November 03, 2017
Kathmandu: In 2015, Nepal and the World Bank signed an agreement to invest USD 130 million to develop a 25 MW solar project that will eventually be connected to the national grid. It is the largest renewable energy plant planned in the country.
Nepal is one of the least developed countries with more than 80% of its population residing in rural areas. It has no oil, gas, or coal reserves, and its energy sector is dominated by the traditional energy sources like firewood, crop residues, and animal dung mainly for domestic use.
The majority of rural populations are meeting their energy needs by burning biomass in traditional stoves, and mostly fossil-derived fuels are imported. Also, the continuous increase of petroleum imports has an adverse impact on its fragile economy.
The major sources of renewable energy are mini and micro hydropower, solar energy, various forms of biomass energy, biogas and wind energy etc. But still around 85% of the total final energy consumption in Nepal is met by traditional biomass energy and around 28% of households in Nepal do not have access to electricity.
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https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/renewable-energy-huge-potentials/
Source: The Himalayan Times
