It Takes More than Energy: Renewable Energy Development

16 hour per day blackouts are common during the winter months in Nepal because of power shortages.  Rivers run lower during the winter directly resulting in dramatic drops in hydropower output.  Nepal has 40,000 MW of economically feasible hydropower potential but, according to IPPAN (Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal), only 600 MW of hydropower has been developed (less than 2% of the total potential).  The Three Gorges Dam in China has a capacity 30 times greater than this amount.  

A small hydro project (source).

Image source.

As the political situation has settled since the end of the conflict in the mid 2000's, economic stability has been creeping in resulting in renewed interest in developing hydropower resources.  Projects are moving along but there has been resistance, particularly from people who live near the new projects.  Buildings at the Upper Karnali Hydropower Project were torched recently and the government is mulling sending in the army to guard the project.  


People speak of the innumerable benefits of renewable energy across the globe but when it comes to implementing new projects there are always significant hurdles.  There are NIMBY issues (think about how long it took to get the Cape Cod wind farm off the water), compensation negotiations, and environmental risks to name a few.   I came across an interesting blog post by an Ian Axford Fellow, Ian Boisvert, based in New Zealand who is 'investigating ways to reduce undue legal barriers to siting New Zealand's marine renewable energy generators (wind, wave, and tidal).'  He had an interesting post about  the realities of building a tidal turbine project in New Zealand.  An excerpt from his post says, 

'A global pattern of protest is emerging against renewable energy. Whether they are onshore wind developments in the UK, solar projects in California, or tidal turbines in New Zealand, activists are trying to stop the projects. Certainly, environmentalists opposing solar projects must understand that renewable electricity offsets negative externalities caused by fossil fuel electricity. Then why the angst? Some responsibility must fall to project developers whose first job should be to manage perceptions of their project.'

Perceptions matter and as the global economy recovers and many stalled projects come back online it is crucial for developers to look at their projects holistically.