solar, wind and biomass to
ment of millions of small residential rooftop solar systems reduce dependence on a single energy source and to
of a few kilowatts each and the parallel development of improve energy security.
multiple 10- to 500-MW solar farms. The experience gained • As per the Guidelines for Development of Alternative
is synergistic, since there is much in common between the Electricity Connected to Grid 2018, published on 8
markets. February, people can feed electricity generated from
Early deployment is relatively expensive because of solar, wind and biogas plants into the national grid and
the initial lack of skill and supply chains coupled with the get paid a fixed amount of money per kilowatt hour of
perceived risk due to inexperience with solar technology. energy. The generation licence will have a validity of
However, it is important to look beyond the initial high 25 years and the Nepal Electricity Authority will pay
prices to understand the low and falling cost of solar en- producers US$62/MWh (1 USD = NRs 116 (exchange rate
ergy in a mature market that has gained critical mass. in February 2021)) [48].
Government and international support for a few hun-
dred megawatts of rooftop solar and solar farms in Nepal This is an attractive price once the solar PV industry is
will help to overcome the initial hurdle, leading to rapidly mature enough to enable low costs. These policies and re-
increasing solar infrastructure and deployment skill, and a sponses will require extensive modification once the low
rapidly declining solar-electricity price. prices available from a mature solar industry in Nepal be-
Government can leave the development of solar farms come available.
and solar rooftop systems to the private sector. However,
there is an important government role in facilitating ad-
equate transmission and storage. In particular, govern- 5 Conclusion
ment has an important role in selecting and facilitating Nepal has good solar resources by world standards and
the construction of several off-river PHES systems as and moderate hydro resources, but negligible wind- and fossil-
when they become necessary. energy resources. The solar-energy resource is two orders
The federal, provincial and local governments of Nepal of magnitude larger than the hydro resource. Solar en-
have been working for some time in coordination with ergy is likely to be competitive with new hydro in Nepal.
energy-sector stakeholders of Nepal to promote clean and Government energy roadmaps made earlier than 2020 are
sustainable energy. The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources largely outdated by the rapid progression of solar.
and Irrigation is the line ministry having the primary juris- Solar collectors equivalent to ~1% of Nepal’s land area
diction and authority to plan, develop and implement na- are required to allow Nepalese citizens to have the same
tional energy policy and strategy. To ensure the promotion per-capita energy consumption as those in developed
 252 | Clean Energy, 2021, Vol. 5, No. 2

countries and with zero fossil-fuel utilization. This includes [3] U.S. Environment Protection Agency. Global Greenhouse Gas
the electrification of transport, heating and industry. These Emission Data. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-
greenhouse-gas-emissions-data (17 September 2020, date last
panels can be accommodated on rooftops, in conjunction
accessed).
with agriculture and on lakes and unproductive land.
[4] Rogelj J, Shindell D, Jiang K, et al. Mitigation pathways com-
Since most existing Nepalese hydro is run-of-river, sub- patible with 1.5°C in the context of sustainable development.
stantial new storage is required to support a solar-based In: Masson-Delmotte V, Zhai P, Pörtner HO, et al. (eds.). Global
energy system. Nepal has enormous potential for the de- Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global
ployment of off-river PHES systems, which have a much warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global
lower environmental and social impact than river-based greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening
the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable de-
hydro storage.
velopment, and efforts to eradicate poverty. Geneva, Switzerland:
The economic advantage of solar PV over fossil and
World Meteorological Organization, 2018.
hydro energy in a mature and competitive market is com- [5] Lu B, Blakers A, Stocks M, et al. A zero-carbon, reliable and af-
pelling. However, several factors can impede the rapid de- fordable energy future in Australia. Energy, 2021, 220:119678.
ployment of solar PV. Perhaps the most important is the [6] International Energy Agency. Key Energy Statistics, 2018.

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

relatively high cost of solar until the critical mass of skilled https://www.iea.org/countries/nepal (10 October 2020, date
people and supply chains is obtained—then costs will fall last accessed).
[7] Verlinden PJ. Future challenges for photovoltaic manufacturing
rapidly towards international norms. Another important
at the terawatt level. Journal of Renewable Sustainable Energy,
barrier can be unnecessary regulatory constraints on pri-
2020, 12:053505.
vate citizens and companies feeding solar electricity into [8] Global Solar Atlas. https://globalsolaratlas.info/map (10
the grid, often based on spurious and thoroughly outdated October 2020, date last accessed).
technical arguments. [9] Pondyal KN, Bhattarai BK, Sapkota B, et al. Solar radiation po-
The government of Nepal can unlock the potential of tential at four sites of Nepal. Journal of Institute of Engineering,
solar PV by providing support for several tens of thou- 2011, 8:189–197.
[10] International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaic. https://
sands of rooftop solar systems and several 10- to 100-
itrpv.vdma.org/en/ (10 October 2020, date last accessed).
MW solar farms in order to establish supply chains and
[11] Clean Energy Regulator. http://www.cleanenergyregulator.
a critical mass of knowledge. This support can be in the gov.au/RET/Forms-and-resources/Postcode-data-for-small-
form of advantageous feed-in tariffs to unlock private cap- scale-installations (12 October 2020, date last accessed).
ital. International experience shows that, once a private [12] AEMO Integrated System Plan. https://aemo.com.au/energy-
market is well established, prices for solar electricity fall systems/major-publications/integrated-system-plan-isp/2020-
rapidly. The main ongoing role for government is to facili- integrated-system-plan-isp (12 October 2020, date last accessed).
[13] Goetzberger A, Zastrow A. On the coexistence of solar-energy
tate the provision of adequate transmission and storage
conversion and plant cultivation. International Journal of Solar
capacity. The private sector could provide the capital for
Energy, 1982, 1:55–69.
this infrastructure through a regulated return-on-capital [14] Schindele S, Trommsdorff M, Schlaak A, et al. Implementation
investment. of agrophotovoltaics: techno-economic analysis of the price-
This study is at a ‘bird’s-eye’ level and does not delve performance ratio and its policy implications. Applied Energy,
into the detail of the best way to establish a vibrant solar 2020, 265:114737.
market in Nepal. Future studies could identify the amount [15] Sekiyama T, Nagashima A. Solar sharing for both food and
clean energy production: performance of agrivoltaic systems
of solar electricity that could be harvested from Nepal’s
for corn, a typical shade-intolerant crop. Environments, 2019,
rooftops; undertake analysis of the best sites for solar
6:65.
farms, off-river pumped-hydro sites and transmission cor- [16] Homma M, Doi T, Yoshida Y. A field experiment and the simu-
ridors; conduct hour-by-hour studies over many years to lation on agrivoltaic-systems regarding to rice in a paddy field.
determine the amount of storage needed to support high Journal of Japan Society of Energy and Resources, 2016, 37:23–31.
levels of solar electricity; investigate agrivoltaics in Nepal [17] Dinesh H, Pearce JM. The potential of agrivoltaic systems.
in detail; and identify social, regulatory and economic Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016, 54: 299–308.
[18] Growing in the shade of solar power. https://www.laborelec.
factors that will enhance or impede the rapid deployment
com/growing-in-the-shade-of-solar-power/ (2 February 2021,
of solar energy in Nepal.
date last accessed).
[19] Alemu MM. Effect of tree shade on coffee crop production.
Journal of Sustainable Development, 2015, 8:66–70.
Conflict of Interest [20] Byloos M. Shade-Grown vs Sun-Grown Coffee: Why It Matters.
https://theexoticbean.com/blog/coffee-types/shade-grown-
None declared. vs-sun-grown-coffee-matters/ (2 February 2021, date last
accessed).
[21] Misra TK, Saha A, Biswas R, et al. Shade trees in tea plant-
References ations in different soil conditions of North Bengal. Pleione,
[1] Blakers A, Stocks M, Lu B, et al. Pathway to 100% renewable 2009, 3:219–223.
electricity. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, 2019, 9:1828–1833. [22] Soto-Pinto L, Perfecto I, Castillo-Hernandez J, et al. Shade
[2] International Energy Agency. World Energy Outlook 2020. effect on coffee production at the northern Tzeltal Zone of the
https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2020 (25 state of Chiapas, Mexico. Agriculture, Ecosystem & Environment,
October 2020, date last accessed). 2000, 80:61–69.
 Lohani et al. | 253

[23] World Data Atlas. https://knoema.com/atlas/Nepal/ nepals-largest-wind-solar-hybrid-power-system-switched-

Agricultural-land-area (10 October 2021, date last accessed). connect-small-village-world. (20 October 2020, date last
[24] OpenNEM. An open platform for national electricity market data, accessed).
OpenNEM. https://opennem.org.au/energy/nem (10 October [36] Khanal R. AEPC gets $3m ADB grant to install 10 power plants.
2021, date last accessed). The Kathmandu Post, 2017. https://kathmandupost.com/
[25] Berizzi A, Delfanti M, Falabretti D, et al. Electrification pro- money/2017/12/23/aepc-gets-3m-adb-grant-to-install-10-
cesses in developing countries: grid expansion, microgrids, power-plants (20 October 2020, date last accessed).
and regulatory framework. Proceedings of the IEEE, 2019, [37] Wind Power Nepal. Nepal Wind Mapping 2016. http://www.
107:1981–1994. windpowernepal.com/nepal-wind-mapping-2015–2018/ (20
[26] Parag Y, Ainspan M. Sustainable microgrids: economic, October 2020, date last accessed).
environmental and social costs and benefits of microgrid [38] Department of Electricity Development, Ministry of Energy,
deployment. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2019, 52: Water Resource and Irrigation, Government of Nepal.
72–81. Operating Power Plants. https://www.doed.gov.np/license/57
[27] International Renewable Energy Agency. Renewable Capacity (20 October 2020, date last accessed).
Statistics 2020. https://www.irena.org/publications/2020/Mar/ [39] AEMO. https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/electricity/
Renewable-Capacity-Statistics-2020 (15 October 2020, date nem/planning_and_forecasting/inputs-assumptions-

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ce/article/5/2/243/6275217 by guest on 13 November 2024

last accessed). methodologies/2021/draft-2021-inputs-assumptions-and-
[28] Solar Electric Manufacturer’s Association Nepal. Solar Energy scenarios-report.pdf?la=en (20 October 2020, last date
technology in Nepal, 2019. https://www.semannepal.org.np/ accessed).
publications/solar-energy-technology-in-nepal (5 October [40] Blakers A, Stocks M, Lu B, et al. A review of pumped hydro en-
2020, date last accessed). ergy storage. Progress in Energy, 2021, 3:022003.
[29] Bhattarai D, Somanathan E, Nepal M. Are renewable energy [41] Energy Storage System Program, United State Department
subsidies in Nepal reaching the poor? Energy for Sustainable of Energy. https://www.sandia.gov/ess-ssl/global-energy-
Development, 2018, 43:114–122. storage-database-home/ (20 October 2020, date last accessed).
[30] The Kathmandu Post. Work begins on Nepal’s largest solar plant [42] Global Pumped Hydro Atlas, Australian National University.
2018. https://kathmandupost.com/money/2018/04/28/work- http://re100.eng.anu.edu.au/global/ (20 October 2020, date
begins-on-nepals-largest-solar-plant (20 October 2020, date last accessed).
last accessed). [43] Stocks M, Stocks R, Lu B, et al. Global atlas of closed-loop
[31] Jha R. Total run-of-river type hydropower potential of Nepal. pumped hydro energy storage. Joule, 2020, 5:270–284.
Hydro Nepal: Journal of Water, Energy and Environment, 2010, [44] Blakers A, Lu B, Stocks M. 100% renewable electricity in
7:8–13. Australia. Energy, 2017, 133:471–482.
[32] International Hydropower Association. https://www.hydro- [45] Battery Test Centre. https://arena.gov.au/assets/2015/08/
power.org/country-profiles/Nepal (20 October 2020, date last battery-test-centre-report-5.pdf (17 December 2020, date last
accessed). accessed).
[33] International Hydropower Association. Hydropower Status [46] International Energy Agency. Technology Roadmap-Hydrogen
Report, Sector trends and insights. https://hydropower-assets. and Fuel Cells, 2015. https://www.iea.org/reports/technology-
s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/publications-docs/2020_ roadmap-hydrogen-and-fuel-cells (25 October 2020, date last
hydropower_status_report.pdf (2 February 2021, date last accessed).
accessed). [47] TESLA. https://www.tesla.com/semi (25 October 2020, date
[34] Global Wind Atlas. https://globalwindatlas.info/ (20 October last accessed).
2020, date last accessed). [48] The Kathmandu Post. Guidelines released on selling energy
[35] Asian Development Bank. Nepal’s Largest Wind-Solar into grid. https://kathmandupost.com/money/2018/02/20/
Hybrid Power System Switched On to Connect a Small guidelines-released-on-selling-energy-into-grid (25 October
Village to the World. 2017. https://www.adb.org/news/ 2020, date last accessed).