Nepal has a vast technical hydropower potential, though little has been developed so far. Power shortages cripple the country and with mostly run-of-river generation, production is at its lowest in the winter, when demand is peaking. Several thousand megawatt of capacity is being planned harnessed. But the task at hand is not made easy by the fact that Nepalese rivers carry tons of sand, eating away the turbines.
The lab at the Kathmandu University, inaugurated Thursday by ambassador Alf Arne Ramslien, aims to increase quality, reliability and performance of locally produced turbines. One issue is how to design turbines that can withstand the constant corrosion of the powerful sand, a Himalaya-specific challenge that arises from the great soil erosion along the rivers.
“We are happy to contribute to building research capacity within power generation, as developing Nepal’s power sector is one of the keys to unlock greater prosperity and social inclusiveness,” said Ramslien in his speech at the opening.
It has taken almost ten years to plan, design and arrange funds for the lab. The lab has received more than half of its financing from the Norwegian Government, supplemented by funds from Nepalese industry and government bodies, and also Norwegian university NTNU of Trondheim.
Encouraged by research fellows at the NTNU, Kathmandu University hope its testing lab can contribute to a broader development of Nepal’s power sector. University Dean Professor Bhola Thapa visited NTNU for a research project in 1997, and was inspired by how NTNUs water power lab, established in 1917, had helped foster innovation and development of Norway’s power generation in the last century.
It is believed that Nepalese companies can design, manufacture and install smaller power generation projects, but quality issues like turbine erosion must be addressed.