S4: Renewable Energy
Draft Symposium Program Outline and Schedule
SYMPOSIUM: Renewal Energy for Clean and Sustainable Future
Chairs: Dr Biraj Raj Thapa (Nepal), Dr Nabin Aryal
Date: October 17 and 18, 2023 (Two days)
Venue: Soaltee Hotel, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Method: Hybrid with Physical Convention and Virtual Transmission
An Overview:
The Symposium “Renewal Energy” for Clean and Sustainable Future “aims to summarize current progress on the development of renewable energy sector in Nepal. This symposium will critically evaluate and discuss technological development in the renewable energy sector, mainly biomass, solar, wind and small-scale hydroelectricity. Recently, Nepal has made commendable progress in developing its renewable energy sector, particularly in hydropower and solar energy. Commercial-scale biogas plant installation has also been increasing to harness its abundant renewable biomass and organic waste. Initiative for Green Hydrogen production using renewable energy and its utilization as fuel storage and feedstock for chemical production has also been progressing. This symposium will invite selected relevant stakeholders such as
- Governmental authorities
- Academic and research institutions
- Private sector.
The symposium will further try to establish the Public-Private-Academic collaboration for renewable energy sector development in Nepal.
Introduction
Nepal has long depended on traditional energy sources like forest products, agricultural residual biomass and river water to meet its energy needs. Additionally, the country is blessed with an abundance of renewable energy sources, including biomass resources, solar, and hydroelectricity. Therefore, over the past decade, significant progress in developing its renewable energy sector has been observed, including small and medium-scale hydropower projects to promote rural electrification. The large-scale hydropower projects are producing abundant electricity, which is expected to be surplus in future. Therefore, Nepal is in good position to produce green hydrogen in price competitive global market using surplus electricity. Green hydrogen can be use as fuel storage, transportation, or green feedstock for chemical production: and fuel and reductant in cement and steel factories in Nepal.
Other sources, such as solar, contributed in off-grid and remote areas where extending the national grid is economically unfeasible. The biogas technology called “Gober gas” is another widely applied renewable energy in Nepal to provide cooking fuel in rural areas. The technology has been further upscaled in Nepal and utilized for commercial-scale biogas plants to produce natural gas-quality biomethane that can be distributed through bolting for long distances. Additionally, the government has provided subsidies and encouraged private sector investments in the renewable energy sector through various policy incentives. Despite this development, it has been criticized that support from the government of Nepal has been limited to promoting the private sector, research, and development initiative for technological advancement. Thus, this symposium will try to explore the possibility and opportunity for the Public-Private-Academic collaboration to develop the renewable energy sector development in Nepal. Nepal’s diaspora community is committed to supporting the technology transfer and knowledge exchange related to renewable technology development, which will be further explored through this symposium.
Objectives
This Symposium will offer professionals, scholars, and Nepalese diaspora members a platform to exchange their research and experiences on various topics related to biogas, hydro, solar, and wind. Recent projects such as biomethane, solar power and hydrogen will be discussed. The symposium aims to bring professionals mainly from three sectors such as i) Government authority and policymakers ii) Academia (Professors, scientists, inventors, and researchers) and iii) Private sectors (Business, investor and public, stakeholders) from Nepal and around the world, all in one place. The symposium will be available in both in-person and recorded video formats.
Key Scope and selected topic:
- Recent progress in the Renewable energy sector in Nepal.
- Novel initiative on biomethane production
- Novel initiative on green hydrogen production and its commercial application.
- Policy implication, financial initiative in R&D, capacity building etc
Research initiative for the Renewable energy sector in Nepal.
Chair
Chair