Title: A systematic review on the sustainability of micro hydropower in Nepal

Authors: Hari Prashad Joshi

Addresses: Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90112, Thailand

Abstract: Micro hydropower plants not only provide electricity but also enrich the socio-economic status of rural areas of Nepal. Hence, the sustainability of smaller-scale hydropower plants is an exceptionally imperative viewpoint for poverty reduction in Nepal. This review paper aims to find a sustainability evaluation to demonstrate for smaller-scale hydropower plants in Nepal. We searched research articles from three popular databases: Google Scholar, Scopus, and JSTOR, starting from 2010 to 2022. And we have only included the data of the hydropower whose capacity is less than 100 KW. The result shows that the development of small-scale hydropower ventures gives viable decision-making support for the rural electrification and advancement sector. Despite that, some huge issues and challenges must be resolved in time for the development of micro-hydropower in Nepal. If those issues are resolved on time, there is huge potential for micro-hydropower in Nepal.

Keywords: sustainability; micro-hydropower; development; financial barrier; Nepal; technical difficulties; decentralisation; environment; energy; rural electrification.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHST.2024.140322

International Journal of Hydrology Science and Technology, 2024 Vol.18 No.2, pp.201 - 210

Received: 16 Aug 2022
Accepted: 09 Feb 2023
Published online: 02 Aug 2024 *

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