Nepal Aims for 80% Renewable Energy Amid Fuel Security Concerns
A punishing fuel blockade has pushed Nepal to tap home-grown clean energy, the government said on Thursday.
Since the landlocked nation adopted a new constitution last September, Nepalese protesters on the Indian border have barred a main entry point for imports to reach shattered Kathmandu. India has rejected Nepal’s claims it is imposing an undeclared blockade.
Acute energy shortages are crippling a country recovering from a devastating earthquake that killed 9,000 and has affected almost a third of its citizens.
“[T]he recent fuel crisis that sparked from September 2015 has accorded high priority to scale-up production of renewable energy technologies in order to meet the energy demands of urban, peri-urban and rural areas,” wrote Nepal in a tardy submission to a UN climate agreement.