Nepal currently has a hydroelectric capacity of around 2,080 MW. Hydropower plants of more than 7,200 MW are under construction. Undoubtedly, the hydropower market in Nepal will continue to grow for the next several decades, and the need for hydropower professionals will continue to rise. With this, significance of taking specialisation courses already in undergraduate studies is growing
Picking the right stream of study is one of the major confusions for students in Nepal, whether after completing SEE, +2 or even a bachelor's degree. The final decision is mostly based on individual interest, job availability, opportunities for higher studies abroad and, in some cases, student's competence in passing the course.
With regards to engineering, one is even required to choose a particular discipline like civil, electrical, mechanical, computer, electronics or environment. These days, some universities have also introduced multi-disciplinary courses to become more specific on the career path chosen. This has created more confusion among students and their parents, since they are expected to narrow down their potential working and future study domain very early in their career. However, it has also helped them become more competent in the particular field, since they take courses and carry out academic activities, which are relevant to that field throughout their engineering study.
Hydropower is one such integrated course, which covers civil, electrical, mechanical and even other disciplines of engineering. Considering the huge potential of hydropower in the country, the relevance of engineering study focussing on this topic in Nepal is undeniable.
Nepal currently has a hydroelectric capacity of around 2,080 MW. Hydropower plants of more than 7,200 MW are under construction, and over 14,000 MW are under study. Undoubtedly, the hydropower market in Nepal will continue to grow for the next several decades, and the need for hydropower professionals will continue to rise.
This is also one of the few areas in Nepal that is performing well and is expected to have a huge impact on the country's economy. Yet, there still seems to be a scarcity of hydropower professionals, and fresh graduates usually struggle to find a placement owing to lack of experiences in this sector. As a result, they are compelled to find alternative solutions abroad. With the market around the world getting more competitive, the significance of taking specialisation courses already in undergraduate studies is growing.
Some universities in Nepal have now introduced hydropower engineering as a completely new discipline in engineering. This is an integrated package where all the related disciplines of engineering, like civil (dam, intake, tunnel), mechanical (pipe, valve, turbine) and electrical (generator, control system) engineering are covered.
Some universities like Kathmandu University have taken a more conservative approach, where specialisation in hydropower is integrated with civil and mechanical engineering. This enables students to continue their career in the specific discipline of hydropower, while still keeping the chance of changing their fields open later.
Education is closely related with research, and if we see the global research trend, hydropower sector is one of the most promising research areas out of all the energy sectors. Firstly, this is because it is one of the cleanest forms of energy, renewable and yet producing power with efficiency that is more than 90 percent, and secondly, it also adds stability and flexibility to the intermittent sources of renewable energy, such as wind and solar.
Several research works are being carried out around the world to optimise the overall performance of hydropower plants; increase the efficiency and life-span of the hydropower components; minimize the impact of hydropower on the environment; early stage fault detection in the structure and machines; and increase the flexibility of hydropower to adapt to the complex energy system that exists in the present world.
Nepal, on the other hand, has its own challenges in the hydropower sector. This includes the problem of excessive sediment concentration in the rivers, which causes degradation of the hydropower components including turbines, and the need for special treatment in the intake areas of the plant. The mitigation of these challenges requires comprehensive research by several intellectuals in the field of hydropower. Being one of the few countries with the problem of sediments, Nepal has the challenge of finding the solution to this particular problem on its own. This makes hydropower study even more applicable in the context of Nepal.
Nepal is currently exporting 364 MW of electricity to India during the wet season. Nepal Electricity Authority has projected exports of 2456.4 MW of electricity to India in another four years, provided that all the hydropower projects are completed within the prescribed time. To narrow down the difference in hydropower production between the dry and wet season, and increase the stability of the plants, reservoir projects might be a sustainable solution. More discussions in bringing up these projects might be required along with developing and executing national level policies.
Quality of the products that are installed in the power plants might need to be scrutinised, as most of the new power plants are facing the problem of low quality products. Technical and financial bidding of these products could be made more quality-oriented. Design and manufacturing of hydropower components inside the country need to be emphasised, and R&D to produce the most suitable turbine for Nepal's context needs to be encouraged. Nepal needs more people who understand hydropower, both technically and non-technically, so that necessary interventions could be made to address the sustainability issues in the sector of hydropower.
Chitrakar and Lama are associated with Kathmandu University as Assistant Professor and Academia-Industry Coordinator respectively
A version of this article appears in the print on August 15, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.