KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY

“ HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN NEPAL AND

WORLD:RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT”

GROUP MEMBERS: INSTRUCTOR:

Aakash Shrestha (41) Er. Santosh Chaudhary
Bishwas Shrestha(43)
Manoj Shrestha(44)
Prerana Shrestha (45)
Raphim Shrestha(46)
Sumiran Shrestha(47)
 Contents
• Introduction to Hydropower
• Water Resources in Nepal
• History of Hydropower Development in the World
• History of Hydropower Development in Nepal
• Present Status of Hydropower in Nepal​
• Hydro potential
• Challenges
• Prospect of hydropower Development in Nepal
• Prospects of Hydropower Worldwide
• The way forward for hydropower in Nepal
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Introduction to Hydropower

• Hydropower or hydroelectricity refers to the conversion of energy from

flowing water into electricity.​
• Hydropower is the largest contributor of all renewable energy sources and
accounts for 6.7% of worldwide electricity production.​
• Hydropower is an abundant, low cost source of power (where applicable),
despite high upfront building costs.​
• It is also a flexible and reliable source of electricity compared to
other renewable options.

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Water Resources in Nepal

• Claims of Nepal being the second richest country in the world after Brazil in
terms of hydropower potential has never been validated.​
• Students and general public have been inundated with the 83,000 MW
potential rhetoric – based on a 1996 PhD of Dr. Hari Man Shrestha.​
• However, another more scientific study led by Prof. Narendra
Man Shakya has shown that Nepal has a total potential to generate 53,000
MW of hydropower.​
• Another study reveals 43,000 MW of economically and
technically feasible hydroelectricity(NPC, 1985).​
• Despite these discrepancies, the general consensus is that hydropower has the
potential for uplifting the lives of the Nepalese people.​
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History of Hydropower Development in the World

• Humans have been harnessing water to perform work for thousands of years.​
• Some of the first innovations in using water for power were conceived in
China during the Han Dynasty between 202 BC and 9 AD.​
• The Greeks used water wheels for grinding wheat into flour more than 2,000
years ago.​
•  In 1827, French engineer Benoit Fourneyron developed a turbine capable of
producing around 6 horsepower ​
• In 1849, British–American engineer James Francis developed the first
modern water turbine – the Francis turbine – which remains the most widely-
used water turbine in the world today.​

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 History of Hydropower Development in the World

• The world’s first hydroelectric project was used to power a single lamp in the Crag
side country house in Northumberland, England, in 1878.​
• Four years later, the first plant to serve a system of private and commercial
customers was opened in Wisconsin, USA, and within a decade, hundreds of
hydropower plants were in operation.​
• After World war II, Low-cost hydropower was seen as one of the best ways to meet
growing energy demand and was often tied to the development of energy-
intensive industries.​
• Over the last decades of the twentieth century, Brazil and China became world
leaders in hydropower.​
• 22,500 MW Three Gorges Dam in China produces the highest amount of
hydropower followed by 14,000 MW produced by The Itaipu Dam, straddling
Brazil and Paraguay, opened in 1984.
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History of Hydropower Development in the World

Fig:-Hydropower growth and development through the decade

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History of Hydropower Development in Nepal​

• Installing 500 kW electricity at Pharping named as Chandra Jyoti.​

• After 25 years, long duration, Prime Minister Dev Shamsher initiated 640
kW, Sundarijal Hydropower plant with a capacity of 900 kW in 1936.​
• Historically, however, Nepal’s first bilateral agreements with India
were Koshi and Gandak Projects in 1954 and 1959, respectively, exclusively
designed to cater for irrigation and flood control in India with small irrigation
and hydropower component for Nepal.​
• The 92 MW Kulekhani Hydropower Plant (I and II) was commissioned in
1982, which is the only project offering seasonal water storage in Nepal. ​
• The 144 MW Kali Gandaki A hydropower project, commissioned in 2003 is the
biggest hydropower project in Nepal so far.
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History of Hydropower Development in Nepal

• In 1962, Nepal Electricity Corporation (NEC) was established and in 1985

it was restructured to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)

3 distinct stages of Hydropower development in Nepal

1. Donor assisted till 1995
2. Independent Power Producers (IPPs) oriented till 1995- 2001
3. Open and Liberal policy since than

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History of Hydropower Development in Nepal

Fig:-Hydropower development through the decades in Nepal 10

Present Status of Hydropower in Nepal

• Installed hydropower capacity: 1,016 MW

• According to its annual report, the public-owned Nepal Electricity Authority
(NEA) owns 50 per cent of the country’s hydropower assets and the other 50
per cent is owned by independent power producers (IPPs).
• Most of Nepal’s existing hydropower stations are run-of-river schemes,
meaning power generation is impacted by seasonal rainfall patterns. With
further large run-of-river projects in the pipeline, there is a need to manage
surplus power produced during the monsoon months (typically from around
May to October), while facing deficits in the dry seasons.
• To address this, the NEA is planning storage schemes including the 140 MW
Tanahu project and other, larger reservoir projects. This infrastructure will play
an important role in regulating the power system and managing water
resources. 11
Present Status of Hydropower in Nepal

• Except 92 MW Kulekhani reservoir project, all of the hydropower projects

in Nepal are of run-of-river (ROR) type.
• Peak demand for 2015 was estimated as 1291.80 MW
• Authorities for Hydropower Development
• Major Implementing Authorities:
o Ministry Of Energy (MoE)
o Department of Electricity Development (DOED)
o Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)

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 Present Status of Hydropower in Nepal

• The annual consumption of electricity in Nepal is about 100 kWh per person,
which is very low compared to the electricity use in other countries, such as
more than 12,000 kWh per person in the U.S. and 500 kWh and 3,900 kWh
per person in India and China, respectively.
• The energy use indirectly indicates the country’s level of development.
Nepal imports 700 MW firm power to balance the shortage of power,
especially in the winter.
• To reach the level of electricity use in different countries, Nepal would need
installed capacity of 4,000 MW to equal India, 31,000 MW to equal China
and 96,000 MW to equal the U.S.

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Present Status of Hydropower in Nepal

Figure: Major Hydropower Projects in Nepal

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 Hydro potential
• Nepal’s huge hydropower potential is due to many perennial rivers,
which start from the high Himalayan Mountains rising above 8,000 m in
the north, flowing through the mountains toward low-lying plains in the
south, and continuing on to India.
• The sources of water for these rivers are snow melt, glaciers and rainfall.
On average, Nepal receives 1,500 mm of annual rainfall.
• The topography, with its high relief and high river flow, provides
potential for abundant hydropower development.

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Hydro potential

Figure: Topography and Four Major Rivers of Nepal

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 Hydro potential

• The four major river systems, from east to west respectively, are Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali and
Mahakali. In addition, there are several smaller rivers, which originate from the mid-hills.
• The basin-wide hydropower potential of the country is as follows:
 Karnali and Mahakali river basins have a catchment area of 48,811 km2 and 16,097 km2,
with approximate hydropower potential of 36,180 MW (the watershed area of the Mahakali
River lies in India and Nepal)
 Gandaki river basin has a catchment area of 36,607 km2 and approximate hydro potential of
20,650 MW
 Koshi river basin has a catchment area of 57,700 km2 and hydro potential of 22,350 MW
(the watershed area lies in Tibet/China and Nepal)
 Other river basins (i.e., southern rivers) have a catchment area of 3,070 km2 and hydro
potential of 4,110 MW

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Challenges
During Planning & Design
• Posted rates (Feed in tariff) are unreasonable for development
• Foreign currency fluctuations
• Lack of Technical manpower & resources
• Lack of One Window policy
• Numbers of Protection Areas
During Construction
• Transmission Lines
• Land Compensation issue
• Social and political instability
During Operation
• Sediment Related Problems
• GLOF/Climate change/LDLOF
• Handing over after 35 yrs is unclear
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Present Status of Hydropower in The World

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Present Status of Hydropower in The World

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Prospect of hydropower Development in Nepal
• The expectation has always been that energy security and the economic prosperity of the
country will depend highly on hydropower development.
• Consumption of traditional energy sources like firewood, animal dung and dry leaves
account for almost 80 per cent of the total energy consumed in the country
•  Hydro energy contributes to merely 3.7 per cent of the total energy consumption in
Nepal
• Nepal is in the process of industrialization
• Nepal has recently adopted a policy to promote electric vehicles
• Though hydro electricity production in the country is increasing every year, Nepal still
depends on India to meet the seasonal deficit of electricity.
• NEA imports around 372 megawatts of electricity (equivalent to Nepal’s total electricity
production in the winter months) from India during the dry season to cater to the
domestic electricity demand.

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Hydropower station under construction

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Prospects of Hydropower Worldwide
• Economic development based on energy from running water offers something
unique among major resources in use today –sustainability
• Hydropower can provide base-load, peaking power and ancillary services
• Hydropower is a cheap renewable source of energy for the world which can be
stored.
• At present, it is estimated that 99% of the world’s electricity storage capacity is
in the form of hydropower, including pumped storage

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 The way forward:
• Nepal needs rapid hydropower development to meet its power demand, which is
growing 10% every year.
• However, this growth can be higher once the power is readily available at an affordable
price. The bulk of the demand at present is for lighting.
• In the future, the industrial and domestic electricity demand will grow.
Some of the major issues of hydropower development are itemized below:
• Lack of planning
 There is a lack of proper planning for hydropower development. It is highly
recommended to make a hydropower master plan covering all four major river basins
and to prioritize projects based on different factors, including technical, economic,
proximity to the load center, etc.
 Projects need to be planned based on the rational demand forecast inside the country. By
constructing cascade projects, there can be a huge saving in the headworks and in access
roads and power evacuation.
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• Proper utilization of sites
 Hydropower sites are not unlimited and, even more important, good sites are very limited. For
example, Upper Tamakoshi is an ideal hydropower site due to the 300 m of head available just at
one spot due to a massive landslide and deposition, which occurred a few thousand years ago.
 Upper Karnali is another ideal site because of the river bend, which provides 150 m of head
without a dam in a stretch of 2 km.
 The Arun River is such a good river for hydropower because the base flow of the river is very
high as most of the watershed lies in Tibet. The average rainfall in the watershed is low but the
large catchment area and high altitude makes up for it, resulting in high base flow and low
seasonal flow variation compared to all other rivers in Nepal.
 Therefore, the country should not only identify potential projects but select the best projects to
meet its immediate and medium-term needs.
 Only when this has been accomplished should the country lease projects for export that are
deemed necessary in the system in 25 to 30 years’ time horizon.
 Nepal needs more reservoir projects for reliable power supply throughout the year. Reservoirs
store water when there are high flows during the monsoon season, which will be used to
generate power when the river flow is low in the winter.
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• The government should create a favorable environment by investing in such
infrastructure as roads and transmission lines. Roads are not only for hydropower.
This will make the hydro projects, including reservoir projects, more attractive to
develop.
• Upper Tamakoshi can be a model project. It is a large daily peaking project (456
MW) that is financed internally, and it generates relatively cheaper energy to the
consumers as well. This is proof that such an investment can be accomplished
internally. If the government invests in infrastructure, many hydropower sites can be
very attractive.
• The country should invest in data collection and quality control. The large
investment depends on the hydrologic data, which is not adequate.
• The system has over 30% loss in the transmission and distribution system. This
should be reduced to at least 15%. Improvement in substations and the transmission
and distribution lines, as well as controlling theft of power needs to be in effect.

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THANK YOU

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