Presented on 26 September 2018 by Alfred Alsop
As of 2017, over 2.7m people in Nepal are still without access to electricity, with the majority of these people living in hard to reach rural areas. Nepal is one of the world’s most mountainous countries, making infrastructure projects such as grid extension difficult and sometimes prohibitively costly. As a result there is a pressing need to develop and implement off-grid generation projects to serve the needs of the rural population. In March and April of 2018, Wind Empowerment members Alfred Alsop and Kimon Silwal carried out a national market assessment for small wind turbines in Nepal. The project, with support from WISIONS and the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) of Nepal, aimed to build upon previous national market assessments carried out by Wind Empowerment members in order to indicate how and where small wind turbines might best contribute to electrification efforts in the country, whilst identifying the opportunities and barriers for implementation and recommending the necessary next steps to optimise the sector. The project included expert interviews, techno-economic modelling and mapping, and a knowledge exchange workshop.
Presented on 26 September 2018 by Alfred Alsop
As of 2017, over 2.7m people in Nepal are still without access to electricity, with the majority of these people living in hard to reach rural areas. Nepal is one of the world’s most mountainous countries, making infrastructure projects such as grid extension difficult and sometimes prohibitively costly. As a result there is a pressing need to develop and implement off-grid generation projects to serve the needs of the rural population. In March and April of 2018, Wind Empowerment members Alfred Alsop and Kimon Silwal carried out a national market assessment for small wind turbines in Nepal. The project, with support from WISIONS and the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) of Nepal, aimed to build upon previous national market assessments carried out by Wind Empowerment members in order to indicate how and where small wind turbines might best contribute to electrification efforts in the country, whilst identifying the opportunities and barriers for implementation and recommending the necessary next steps to optimise the sector. The project included expert interviews, techno-economic modelling and mapping, and a knowledge exchange workshop.
About the presenter:
Alfred Alsop is a PhD Candidate at Strathclyde University’s Wind and Marine Energy Centre for Doctoral Training, Glasgow, UK. He received a Masters Degree in Physics with Astrophysics from the University of York (UK) in 2015 with a thesis written on the feasibility of a horizontal axis wind turbine using rotating Magnus cylinders in place of fixed aerofoils. Alfred’s current research involves integrating decision analysis and GIS techniques into market assessment methodologies for small wind turbines in a rural electrification context, building upon previous Wind Empowerment projects to assist policymakers and stakeholders in developing countries in making energy and planning decisions. Alfred joined Wind Empowerment in 2016, assisting the Market Assessment Working Group with the Global Market Assessment for Small Wind Turbines, and then joined the executive board as the association’s Treasurer.
About the Facilitator:
Kimon Silwal is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer graduate from Kathmandu University. He joined KAPEG in 2010 in the position of research staff and is currently working as the company manager. He has worked as an activity leader and project leader in numerous research and development projects until now with locally manufactured small wind technologies, solar-wind hybrid systems, low head pico-hydro turbines and control system, electric cooking stoves and water purification systems for off-grid applications in collaborations with national and international universities and government organization. Currently, his involvement has been focused towards developing effective standards, guidelines, and delivery models for the small wind turbines in Nepal while consolidating various areas for the further development of the off-grid solar and wind hybrid sector in Nepal.
The Market Assessment was supported by WISIONS as part of the project ‘Market Assessment of Small Wind Turbines in Nepal’.
For questions or comments get in touch: alfred.alsop@strath.ac.uk