As the dry season starts in Nepal, Nepalese industries have been experiencing power cuts lasting as long as 9 hours per day. Consequently, the majority of industries these days operate only during specific hours. They have limited access to electricity and their energy needs are not being met, thus, their production has plummeted while their expenses continue to increase. To address this issue of industries, Gham Power aims to provide renewable energy solutions which are more reliable as well as cost-effective than the national grid. However, there has always been a knowledge gap between renewable energy providers and industry leaders. In order to bridge this gap, we took a step forward to organize a knowledge-sharing and networking event in the industrial hubs of Nepal where we invite industry leaders to identify their major energy problems and discuss the possibility of mitigating them with solar. We call these special insightful events “Power Hour”.

Initially, in July 2022, the “Power Hour” event was organized in Birgunj which welcomed over 40+ industry leaders. While we were at Birgunj, the city was facing up to 15 hours of load-shedding a day. Following the necessary discussions with the attendees, they gradually realized the need for alternatives to fulfill their energy demands. With the success of our previous event, we also conducted this event in Hetauda recently which is another industry hub of Nepal. Through this event, we found out that with industries relying on the national grid for electricity, they do not have reliable and uninterrupted access to power and their expenses are really high. Moreover, they use diesel generators for backup which has multiplied their expenses. Diesel generators act as a pollutant to the environment and have not fulfilled their energy requirements. Hence, solar is a great alternative for industries that want to get access to reliable power while reducing their expenses and carbon footprints. For industries looking to increase their productivity and energy independence, solar could be a top-notch solution. On top of that, it is also a renewable choice, making it one of the best choices for any industrial unit. 

While we are putting efforts towards reducing the knowledge gap and the industries are gradually opening up to renewable options for power, we also have started implementing solar solutions in a few of the industries such as our solar project at Bhaskar Herbaceuticals – the leading Ayurvedic medicine manufacturer of Nepal. After the installation of the photovoltaic system, 93% of the produced energy has replaced grid electricity and the rest 7% has displaced diesel generators, which has resulted in the reduction of their monthly electricity bill. The power reliability has been improving too. In addition to this, we are also in discussions with other industry leaders who have shown great interest in executing solar solutions, and thus we have a few projects in the pipeline. We believe that our initiative is just a small step towards making Nepal self-reliant in the energy sector and we are hopeful about the potential of renewable energy in addressing the energy crisis in our country by delivering reliable and affordable electricity.

Contributed by Sijerina Nepal, Content Writing and Marketing Intern.