In the present context, the urban areas of the country have been facing load shedding of 16 hours. In such scenario, Mirlung Electro-Mech Concern (MEC) has met the rural area Beshar Danda, Nawalparasi District with renewable sources by commencing the project on Wind and solar Hybrid System. Most of the terrain of hills and terai of Nepal has large wind and solar resource. Thus the combination of the two technologies, solar in the day and wind in the night brings 24 hours of electricity making it a natural and affordable source. Such projects can be completed within 15 to 30 days and is a boon for the developing country facing development issues. In addition other similar projects have been undertaken by MEC in different parts of the country. MEC also plans to rectify the energy crisis of the urban areas by implementation of such renewable resources.

The positive aspect of the site and its location is the 24 hours wind availability. The availability of wind is basically from N-S direction in the morning and S-N direction in the afternoon, continuously from 5 pm to 8 am. This is the best aspect of the site because in this time period the maximum usage of electricity is made in every household. The weekly average of 22 hours would generate full capacity power generation. Similarly, the availability of solar is 4-4.5 hours after 12 pm which varies slightly according to season. In case solar is not available wind generated power could be directly distributed.

The adjustments were made for 6 houses which never had the privilege of electricity before. The distribution of power in each household is 100 watt. The villagers were overwhelmed with the fact that electricity was made available to them by the renewable sources.

The available energy of wind and solar is a sustainable resource for this location. This implies that a renewable project is successful only if it is sustainable.

For Feedback: Sweta Pokharel (abbunu@gmail.com)

"The harnessing and implementation of renewable energy brings sustainable practices around the world. It is evident that there is always a decline in the non-renewable energy source as we use a bit of it every day. In order to maintain a balanced way of life, the renewable energy should be used along with the non-renewable energy. The production and use of these sources should be made to the maximum. This is a global issue which implies to and becomes a priority for every nation. The developed countries have given their utmost privilege to the fulfillment of the basic needs and amenities to every individual where as the developing countries are in the struggle phase,"says Mr. Amrit Singh Thapa (Wind Energy Specialist).

Nepal being a developing country facing political turbulence is assumed to be a minority in the case of bringing the renewable resource use to a greater level. The Nepalese government is unable to take the initiative to empower wind and solar energy generation as a basic renewable source of energy even in the state of crisis. This is the case of the country’s political but not the geographical scenario. The country which is profited by a topographical hierarchy suggests its ability to bring renewable sources of energy into a new level. Wind and solar energy which can tap electricity and renew as per necessity have the maximum ability to change the daily economic status of the people. "The villages of the hills and terai can benefit from the renewable energy usage and the community will generate income for a sustainable living," says Thapa.

Wind and solar energy are the main renewable resources which can be co-related with other renewable technologies. It creates a hybrid system that can be practiced in areas of the country with contexts which are the most feasible. This will eventually drive the country towards development from the renewable energy aspect.

Baseline and Feasible Study by Mirlung Electro-Mech Concern (MEC)

Kathmandu valley is facing enormous energy crisis from the past years. The tendency of crisis is rising due to the government upheaval and exaggerated plans leading to failures one after the other. This entails us to think from a wider perspective and make use of the renewable energy like wind power. The valley has high wind energy feasible site which can be addressed by mentioning the two immensely windy, bordering hills on the west and east sides. The energy crisis of the country can be addressed apparently by choosing to enter a fully fledged wind power generation. The mini grid is available to every places and corners of the valley. The hills situated in those certain points of the valley have high feasible site of wind power generation. If wind turbines are placed in the neighboring hills surrounding the valley, the losses will be minimized in comparison to the context of remote areas. It will be both technically and financially feasible in case of its application in the valley. There is also an access to transportation in the neighboring hills of Kathmandu valley. This suggests the government to understand the potential sites and implement in them.

Wind power projects are the quickest while compared to other energy projects and therefore are the most suitable for a country like Nepal which is in the verse of development. The most interesting feature is that 20MW wind power generation can be produced within a short period of 3 months and that itself could be a major accomplishment for the valley. This suggests the necessity for the government to also initiate as soon as possible to overcome energy crisis. The valley requires 30% of hydropower annually but a hydropower project does not fit into the valley or its surroundings due to its complexity in location and other requirements. At the present, the Bagmati river which is situated in the valley is not suitable for a hydropower project. But wind power can be generated from the surrounding hills which are Makwanpur, Laakuri Bhanjyaang, Naagdhunga, Bhimdhunga, Nagarkot, Godawari and Phulchowki. This will eventually make Kathmandu , Lalitpur and Bhaktapur a model city from the wind power perspective.

Wind power has similar criteria as that of a hydropower in case of site location. It cannot be installed anywhere without prior survey and baseline study which required manifolds of study, basically documentation and site survey. The study is made on the basis of monthly mean wind speed data, annual mean wind speed data and wind speed distribution data of the feasible site. A minimal wind velocity can occur anywhere but we have to find such a place where there will be presence of high but constant or regular wind speed. Mirlung Electro-Mech Concern(MEC) has already done pre-feasibility and feasibility study around the surrounding hills of Kathmandu valley that have the above quality that sustains a technically and financially feasible wind power projects.

People have the tendency to compare on the basis of cost but not in terms of the duration. The cost of each 1MW wind project will be around 150 million which is same as compared to a hydro project of similar size. The duration of an installation of a wind project is far less which is mere 3 months compared to a hydro project which can be 2 years and more. Any project is successful if it works time-oriented. Nepal possesses much more areas in the terai, hills and himalayas besides the Kathmandu valley itself.

Every part of the valley can be distributed in many ways and certain requirements are met and are kept at levels of priorities. In this way each part will be distributed with pockets of wind energy which brings sustainability into the picture. The lengthiest part of a project is its construction which cannot be predicted by anyone. Even though it is estimated, it cannot be completed with an exact time limit. This is due to many impacts of the country such as social, political, economic, environmental being the first few. A wind project can be completed in 3 months to 12 months time and it has a positive aspect of its feasible practices all around the world. Even our neighboring countries India and China have been benefitted by it to a greater level. China ranks itself as the world’s second largest in the wind power generation while India is in the fifth. Therefore this implies that the Nepalese government should also implement in wind power projects.

The world’s largest offshore wind farm off Thanet in Kent is to start producing electricity.

Construction started a year ago at the £780m wind farm, which can be seen from the coast on a clear day, and is expected to generate enough electricity for 240,000 homes.

With the 300 MW Thanet Offshore Wind Farm on line today, following the opening of an extension to the onshore Crystal Rig earlier this month, the UK has hit 5 GW installed capacity, says RenewableUK.

London, UK Crystal Rig’s capacity climbed from 138 MW up to 200 MW on 8 September, which – along with the commissioning today of the world’s largest operating offshore farm – helped the UK add its fifth gigawatt of installed wind capacity in less than 12 months, said the trade body. Wind energy in particular is not alternative energy any longer – it is absolutely mainstream – Maria McCaffery, chief executive, RenewableUK

The acceleration in capacity growth to hit the 5 GW target was welcomed by RenewableUK’s CEO Maria McCaffery.

“Renewable energy generally and wind energy in particular is not alternative energy any longer – it is absolutely mainstream”, she said.

In addition to its 5 GW in operation, the UK has nearly 18 GW of wind capacity either consented, in construction or in the planning system, according to RenewableUK.

With the UK’s portion of electricity from renewables now close to 10%, up from about 2% back in 2002, the government’s targets for hitting 20% by 2020 are “realistic and achievable”, said McCaffery.

Wind in the UK now provides enough electricity for almost 3 million homes, said the organisation.

Thanet Offshore Wind Farm is a Vattenfall project while Crystal Rig and its extension, Crystal Rig II, was developed by Fred. Olsen Renewables.

SWETA POKHAREL

SCENARIO OF NEPAL

Nepal is facing problems in electricity production resulting to an everyday crisis of load shedding. It has created a disturbance and has widely affected the living condition of the people. This outrages the demand for energy, either by import or by availability from the nation itself. The implementation of the country’s own indigenous material and technology in the production of alternative sources of energy is the best way to uplift the rapid growth, need and requirement fulfillment. In case of a developing country, the use of national renewable resource could be a step towards development. The renewable resources such as solar and wind power are certain to assist the country in the case of precise documentation. This initiation is set to help Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC), Ministry of Environment (www.aepc.gov.np) in their venture towards the generation of power from alternative sources of energy. It ensures positive prospects for the country’s sustainable future.

This study focuses on the implementation of the renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar. The documentation of wind data in many areas of Nepal can be an important step forward for the implementation of power in the form of electricity. The feasibility and the cost of any project from production to generation and implementation level cannot be acquired without it. Therefore data collection is the first and the foremost requirement.

In recent years, continuous effort in wind data collection is done mostly by foreign expertise. There is still lack of data and weak research study creating voids tending to impede the flow. The budget is not yet categorized for wind data measurement, required efficiency and exact analysis. A database will eventually fulfill the primary need to an extent.

AMRIT SINGH THAPA

Where electricity is not available

Combination of renewable source of energy such as wind/solar with diesel generator appears to find increasing appeal in implementing decentralized electricity generations system for remote places of Nepal. The addition of diesel generator to the renewable source of energy provides power on demand, improves reliability and reduces the initial cost of the hybrid plant. Similarly, renewable source of energy addition to a conventional fossil fuel operating diesel generator reduces fuel consumption, thus improving the economics and environmental attributes of the power source. This system can be applied to various geographical conditions, mountain hills, island, plain areas or remote areas, where electricity is not available. A review of the overall energy production and utilization as well as the system performance of Wind and Solar PV hybrid system in Nepal indicates the promising potential of such system in the coming days.