KATHMANDU: Upgrading the capacity of boilers at industrial units and equipping half-a-dozen sugar factories with steam turbines can generate about 50 MW electricity, energy experts said today.
At the renewable energy week exhibition at Bhrikuti Mandap, energy efficiency expert Bhishma Pandit said upgradation and installation of steam engine turbines for co-generation of electricity would cost Rs 20 to 30 million. The centre is running the programmes with support from GIZ.
Pandit underlined the need for coordination between sugar factories and Nepal Electricity Authority for this.
We do not have to spend much and need not wait for years to get electricity, as it is with hydroelectric projects, said Pandit.
The centre is auditing energy efficiency of Indu Shikar Sugar Mill at Sarlahi and will come up with recommendations regarding energy efficiency measures for the factory, Pandit said.
“The sugar factories in India contribute significantly to power generation. Therefore, there is a possibility of using sugar factories to co-generate electricity to give respite to people from the acute power crisis that prevails in our country,” added Pandit.
A separate study of FNCCI had estimated that Nepal’s sugar factories can generate over 70 MW.
Energy efficiency audit of about a dozen industries is underway, he said.
While inaugurating the two-day renewable energy exhibition, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai promised that the country will have smoke-free houses by 2017, adding that traditional means of energy will be replaced with improved ones to achieve this end.
Statistics show that traditional sources of energy, including firewood, account for 72 per cent of total energy consumption.
Source : The Himalayan Times
