Alternative Fuel For Nepal

15 Pages 3789 Words

n on Climate Change (UNFCC) have stated their support for individual PV systems in homes in developing countries, so there is a big push for that in many of the Southeast Asian countries. Although support is great, there is a very real difference between what is being said and what is being done. The problem with PV is the difficulty the poorer nations have gaining the technology and know-how to put these systems into place. Technology and know-how are being held back by the shortage of funding. Funding presents a problem because the power to transfer this technology lies in the hands of private companies that own the rights to the said technology and these companies are not eager to share it without being heavily compensated. Intelligently, the leaders of the countries in need of the technology do not want to simply serve as a market for the companies, and are holding off for better solutions. Although any new system would involve both models of transfer, Forsyth (Forsyth, 1999) makes it clear that PV and wind turbine systems both are associated closely with vertical transfer.
Considering the mountainous terrain, one would think that systems connected to a wind turbine would have an advantage. That is precisely why a growing number of people are interested in wind technology. However, although the technology for these systems is well-developed, few countries in Southeast Asia have had success mapping the wind speed and direction well enough to install a trusted wind-turbine system. Considering the role mountains play in Nepal’s geography, one would expect this system to be a real possibility. A problem may arise in that not much of Nepal’s population lives near the mountains but with more research on locations and costs, we may see wind technology become a real solution to the problem.
The last option, biomass renewable energy, seems to be the most practical for the specific application. Forsyth mention...