P2269@com.qz.se ("ENG-LEONG FOO ", MIRCEN-STOCKHOLM) (05/11/89)
In a report on the "Evaluation of Alternate Energy Technologies in Nepal" (available from:- His Majesty'S Government of Nepal, Ministry of Water Resources, Water and Energy Commission, Kathamandu, Nepal), three technologies are currently promoted by His Majesty' Government of Nepal in their 7th Five-Year Plan. Improved cookstoves, micro- hydro electricity and biogas systems are considered for their abilities to substitute for or conserve traditional fuels in rural or semi-urban areas. Biogas systems provide significant economic benefits both in terms of savings of fuelwood and of kerosene. The high capital cost makes biogas systems unattractive to users however from a technical and economic perspective, only biogas proved to have economic benefits much greater than financial ones and thus has justified an HMG/N subsidy to promote it. A subsidy of as much as 50 % of the capital cost has been shown to be desirable.