IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i2p747-d1029524.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Potential for Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems in Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Ural Kafle

    (Renewable and Sustainable Energy Laboratory, School of Engineering, Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel 45200, Nepal)

  • Timothy Anderson

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 1142, New Zealand)

  • Sunil Prasad Lohani

    (Renewable and Sustainable Energy Laboratory, School of Engineering, Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel 45200, Nepal)

Abstract

Nepal possesses a good solar resource, and there has been increasing interest in the use of photovoltaic systems. About 1.1 million solar home systems, rated at nearly 30 MWp, have been installed across Nepal. With the introduction of net metering by the Nepal Electricity Authority, an increase in rooftop photovoltaics (RPV) is expected. However, to inform any policy developments around increased electricity generation, and the uptake of RPV, there is a need to quantify the potential of such systems (a situation mirrored in many developing countries). To this end, this study utilized a hierarchical geospatial technique based on open-source data to estimate the potential output from RPV in several cities in Nepal (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Nepalgunj, and Biratnagar). It was found that the potential theoretical output of RPV ranged from 637 GWh per annum, in Kathmandu, to 50 GWh per annum in Butwal. Moreover, the total RPV potential from urban households of Nepal was estimated to be in the order 6.5 TWh per annum. As such, the findings of this paper can be used to make informed policy decisions about the future of Nepal’s energy mix.

Suggested Citation

  • Ural Kafle & Timothy Anderson & Sunil Prasad Lohani, 2023. "The Potential for Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems in Nepal," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-13, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:2:p:747-:d:1029524
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/2/747/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/2/747/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kurdgelashvili, Lado & Li, Junli & Shih, Cheng-Hao & Attia, Benjamin, 2016. "Estimating technical potential for rooftop photovoltaics in California, Arizona and New Jersey," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 286-302.
    2. Mahtta, Richa & Joshi, P.K. & Jindal, Alok Kumar, 2014. "Solar power potential mapping in India using remote sensing inputs and environmental parameters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 255-262.
    3. Gastli, Adel & Charabi, Yassine, 2010. "Solar electricity prospects in Oman using GIS-based solar radiation maps," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 790-797, February.
    4. Pfenninger, Stefan & DeCarolis, Joseph & Hirth, Lion & Quoilin, Sylvain & Staffell, Iain, 2017. "The importance of open data and software: Is energy research lagging behind?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 211-215.
    5. Miguel Centeno Brito & Paula Redweik & Cristina Catita & Sara Freitas & Miguel Santos, 2019. "3D Solar Potential in the Urban Environment: A Case Study in Lisbon," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-13, September.
    6. Frauke Wiese & Gesine Bökenkamp & Clemens Wingenbach & Olav Hohmeyer, 2014. "An open source energy system simulation model as an instrument for public participation in the development of strategies for a sustainable future," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(5), pages 490-504, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wilko Heitkoetter & Wided Medjroubi & Thomas Vogt & Carsten Agert, 2019. "Comparison of Open Source Power Grid Models—Combining a Mathematical, Visual and Electrical Analysis in an Open Source Tool," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Alhamwi, Alaa & Medjroubi, Wided & Vogt, Thomas & Agert, Carsten, 2018. "Modelling urban energy requirements using open source data and models," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 1100-1108.
    3. Wiese, Frauke & Schlecht, Ingmar & Bunke, Wolf-Dieter & Gerbaulet, Clemens & Hirth, Lion & Jahn, Martin & Kunz, Friedrich & Lorenz, Casimir & Mühlenpfordt, Jonathan & Reimann, Juliane & Schill, Wolf-P, 2019. "Open Power System Data – Frictionless data for electricity system modelling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 401-409.
    4. Ringkjøb, Hans-Kristian & Haugan, Peter M. & Solbrekke, Ida Marie, 2018. "A review of modelling tools for energy and electricity systems with large shares of variable renewables," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 440-459.
    5. Klemm, Christian & Vennemann, Peter, 2021. "Modeling and optimization of multi-energy systems in mixed-use districts: A review of existing methods and approaches," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    6. Alhamwi, Alaa & Medjroubi, Wided & Vogt, Thomas & Agert, Carsten, 2017. "GIS-based urban energy systems models and tools: Introducing a model for the optimisation of flexibilisation technologies in urban areas," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 1-9.
    7. Sander Claeys & Marta Vanin & Frederik Geth & Geert Deconinck, 2021. "Applications of optimization models for electricity distribution networks," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(5), September.
    8. Østergaard, P.A. & Lund, H. & Thellufsen, J.Z. & Sorknæs, P. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2022. "Review and validation of EnergyPLAN," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    9. Mahtta, Richa & Joshi, P.K. & Jindal, Alok Kumar, 2014. "Solar power potential mapping in India using remote sensing inputs and environmental parameters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 255-262.
    10. Alimou, Yacine & Maïzi, Nadia & Bourmaud, Jean-Yves & Li, Marion, 2020. "Assessing the security of electricity supply through multi-scale modeling: The TIMES-ANTARES linking approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    11. Leonard Goke & Jens Weibezahn & Christian von Hirschhausen, 2021. "A collective blueprint, not a crystal ball: How expectations and participation shape long-term energy scenarios," Papers 2112.04821, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2022.
    12. Quentin Perrier, 2017. "The French Nuclear Bet," Working Papers 2017.18, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    13. Germeshausen, Robert & Wölfing, Nikolas, 2019. "How marginal is lignite? Two simple approaches to determine price-setting technologies in power markets," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-031, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    14. Palmer, Diane & Gottschalg, Ralph & Betts, Tom, 2019. "The future scope of large-scale solar in the UK: Site suitability and target analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 1136-1146.
    15. Purohit, Ishan & Purohit, Pallav, 2018. "Performance assessment of grid-interactive solar photovoltaic projects under India’s national solar mission," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 25-41.
    16. Hernández-Escobedo, Q. & Rodríguez-García, E. & Saldaña-Flores, R. & Fernández-García, A. & Manzano-Agugliaro, F., 2015. "Solar energy resource assessment in Mexican states along the Gulf of Mexico," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 216-238.
    17. Dennis Dreier & Mark Howells, 2019. "OSeMOSYS-PuLP: A Stochastic Modeling Framework for Long-Term Energy Systems Modeling," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-26, April.
    18. Nikas, A. & Gambhir, A. & Trutnevyte, E. & Koasidis, K. & Lund, H. & Thellufsen, J.Z. & Mayer, D. & Zachmann, G. & Miguel, L.J. & Ferreras-Alonso, N. & Sognnaes, I. & Peters, G.P. & Colombo, E. & Howe, 2021. "Perspective of comprehensive and comprehensible multi-model energy and climate science in Europe," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PA).
    19. Sharma, Chandan & Sharma, Ashish K. & Mullick, Subhash C. & Kandpal, Tara C., 2015. "Assessment of solar thermal power generation potential in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 902-912.
    20. Lombardi, Francesco & Balderrama, Sergio & Quoilin, Sylvain & Colombo, Emanuela, 2019. "Generating high-resolution multi-energy load profiles for remote areas with an open-source stochastic model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 433-444.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:2:p:747-:d:1029524. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.