In the first half of 2018 Wind Empowerment members Alfie Alsop and Kimon Silwal (of the Kathmandu Power and Energy Group, or KAPEG) worked together on a national market assessment for wind-solar hybrid minigrids in Nepal, with support from WISIONS and Nepal’s Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC).
The project involved site surveys, expert interviews, techno-economic modelling and concluded with a stakeholder workshop. Since then, a detailed report has been assembled highlighting the methodologies developed by the Market Assessment Working Group and the results and recommendations revealed in the Nepali context.
The Executive Summary can be found here, and the full report can be found here. Our friends at KAPEG have also made a post for this report release, here.
Project Summary
This project, with fieldwork, carried out in March and April of 2018, presents data collected from six wind-solar hybrid mini-grid sites, with an analysis of failure modes and frequency, along with a summary of a series of expert interviews and techno-economic and mapping efforts. Taken together, these sections are intended to provide actionable information and recommendations for the off-grid small-wind and solar sector in Nepal. The report details the current status of small wind in the country, wherein the country is most viable for the technology, what issues need to be addressed to optimize the enabling environment for the technology and what the estimated market size is in Nepal. The authors hope that this report will contribute to a body of work that allows stakeholders and policymakers to understand the potential of small wind technology in hybrid mini-grid contexts, both in Nepal and internationally.
Questions or comments should be addressed to kimon.silwal@kapeg.com.np or windempowerment.group@gmail.com