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Energy is an important input for socioeconomic development and human well-being. The rationality of energy transitions toward cleaner energy resources is not only to improve individual living conditions, but also to enhance the economic growth of a nation. Nepal is considered to be one of the countries with a low per-capita electricity use, heavily relying on traditional energy resources such as firewood and agricultural residues. The country is rich in hydropower resources. However, various economic and socioeconomic constraints have left the significant potential for hydroelectricity untapped. This study describes the energy transition patterns in Nepal based on a literature review and field survey of household energy use in the winter. We collected data from 516 households in the Solukhumbu, Panchthar, and Jhapa districts of Nepal. The rate of per-capita electricity consumption was 330 kWh/capita/year, which is significantly lower than that of other contemporary global societies such as India 1000 and China 4900 kWh/capita/year. The increasing trend in hydroelectricity production has optimistically transformed the energy sector toward cleaner resources; this correlates with the GDP per capita. Solar home systems, mini- and micro-hydropower plants, biogas technology, and improved cook stoves have been widely used, which has lowered the health and environmental burdens in rural areas. By analysing the survey data, we found that 25% of the households only relied on traditional cooking fuel, while 67% and 8% of the households relied on mixed and commercial cooking fuels, respectively. Moreover, 77% and 48% of traditional and mixed-fuel-using households were unhappy with current cooking fuels while 40% and 66% of these households preferred to use clean cooking fuels. The share of traditional energy resources decreased from 78% to 68%, while that of commercial energy resources increased from 20% to 28% from 2014/15 to 2019/20. This study suggests that future energy policies and programs should acknowledge the reality of energy transition to achieve sustainability by establishing reliable and clean sources of energy.
Tika Pokharel; Hom Rijal. Energy Transition toward Cleaner Energy Resources in Nepal. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4243 .
AMA StyleTika Pokharel, Hom Rijal. Energy Transition toward Cleaner Energy Resources in Nepal. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (8):4243.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTika Pokharel; Hom Rijal. 2021. "Energy Transition toward Cleaner Energy Resources in Nepal." Sustainability 13, no. 8: 4243.
Nepal has low per-capita energy use and a majority of its rural residents use firewood as their primary energy source. Excessive use of firewood in improperly ventilated buildings degrades the indoor environment and health condition of the inhabitants. This study aims to assess the influence of hourly firewood consumption patterns on CO2 emissions and resulting concentrations in rural households in Nepal. A field survey was conducted for 24 h in 16 households during winter. The results suggest that most of the households tend to use more firewood during the morning and evening hours. Family size and number of animals reared by the households were positively correlated with firewood consumption, whereas family size was negatively correlated with per-capita firewood consumption. Per-capita firewood consumption was found to be 1.8 kg/(capita·day). Household firewood consumption and CO2 emissions were 12 kg/(family·day) and 14.26 kg CO2 e/(household·day), respectively. The larger households spent more time for cooking, while their consumption rate was similar (1.3 kg/h) to that of smaller households. High indoor CO2 emissions in the morning and evening hours due to high firewood consumption may pose severe health risks to the inhabitants. Therefore, intensive awareness programs and pollution control programs are suggested for improving indoor air quality and health condition of the rural population.
Pokharel Tika Ram; Rijal Hom Bahadur. Hourly Firewood Consumption Patterns and CO2 Emission Patterns in Rural Households of Nepal. Designs 2020, 4, 46 .
AMA StylePokharel Tika Ram, Rijal Hom Bahadur. Hourly Firewood Consumption Patterns and CO2 Emission Patterns in Rural Households of Nepal. Designs. 2020; 4 (4):46.
Chicago/Turabian StylePokharel Tika Ram; Rijal Hom Bahadur. 2020. "Hourly Firewood Consumption Patterns and CO2 Emission Patterns in Rural Households of Nepal." Designs 4, no. 4: 46.
Nepal is a mountainous country with low energy use so far and its climatic patterns remarkably differ from one place to another due to its geographical variation. In the north, summer is cool and winter is severe, while in the south, summer is tropical and winter is mild. Each year, harsh thermal environment creates serious health problems ranging from discomfort to illness and even to death. Household energy availability is one of the important ingredients required to provide the occupants with adequate indoor thermal environments, with which they can minimize thermal dissatisfaction. In order to get quantitative information on this issue, a series of survey on household energy-use patterns and the indoor thermal environmental characteristics in three different climatic regions was carried out in winter season of 2018. The survey results showed that most of the indoor air temperature of investigated houses in three climatic regions were lower than the values given as adaptive comfort standard. Average measured indoor air temperature was 8.0 °C, 13.9 °C and 12.8 °C, respectively, and per-capita daily energy use was 37, 30 and 20 MJ/(person · day) in cold, temperate and sub-tropical regions, respectively. Firewood, electricity and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) were found as the major energy carriers used in the studied households. The present finding suggests that a substantial improvements of the indoor thermal environment by improving thermal insulation of building envelopes together with rationally small energy use must be required for the well-being of the people in all three regions. This survey results are hopefully useful to understand the current energy-use situation and thermal environment of existing residential buildings in Nepal and thereby to assist the policy formulation for better indoor thermal environment of existing buildings with low energy use.
T.R. Pokharel; Hom Bahadur Rijal; M. Shukuya. A field investigation on indoor thermal environment and its associated energy use in three climatic regions in Nepal. Energy and Buildings 2020, 222, 110073 .
AMA StyleT.R. Pokharel, Hom Bahadur Rijal, M. Shukuya. A field investigation on indoor thermal environment and its associated energy use in three climatic regions in Nepal. Energy and Buildings. 2020; 222 ():110073.
Chicago/Turabian StyleT.R. Pokharel; Hom Bahadur Rijal; M. Shukuya. 2020. "A field investigation on indoor thermal environment and its associated energy use in three climatic regions in Nepal." Energy and Buildings 222, no. : 110073.
Pokharel Tika; Rijal Hom Bahadur; Masanori Shukuya. Rural Household Energy Use and Thermal Environment in Three Climatic Regions of Nepal. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2019, 294, 1 .
AMA StylePokharel Tika, Rijal Hom Bahadur, Masanori Shukuya. Rural Household Energy Use and Thermal Environment in Three Climatic Regions of Nepal. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019; 294 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StylePokharel Tika; Rijal Hom Bahadur; Masanori Shukuya. 2019. "Rural Household Energy Use and Thermal Environment in Three Climatic Regions of Nepal." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 294, no. : 1.