Studies
Hydro electricity. N/A N/A
Development of a mini hydro based rural electrification programme for Bhutan
| Country : | Bhoutan. . |
| Client : | UNDP - United Nations Development Programme . |
| Start Date : | 1997 |
| Completion Date : | 1998 |
| Value of services : | N/C |
| Funder : | UNDP (United Nations Development Program) . |
| Associate/Partner : | N/A |
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| Description : |
The Royal Government of Bhutan (RGB) (total population : 700 000) has prioritised, in its seventh five-year plan, the development of its extensive hydropower resources. The potential for power production from the main rivers is estimated at 30 000 MW and does not include the mini / micro hydropower potential. 91 potential sites have been identified, for some 10 MW. The installed capacity is 357 MW, from which 344 are produced from 23 hydropower plants. More than 80 % of the power produced is exported to India. During the seventh five-year plan, the energy sector brought 25 % of the government revenues. Although, today, only the main towns and the villages located near the grid are electrified, the government has placed priority to power all of its own population. Indeed, 85 % of the population lives in rural areas, most of them away from the grid. |
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| Description of the Actual Services Provided | The project aimed at : * Developing the use of hydropower and photovoltaic resources for remote village electricity supply, with the objective of reducing CO2 emissions, * Promoting the use of technologies adapted to rural areas, * Facilitating technology and know-how transfer, through specific training programmes, * Improving economic development and local participation, * Recommending guidelines to ensure the viability of the decentralised electrification schemes, * Proposing organisational and financial viable systems, * Improving the emergence of local actors. |