Government of Nepal

Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation

Alternative Energy Promotion Centre

Making Renewable Energy Mainstream Supply in Nepal

          

Pure platform 1                                                                                                          Pure platform 2

About

The PURE (Productive Use of Renewable Energy) Platform is an innovative digital platform specifically designed to revolutionise renewable energy demand planning for irrigation in Nepal, especially in the mountain regions. It harnesses the power of satellite imagery and advanced modelling to uncover market opportunities for renewable energy integration, particularly in irrigation, addressing critical information needs.

PURE enables user-guided inputs, allowing users to select various dataset layers encompassing administrative boundaries, physiographic zones, transmission lines, river networks, canals, road access, and more. These layers are seamlessly integrated to visualise potential renewable energy demand for irrigation and cost predictions across national, provincial, and district levels through clear graphics and tables. By offering detailed insights into renewable energy demand planning, it can facilitate informed decision support for governments, development and private sectors, practitioners, researchers, and academics.

PURE is developed by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC).

 Assessing irrigation sites powered with micro hydro

PURE facilitates user-guided inputs, empowering users to select from a range of dataset layers including micro-hydro, transmission lines, irrigation canals, road access, and more. These layers are seamlessly integrated, enabling users to conduct multi-criteria assessments of sites, determine pumping requirements, and estimate costs suitable for irrigation powered by micro-hydro.

                            

Potential RE demand for irrigation in Nepal

The PURE platform employs a methodical approach. The process begins with a comprehensive suitability analysis, where several factors including land cover, terrain, availability of surface water, slope, soil type, and surface water supply are assessed to identify regions conducive to irrigation. Then it calculates Crop Water Requirements by evaluating the demands of commonly cultivated crops, offering an approximation for irrigation water needs. This is followed by power requirement estimation, calculating the power demand for lifting water based on the identified potential unirrigated areas and crop water requirements. This comprehensive methodology ensures a thorough analysis of suitable irrigable areas, megawatts of required power demands, and associated costs, facilitating decision support for effectively planning RE-powered irrigation in Nepal. According to the platform's assessment, there is a renewable energy demand potential between 800 and 1300 MW to address Nepal's irrigation needs.