Tuesday 15 March 2016
Three remote villages in Nepal are now being powered by renewable energy.
With a total combined capacity of 35KW, the solar microgrids provide power to 83 homes and 25 local businesses.
They have been installed in the communities of Harkapur in Okhaldhunga District and Kadu-wa and Chyasmitar in Khotang District.
Electricity costs for households are forecast at around $4 (£3.6) to $6 (£5.4) per month in contrast to paying up to $10 a month for kerosene, which they used to rely on for lighting.
The project is also expected to avoid 41 tons of carbon emissions every year.
The solar and battery storage were installed by Gham Power with local communities and a $100,000 (£90,022) grant was provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Jiwan Acharya, Senior Energy Specialist at the ADB said: “Nearly a quarter of Nepal’s population has no access to electricity and rely heavily instead on kerosene in particular. Since most of them live in remote areas, there is little possibility of connecting to the national power grid in the near future.
“The solar micro-grids that we are piloting here provide a clean, cost-effective, local solution involving the private sector that will change the lives of these communities and serve as a model for other far-flung villages."