Decentralised Renewable Energy:

Micro-Hydropower in Nepal

Niranjana Rajesh
Alexander Pierre-Fallman
Decentralised Renewable Energy

• Renewable energy systems disconnected from national grid.

Pico-power systems 0.1-10 watts Lighting & Communication
Household systems 10-103 watts + Entertainment, heating/cooling
Microgrid 103-106 watts + Community-based services (agro-
processing, water pumps…)
Regional grid 106-109 watts + Commercial & Industrial activity

• Most relevant to rural populations in developing countries

• Technological progress: small-scale renewables are feasible and
competitive
• + Financial mechanisms (e.g. revolving loan funds)
DRE Conditions for success

• A project should service communities that would be costly to provide

energy from a centralised grid.
• Conversely, decentralised energy projects might not live past the communities gaining
access to a central grid.
• The relevant rural population should be on good terms & share their
interests as stakeholders in the energy programme.
• A sense of ownership is important.
• Organisations should ideally be embedded in the location.
• Overreach from programme organisers and funding bodies should be
prevented.
DRE Conditions for success

• Account for context:

• Geography: which source of energy?
• Local population: use & management
• Institutional context
• Access to complementary capital (appliances).
• Concurrent efforts such as access to education, water, sanitation &
markets.
Benefits of Decentralised Renewable Energy

• Includes general benefits of energy access

• Minimum but not sufficient for economic development.
• Positive impacts on poverty, health, safety, free time.
• Greater community control
• Including over local social & environmental externalities in relation to the energy
production.
• Large centralised energy prioritise urban and higher income areas while producing
negative externalities that disproportionately affect the poor.
• Community cohesion
• Lower GHG emissions
• Flexible scaling
Intro to Micro-hydropower (MHP)

• Simple design & manufacture, easing local training &

management.
• Usually low cost, but site-specific and tied to remoteness.
• Uses beyond electrification, e.g. grain milling.
• No direct GHG emissions.
• Low environmental impact: river water is diverted and
reintroduced.
• Lower impact per watt compared to large hydropower
• Complementarity with solar (weather patterns)
• MHP disadvantages relate to location and flow of water.
• Infrastructure to access site
• Size & steadiness of flow
Case Study:
MHPs in Nepal
Energy Context

• Nepal is one of the fastest electrifying countries in the world, with access
to electricity increasing at an annual rate of 4.3% – much higher than the
0.8% global average. Electricity had reached 95.5 percent of Nepal’s
population as of 2017, according to the Energy Progress Report. Only 1.3
million out of 29 million Nepalis remain to be connected to an electricity
supply. In 2010, only 65 percent of the population had an electricity
connection.
• The current 1,073 MW of installed electricity production is made up of
1,016 MW from hydroelectricity, 54 MW from diesel and multi-fuel, and
2.68 MW from solar energy. The NEA's contribution to the national
generating capacity stands at 562 MW, while the private sector contributes
511 MW.
MHPs in Nepal

• There are approximately 3300 community owned and community operated MHPs
installed in the country.
• Positive outcomes:
• Increased household savings
• Improvement in agro-processing
• Increase in income

• Subsidy-driven
• Alternate Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC): 30-55% of total cost
• Projects go to lowest bidder, leading to reduced quality
• Lack of trained skill labour
• Unreliability
Institutional context

• The government of Nepal voted for the UN Declaration on the Rights of

Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007. These international laws state that
before appropriating the natural resources in the Indigenous Peoples’
areas, the government and private companies are required to obtain the
Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples impacted.

• When conducting consultations, if Indigenous Peoples say ‘no’ to the

utilization of their land and natural resources, Indigenous Peoples should
not then be displaced forcefully.
Hydropower Potential in Nepal

• Nepal has an estimated 42,000MW of hydropower potential and can

therefore meet not just its own energy needs but also serve energy hungry
neighbors like Bangladesh and India.

• At the recently held IFC Meetings in Washington DC, that IFC is keen to
support hydropower projects that will generate enough electricity to cater
to domestic demand and help the country earn much-needed foreign-
exchange revenues from exporting power.
Micro-Hydropower vs Large Hydropower

• Focus on lifting impoverished • Focus on servicing urban

rural communities centres and foreign markets
• Attracts international funding

• Provides greater equity and

democratic control over • Requires displacement of local
energy production and usage communities

• Negligible environmental • Large negative impact on

impact ecosystems
Bilbiography

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• Anup, G., Ian, B., & Sang-Eun, O. (2011). Micro-hydropower: A promising decentralized renewable technology and its impact on rural livelihoods. Retrieved
November 18, 2021, from https://sswm.info/sites/default/files/reference_attachments/ANUP%20et%20al%202011%20Micro%20Hydropower.pdf
• Ha, Y.-H., & Kumar, S. S. (2021, August 9). Investigating decentralized renewable energy systems under different governance approaches in Nepal and Indonesia:
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621003078
• Sunuwar, D. (2021, February 16). Hydropower projects on Likhu River fail to obtain consent from indigenous communities in Nepal . Cultural Survival. Retrieved
November 18, 2021, from https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/hydropower-projects-likhu-river-fail-obtain-consent-indigenous-communities-nepal
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• Yadoo, A. (2012). Delivery Models for Decentralised Rural Electrification: Case studies in Nepal, Peru and Kenya. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from
https://pubs.iied.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/migrate/16032IIED.pdf
• The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy (2010). Micro-Hydro. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from
https://web.archive.org/web/20101101184402/http://www.ashdenawards.org/micro-hydro