Kathmandu– “Workshop on small wind energy systems for policy makers in Nepal” has been organized by Nepal Academy of science and Technology (NAST) in association with Arizona State University (ASU), in Lalitpur on 1- 3 October 2015. This workshop has been conducted by Vocational Training and Education for Clean Energy (VOCTEC) Program, supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

All high and mid-level officials and policy makers from Nepal including the government, private sector, NGOs, and industry and representatives from partner organizations and donor agencies in Nepal were seen actively participating in the workshop.

“Nepal is one of the enriched country with the renewable energy sources like wind energy, solar energy, biomass, so this workshop is expected to help the participants to assess their ideas, technical knowledge and policy level issues applicable to wind energy in selecting locations, and determining the wind energy potential—comparing with other renewable energy options”, said Prof. Dr. Govinda Pokhrel, Vice-Chancellor of National Planning Commission of Nepal.

The workshop, so carried out was targeted to mark the feasibility of wind energy production in Nepal with small wind turbines. Throughout the whole session the workshop was taught by Mr. Michel Maupoux of Green Environment, with Dr. Ambika P. Adhikari. In the program participants were introduced to small or distributed wind energy system along with the discussion on the current state of wind energy market in the world, wind resource assessment and siting tools and procedures, wind turbine technology, wind economics and policies, and environmental consideration.

The participants were also introduced to the other important factors like wind maps for the region and the use of variety of related software training. These trainings are believed to aid the acknowledgement of policy makers and technical experts for the identification of best locations for wind energy production and to accurately estimate annual energy production and financial aspects of the project, said, Prof. Dr. Jib Raj Pokherel, Vice-Chancellor of NAST.

The participant has also attended the lectures and hands-on activities in the workshop, associated with the evaluation and the techniques to be carried out while using wind energy related data.  Also in the workshop, Dr. Ambika P. Adhikari, introducing the participants about the VOCTEC Program— described the overall view of its renewable energy programs.

In addition, Mr. Ram P. Dhital, the Executive Director of Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, AEPC has said Nepal has big potential in solar and wind for the alternative energy sources. Similarly, Prof. Dr. Triratna Bajracharya, Dean of Institute of Engineering, Dr. Krishna C. Poudel,  the secretary of Ministry of Science, Tech. and Environment & Er. Ganesh Shah, Former Minister of Science, Tech. and Environment, gave their valuable remarks on the program.