In quake-prone Nepal, why solar power is an energy solution
In its struggle towards recovery, quake-ravaged Nepal is turning to the heavens 鈥� literally.
Over the last few weeks, local solar companies have come together to deploy the sun鈥檚 energy to power homes, lights, and mobile-phone charging stations for relief workers and survivors across the country.
The effort is a testament to solar power鈥檚 growing significance in times of disaster. It also reflects the degree to which renewable sources are playing a key role in Nepal and other developing nations as they respond to the effects of climate change and carve a path towards energy and economic security.
鈥淒eveloping countries are prioritizing solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources in order to reduce energy poverty, power economic progress, enhance national security by reducing imports, and protect the environment,鈥� Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew Charitable Trust鈥檚 clean energy initiative, following the organization鈥檚 on global energy investments.
From 2009 to 2013, renewable energy growth outpaced that of conventional technology in the top 10 emerging markets for clean energy, half of which are nations in East and Southeast Asia, the report found. Driving the movement is energy poverty, as the UN estimates that continue to lack access to modern electricity services.
The most attractive clean energy investment has been solar, according to the Pew report. The two devastating earthquakes that struck Nepal in April and May have served to highlight one reason why: In the face of climate change and natural disasters, dependence on hydroelectric power and fossil fuel imports poses a severe problem.
The 7.8-magnitude quake on April 25 affected at least 19 hydroelectric facilities in Nepal, knocking out more than 170 megawatts of power generation from the country鈥檚 grid, according to Gagan Thapa, chairman of Nepal鈥檚 Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Energy, and Natural Resources, and Kashish Das Shrestha, a writer who has worked with Mr. Thapa for a decade on sustainable development policy.
鈥淸A] hydrocentric energy policy will continue to hold the nation hostage to inevitable seismic shocks,鈥� they wrote for The New York Times.
The solution, they added, lies in diversification and distribution, with a focus on solar energy.
While solar lanterns have been a crucial part of global clean energy disaster relief since the Haiti earthquake in 2010, solar power鈥檚 full potential, both during a disaster and in the long term, has yet to be tapped in many countries.
In Nepal, some are hoping to change that. In the aftermath of the two quakes, Gham Power, a Kathmandu-based solar company, teamed up with the nonprofit Global Nepali Professional Network (GNPN)聽to raise聽funds to distribute solar power systems across the country, US magazine American Prospect .
Through crowdfunding site Indiegogo, the campaign, called 鈥�,鈥� raised almost $13,000 from individual donors, who gave $50, $100, or $500 for solar-power systems that would support one, three, or 15 families respectively. Another $100,000 came from corporate energy companies both local and global.
Despite its initial success, the program has yet to scratch the surface of Nepal鈥檚 electricity issues, according to Prospect. Even before the quakes, cities across the country were experiencing fuel shortages and power cutoffs for .
鈥淚 hope that people will see that we're trying to 鈥� help with infrastructure that can help relief workers and Nepalis in this crisis and beyond,鈥� , who is part of the Rebuild With Sun campaign, told聽American Prospect. 鈥淲e also want to be a voice for clean energy in Nepal, and plan on connecting our immediate response to a longer-term solar rebuilding effort.鈥�
Similar efforts are underway in other developing and disaster-prone nations such as the Philippines, where companies are as the country鈥檚 solar capacity jumps from 50 megawatts in 2014 to an expected 500 by the end of 2015.
In Africa, small solar panels about the size of an iPad are letting families in rural Tanzania and Kenya 鈥� many of whom have long regarded lack of electricity as an inevitability of daily life 鈥� charge their phones, light their homes at night, and power basic necessities, fundamentally changing their lives.
鈥淐limate change looms large for those of us working on energy and environmental issues,鈥� Ms. Newman said, 鈥渁nd sometimes we need to all connect and work together to show how solar is a viable solution before and after disasters.鈥�
