Solar Harvesting in Nepal

1. What is solar energy and how does it work? 

Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies. It is an essential source of renewable energy.

Solar technologies convert sunlight into electrical energy either through photovoltaic (PV) panels or through mirrors that concentrate solar radiation. This energy can be used to generate electricity or be stored in batteries or thermal storage. There are two main types of solar energy technologies—photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP).

Photovoltaics (PV)

When the sun shines onto a solar panel, energy from the sunlight is absorbed by the PV cells in the panel. This energy creates electrical charges that move in response to an internal electrical field in the cell, causing electricity to flow.

Fig: Photovoltaic Cells              
      

Concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP)

Fig: CSP

Concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) systems use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that collect solar energy and convert it to heat, which can then be used to produce electricity or stored for later use. It is used primarily in very large power plants.

2. Why Solar Energy in Nepal?

Nepal has faced a deficiency between the supply and demand of electrical energy for the past several years. Though the energy supplied by the Nepal Electricity Authority is more than 80% from the government and private hydropower sector. The deficit energy is purchased from India to meet the energy demand. Despite this, only 78% of the population has the access to grid-connected energy and 82% of the population used solid fuel as the source for cooking. So, the demand for energy is higher. The required demands for energy could be fulfilled if the proper utilization of the available renewable energy is properly planned and implemented. Nepal has the greater potential in renewable energy source in the form of solar energy. From the survey, it was found that the number of sunny days in Nepal is 300 days annually, which is the best platform for solar energy production.

3. Scopes and Challenges of Solar Harvesting in Nepal

3.1 Scopes:

There is low river flow and high-power demand in winter. Since most of the hydropower in Nepal are ROR type hydropower, the generation during the low river flow will not be sufficient. Hence, Solar power can be used to facilitate the energy demand which not met by hydropower.

Solar energy is cheaper than fossil fuels, nuclear and hydro. According to the 2020 World Energy Outlook from the International Energy Agency, “For projects with low-cost financing that tap high quality resources, solar PV is now the cheapest source of electricity in history”. Small-scale solar systems for individual households or villages provide electricity for lighting, computing, telecommunications, water pumping, grain grinding and refrigeration. Small amounts of solar electricity cost relatively little but make a large difference to living standards. As living standards rise, families can purchase more solar panels to mount on their rooftops.

3.2 Challenges:

Solar panels and other peripherals required for installing systems are not easily available in remote areas. They need to transport through the rugged terrain which increases the cost, making the installation more expensive – and more difficult to make a short-term business case for.

Solar technicians are not available in remote areas as skilled people tend to migrate to cities looking for work. That means repairs are slow and costly. More technicians need to be trained. Until then, higher wages and associated travel costs to repair the system in rural areas means that costs are even higher than they should be.

4. Conclusion: 

Harvesting solar energy with proper management reduces the country energy crisis problem. We can use solar energy during the daytime and during night-time we can run the hydro energy because pumped hydro energy storage is far cheaper than the other form of stored energy such as batteries. By balancing solar energy and hydro energy Nepal can get more benefit in the energy sector. As per the Global Pumped Hydro Atlas, Nepal has more good storage sites at about 2800 which is fifty times more than the needed even after Nepal catch up with the developed countries. Also, theses site doesn’t require to be dammed which reduce the high social and environmental cost associated with damping. Solar energy is cheaper and abundant in Nepal. If the government policies and proper management is adopted in the promotion and utilization of solar energy Nepal can take great advantages of the energy sector. It reduced the energy cost as well as make the country self-dependent in the energy sector.

References:

1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy

2) https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/how-does-solar-work

3) https://smartsolar.com.np/nepal-future-in-solar-harvesting/

4)https://practicalaction.org/news-media/2021/09/03/10-barriers-stopping-solar-powered-irrigation-at-scale-in-nepal/

5) https://ghampower.com/blog/small-sized-water-pumps/

6)https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-can-lead-in-zero-carbon/