Showing posts with label West Seti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Seti. Show all posts

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Hydro Politics


Three Gorges Dam
Hydropower In Nepal
Hydropower In Nepal: Videos
Hydropower In Nepal: Images

You ain’t seen nothing yet
despite us being in the middle of the monsoon, NEA has just raised power rationing to seven hours daily. ... this winter there will be electricity for only four hours a day..... nothing is going to prepare us as individuals, families and as a country to the looming dark winter ahead .... Politicians were distracted by fighting, by infighting, by greed and corruption, but by and large, they were just breathtakingly incompetent. .... only 8MW of power was added to the grid in the last fiscal year, while the increase in demand was 80MW. This fiscal year is .. demand has grown by another 90MW, but there has been zero augmentation in supply. .... It is a great leap backward to the dark ages. .... In five years, demand is set to rise to 1500MW which means we will need an installed capacity of 4500MW to cover for the winter deficit. The projects expected to be completed in the next few years, including Upper Tamakosi, Upper Trisuli 3A and 3B, and Chamelia, will only add 586MW to the grid. ...... Foreign investors are being harassed either by the government, by local extortionists, or by the hydro mafia. Projects that were on the verge of starting construction have had their licenses revoked, local opposition has stalled three big projects with Indian investment, like Arun III, Budi Gandaki and Upper Karnali. The Brazilian investor, Engevix, is on the verge of pulling out of the 400MW Lower Arun. ..... Nepal needs to be more investment-friendly, tariffs need to be revised to make it worthwhile and the bureaucratic hurdles need to be smoothened. .... the real reason: incompetence, corruption, mismanagement and political interference. ..... Among the recommendations: •Political consensus on future strategy •Generate enough power to meet domestic demand for value-added industry and only then export • Immediately commission a reservoir project in each development zone • Unbundle transmission and distribution, address inefficiencies, corruption, pilferage in the NEA .... acting now so there will be no power cuts by 2018.
Nepal to produce hydroelectricity under sub-regional framework
Nepal will come forward to jointly produce and share hydroelectricity with its neighbours including Bangladesh
Nepal seeks more deals in hydropower sector
Nepal has extended a warm welcome to more Chinese hydropower companies to invest in projects worth $400 billion, following the approval of the $1.8 billion contract to China Three Gorges Corp for West Seti Hydropower. ..... “In terms of capital, nobody can compete with China,” said constituent assembly member and entrepreneur Binod Chaudhary here on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province yesterday. “The biggest opportunity for Chinese companies in Nepal is to build projects in the same manner as the West Seti project.” ..... The government has just approved China Three Gorges Corp to undertake the $1.8 billion West Seti River hydropower project. The 750-megawatt (MW) plant has opened a ‘complete new chapter’ for Chinese investment in its neighbouring country ..... The Export-Import Bank of China will provide loans of $1.8 billion for a period of 10 years for the project, in which Three Gorges Corp will hold 75 per cent equity and Nepal Electricity Authority the remainder. ..... The construction of the hydroelectric dam is expected to start in 2015 and could be in operation as soon as 2020 .... some of the electricity generated by the West Seti plant could be supplied to China, as Nepal was unlikely to absorb all the power ..... Rivals of Three Gorges Corp, including Sinohydro Corp, are also building hydropower plants in Nepal, but private companies from Europe and India are the major investors in the sector. ..... Chaudhary allayed concerns that local residents could oppose the West Seti project because of environmental damage. Local people showed a very positive attitude, believing it would improve the area’s infrastructure and living standards, he said.
Key Elements of Improving Nepalese Hydropower Sector
Nepal is experiencing a huge energy (electricity) deficit. .... To solve these problems in the sector of hydro electricity and ensure adequate electricity supply in the future, national, international and private investment is needed, regardless of its form – be it unilateral, bilateral or multilateral investment. ..... By endorsing foreign investment into the sector of hydro electricity generation, Nepal would not only tackle its prime problem of water supply in the country (because of unsatisfactory distribution); it would also enable Nepal exporting water and energy to its neighbouring countries and thus acquiring resources so needed to alleviate its poverty. Exporting hydro energy could become one of the most important “Cash Drivers” for Nepal
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