Indigenous Electricity for Reducing Trade Deficit of Nepal

Abstract

This paper briefly highlights four topics namely: green lift irrigation for food security, cold stores for food storage, electricity-based cooking to displace LPG and possibility of establishing urea fertilizer plant in Nepal. This paper also indicates how surplus electricity can be used in reducing ever-increasing trade deficit of Nepal.

1.  Green Lift Irrigation for Food Security in Nepal

According to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the basic needs for survival of human beings are air, water, food and shelter. As per Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 180 kg of staple food is required per person per year for maintaining healthy life. Use of electricity is one of the most important tools for providing food security that can greatly improve the sustainable physical quality of life. In Nepal, food deficiency increased from 15 percent to 23 percent due to COVID 19 impact¹.

Nepal faced a trade deficit of about Rs 115 billion every month in the fiscal year 2018/19. Similarly, the country imported vegetables worth more than Rs 90 million per day during period of mid-March and mid-April, 2020. Nepal imported cereals worth Rs 35 billion, Rs 39 billion and 40 billion in the FY 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17, respectively.

Nepal is rich in Natural Energy Resource where there are about 6,000 rivers, (fed by 23000² rivulets and tributaries) with a total length of about 45,000 km and an annual discharge capacity of 220 billion cubic meters of water. As per annual report of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), in a period of one month between mid-August and mid-September 2022, total available energy was 11,064 GWh consisting of NEA hydro generation 29.4 percent, purchased from NEA subsidiaries 17.8 percent, purchased from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) of Nepal 38.7 percent and purchased from India 13.9 percent. Only about 2.59 percent of the NEA generated energy, i.e., 9316 GWh, has been used for irrigation purposes in FY 2021/22.

As per the Department of Irrigation, there is enough arable land in all geographic regions of Nepal as shown in Figure 1 and 3. About 1.446 million hectares of land have been waiting to receive irrigation facility through lift irrigation, which is based on electricity. Depending upon the type of soil and crops, around 2,500 kg to 4,000 kg of agricultural products can be produced per hectare. This will definitely help in ensuring the food security of Nepal.

About 1,450 MW of electrical power will be required considering an average of one kilowatt of electrical power is needed for lift irrigation to water each hectare of arable land in all three geographic regions of Nepal, especially after the rainy season. From an economic point of view, extending the national grid may not be feasible in several cases. In such cases, standalone renewable energy sources like mini and micro hydropower systems, wind power systems (both mechanical and electrical) and solar photovoltaic power systems can decentralize energy sources for the lift irrigation system.

As per Figure 1, potential area of arable land that could be irrigated with the help of electricity for lift irrigation in all three geographic regions of Nepal comes out to be 1.446 million hectares. By using surplus electricity, 396,000 ha in Terai, 875,000 ha in Hills and 175,000 ha in Mountains of Nepal can be irrigated. In some cases, if extending INPS transmission lines to areas where lift irrigation is difficult, various alternatively renewable energy technologies such as, Pico Hydro, Micro Hydro, Mini Hydro (standalone), Wind (mechanical, electrical) and Solar Electricity can be used.

Figure1: Status of Irrigation Facility in Nepal (Source: Economic Survey 2019)

Government of Nepal allocated Rs 4.13 billion for alternative energy under the program “Harek Gara - Hara Bhara” out of which Rs 1.31 billion was meant for Solar Based Water Lifting for Irrigation (Budget Speech, FY 2021/22).

Fig 2.1
 
Fig 2.2

As per a joint report of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (MoEWRI/WECS), around 220 billion cubic meters of water flows from Nepal originated from 6,000 relatively big rivers which are fed by 23000 rivulets (Fig 2.1). It is noteworthy to mention here that Nepal exported bottled water worth Rs 375.2 million as reported on Kantipur Daily dated April 21, 2023. Obviously, such export related activities can flourish provided well managed export businesses are established by hard working profit-oriented entrepreneurs.

One of the ways to empower an individual farmer and or a small-scale entrepreneur is to use an easily portable 360-degree foldable PV flexible module and small submersible pump as shown in Fig 2.2. As this system is fully portable, a single person can handle it easily and it can be used from one drip irrigated land to another with a frequency of at least 20 times per month earning around about Rs 45,000 per month with a payback of the cost of submersible pump and flexible PV module within five months. Thus, this business model can be highly bankable even with no subsidy from the government.

The suggested system saves 0.27 kg of greenhouse gases (GHGs) expressed in terms of CO2e per day per system when compared to the equivalent amount of electrical energy used based on a diesel-based generator. In addition, costly diesel is not easily available in areas without INPS besides problematic repair maintenance of diesel generators.

These types of efforts will be helpful to make the agriculture, a respectful profession in Nepal (Krishi Peshalai Sammanit Pesha Banau!). Food and energy independence is a key issue in the modern society. There is a close relationship between Samrida Nepal, Sukhi Nepali and Food and Energy Security.

2. Food Storage

To ensure stable income of farmers, post harvesting activities such as storage of food is required. The cost of constructing different cold stores in sizes of 10 m3, 100 m3 and 1000 m3 at room temperature maintaining two degree Celsius (24 hours), ambient temperature 35 deg Celsius is shown in Table 1. It clearly shows that at least 400 MW of electrical power is required if they installed 10000 cold storages at different locations of the country. This will help the consumers to get fresh vegetables and fresh fruits almost all the tie in Nepal, which will attract young people in modern farming activities.

Table 1: Cost and Power required for Cold Sores of different Sizes (Source: Associate Prof. Vishwa Prasanna Amatya)

 Figure 3: Food Production in Nepal (Source: Krishi Pasupanchi Diary, FY 2018/19)

3. E-Cooking to Displace LPG in Nepal

According to the annual Foreign Trade Statistic of the Department of Customs, trade deficit has increased by 13.55 per cent to NRs. 1,321.42 billion in the fiscal year 2018/19 compared to the previous fiscal year 2017/18. Most of the trade deficit is mainly due to import of petroleum products, including LPG. As per details of the petroleum products import mentioned in Economic Survey 2022 (page 109), in fiscal year 2021/22, Nepal imported 477,752 tons of LPG (about 92,000 LPG cylinders consumed per day, 19 GWhe/day@90% conversion efficiency) which is mainly used for cooking purpose (Fig 4).

 Figure 4: Annual Fossil Fuel Import Trends of Nepal (Economic Survey and NOC)

If Nepal continues to depend on imported energy sources, as shown in Figure 4, it is going to be very difficult to reduce the ever-increasing trade deficit in Nepal. Country needs the new energy policy which will be helpful to discourage the use of imported fuel by promoting the clean energy sources available within the country. It is said that, if internal consumption is not increased soon, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) will have surplus electricity generation in the coming years. To increase the internal consumption, switching of cooking fuel from LPG to electricity could be the easiest and fastest way, which also saves billions of Nepalese Rupees (actually hard-earned convertible currency of Nepal). So, it is high time to promote the use of induction cooker and or efficient electric cooker preferably with two burners powered by electricity in Nepalese kitchen to save energy, save cooking time, reduce indoor pollution and above all the cost of cooking.  

Parameters that are needed to be considered while finding the cost of cooking C(t)

The exact cooking cost C(t) depends upon the parameters related to the factors like location, ambient conditions, energy source and types of pot used in cooking represented by functions like alpha, beta, gamma and theta as given below.
C(t) = ∫(a,b,c,q)--------------(i)  
Where,
a=  ∫(coordinates of location, altitude)
b=  ∫(ambient temperature, humidity, air pressure, air flow)
c=  ∫(types of energy used and its thermal efficiency)
q=  ∫(types of cooking pot)

 
Figure 5: Experimental setup for the rice cooking using different devices at CES/IOE, Pulchowk

As Figure 6 clearly shows that shifting cooking fuel from LPG to electricity in the Nepalese kitchens is a positive step and it can save billions of rupees being spent in purchasing LPG from India. Besides this experiment, it is proposed to conduct more detailed experiments on cooking using different fuel types, different cookstoves and cooking a complete set of Nepali cuisine. This experiment will be helpful to answer many questions raised by the public regarding the real cooking price, including the cost of different cook stoves in three geographic regions of Nepal. In addition, the proposed research work will be helpful to encourage people to switch on cooking fuel from LPG to electricity.

 
Figure 6: Time, energy and cost comparison of rice cooking using different type cookers

  
Figure 7: Distribution of NEA consumer categories and energy consumption 

What is needed for making Induction based cooking a success?

•  Supply of QUALITY Electricity (220 V AC, 50 Hz even at a distance of say 5 km from distribution transformer

•   SUFFICIENT electricity (is size of distribution transformer adequate.)

•   REGULAR supply of electricity

•    DEPENDABLE SUPPLY

•   AFFORDABLE price of electricity (should less than the cost of LPG) (reduce electricity tariff by 10 percent now to motivate people)

•   Appropriate FUSING of consumer energy meter

•   Appropriate size of the Induction cooker (2 pot or 3 pot)

Table 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of different Cookers (in Nepalese Context)

The thermal energy content of an LPG cylinder containing 14.2 kg of cooking gas is about 185 kWh {[(14. 2 kg X47 MJ/kg)/3.6 MJ] kWh=185 kWh}. This means the total thermal energy required per day will be (92,000 LPG /day X 185 kWh/LPG = 170,20,000 kWh, which means for about 2 hours of cooking,  electrical energy needed per day during morning and evening cooking hours will be ((17,020,000 kWh)/2h)/1,000) MW=8,510 MW  (neglecting conversion efficiency). Roughly, it can be said that at least 4,000 MW will be required to replace at least 50 percent import of LPG in Nepal. This will help not only reduce the trade deficit of Nepal, especially with India but also will stop emitting carbon dioxide equivalent Green House Gases of about four tons per day given 92,000  LPG cylinders are displaced per day.

4. Chemical Fertilizer Plant in Nepal

Figure 8 shows the status of the distribution and import of fertilizer in Nepal. The Government of Nepal spent Rs 13.3 billion to import 340,145 tons of fertilizer in FY 2017/18. This trend prevailed for many years in the past. This is one of the reasons for the continuous trade deficit in Nepal. This situation can improve if Nepal can manufacture fertilizer, at least for itself.

Figure8: Sales and Distribution (Left) and Import (right) of chemical fertilizer in Nepal (Source: Economic Survey, 2020

Urea Fertilizer Production Schemes: 

There are two methods used to manufacture fertilizer (urea) as explained below.  

Figure 9: Methods of Chemical Fertilizer Production: Method 1 (left) and Method 2 (right)

Chemical Fertilizer Plant to increase crop yield

There were three studies carried out in the past: the 2017 Report Submitted by Indian Consultants (details not available), the 1984 JICA Report and the 1981 UNIDO report (details not available).

There is no proven source of hydrocarbons in Nepal and hence method 1 mentioned above is out of discussion for the time being, whereas method 2 can be considered in the line as suggested by the JICA study in 1984. The proposed establishment of a urea fertilizer plant in Hetauda (using flu gas from Hetauda Cement Industry) with a production capacity of 275 tons per day could not be realized because of the unavailability of required electrical power.

The 1984 JICA Study on “Feasibility report on the establishment of a urea fertilizer plant in Nepal,” has maintained the timeline as construction-January1988 and production- July 1991 assuming that the 250 MW SaptaGandak Project will be realized in 1991. They maintained a location in the Hetauda Cement Industry Premises while the required area measured was 500 m x 200 m.

Table 3: Summary of Feasibility Study of Chemical Fertilizer Plant Development in Nepal, JICA study

Now the situation has changed. There is enough evidence that Nepal will have additional, at least, 1,000 MW of electrical power soon. There are 61 cement industries currently in operation in Nepal, as per the Nepal Cement Producers' Association (NCPA). The required urea fertilizer can be manufactured by establishing a fertilizer plant based on method 2 in five top cement industries of Nepal at different locations with a supply of about 500 MW of electrical power, most of which can be supplied during nighttime when the electricity tariff is significantly low. In this case, as the cost of domestically produced urea will be cheaper, they can compete with the imported urea in terms of cost.

5.  A Way Forward

A rough estimate shows the extra electrical power required for following activities area as follows:

Description                    Power Required 
Lift Irrigation                    up to 1,450 MW
Cold Stores                    up to 400 MW or more
E-Cooking        up to 4,000 MW (to replace import of LPG by half)

Urea Fertilizer Plant 5/275 TPD capacity     up to 500 MW or more

Finally, it is recommended that:

·  Government of Nepal requests JICA to review its 1984 study report  mentioned above;

· Technology be blended with social sciences(Start Development Technology Courses at Tertiary Level of Education, e.g. MBA, MA Levels.) for creating enabling business environments;

· Start a detailed study on the possibility of establishing fertilizer plants in at least five locations near the top five Cement Factories in Nepal; and

· Create a Research Division/ Cell at NEA in collaboration with the Universities of Nepal, focusing especially on ways of increasing electricity consumption for the peace, progress and prosperity of Nepal.

Specification of used Equipment

Specification of Submersible 24 V DC (100 W) Shurflo Pump:
Positive displacement 3 chamber diaphragm pump Permanent magnet motor (P/N 11-175-00)12-24 VDC nominal, 4.1 maximum amps, 230 feet maximum lift (70 meters), 100 feet maximum submersion (30 meters), 1/2" Hose Barb discharge port, 50 mesh stainless steel screen inlet, 3.0-degree cam, Net weight 6 Lbs. (2.7 Kg)

Features:

•    Long -life 24 VDC operation
•    For 4" wells or larger
•    Lifts water from wells up to 230' deep
•    Can pump up to 111 gallons per hour
•    Quick disconnect with "Watertite-Gland" Design Pat Pend
•    Corrosion-proof housing with stainless-steel fasteners
•    Runs dry without damage
•    50 mesh stainless steel inlet screen to keep debris out
•    Motor is sealed for long life and durability
•    State of the art solid diaphragm

Performance Measurement Using Flexible 95 Wp CIGS Module

Date of Measurement: April 08, 2023, Saturday
Time of measurement between: 12:45 hours to 13:13 hours

Solar Irradiance: in Between 750 W/m2 to 670 W/m2 (Horizontal)

Solar Inclination angle 83 Deg (max radiation)

Location of Measurement: Hattiban, Harisiddhi, Ward no. 28, LMC, Nepal 
Voc= 26.5 V
Isc =3.5 A
V load = 25 V @720 W/m2
I = 1.22 A @650 W/m2

Panel Surface temperature = 50 degree Celsius

Head = 0.5 m

Time to fill up one-liter bottle = between 8 to 10 sec

Pump: Shurflo, 24 V DC, 100 Watt, allowable/usable head up to 70 m @STC

(Note: Performance of the mentioned flexible PV module widely depends upon the available solar insolation and total lifting head, including friction losses)

References

¹Https:/nagariknews.nagariknetwork.com/social-affairs/244651-1592359169.html

²Minister Barsa Man Pun, budget Supplementary speech at paliament of Nepal dated 2077/02/27

Prof.Shrestha is associated with center for Energy Studies, Institute of Engineering Tribhuvan University, Nepal

This article is taken from Urja Khabar bi-annual Journal Publish on 16th June, 2023