By Khumansingh Tamang

The chronic problem of load shedding in  the country is showing little sign of improving any time soon. The power crisis has hugely impacted on the national economy, pushing the manufacturing industries to the point of total shut down.

Use of diesel run power generators to cope with the prevailing power cuts is impractical because the price of petroleum products is soaring by each passing day. 

With an aim to deal with the persisting problem of daily power cuts, Kathmandu Alternative Power Energy (KAPEG) in Kavre district has been working on generating electricity through wind energy, which is both cheap and eco-friendly. With the assistance of Australian citizen Peter Freere, a team of former engineering students at KAPEG has installed a wind turbine at Devisthan in Dhulikhel that has been powering the nearby Hotel Panaroma during load shedding hours.

"The technology will be helpful in Nepal if the government shows some interest in tapping wind energy in the country," says Rakesh Sinha of KAPEG. "If promoted, wind energy could be the answer to our problem of load shedding."

The turbine blade is made of wood that any carpenter could make after some training. Since the technology does not demand sophisticated and expensive machines, the technology is feasible in Nepal .

According to Peter Freere, the technology has been developed considering the availability of resources and geographical condition of Nepal .

Though the turbine blade is handmade out of wood, unlike the machine made fiberglass blade used in other countries, the wooden blade was just as good when it was tested in Australia , he said. 

KAPEG is currently planning to work along with Practical Action Nepal, an organization working in the field of sustainable development, to promote the technology at the commercial level.