Government creating strong legal framework for using green energy: Minister Sinha

Kirtipur (Kathmandu), Jan 27: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Anil Kumar Sinha, has said that the government is working towards creating a strong legal and policy framework to increase the use of green energy.

He argued such an arrangement is necessary to achieve the national goal of reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2045.

Addressing the national conference on green energy and the carbon economy held here today, Minister Sinha stated that such policies are needed to meet the right to a clean environment granted to every citizen by the Constitution and to achieve sustainable development goals.

He said that incentives given to electrical appliances and vehicles, the goal of reaching the installed solar power capacity of 500 megawatts by 2035, and the recently formulated ethanol blending procedures were examples of this.

The Minister said that facilities have also been provided to convert traditional brick kilns into electric ones.

Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission, Prakash Kumar Shrestha, stated that with 60 percent of total energy consumption still coming from imported fuel, all sectors need to be involved to achieve the national carbon emission target.

He also mentioned that despite having policy clarity, implementation has been weak and there has not been significant progress in attracting the private sector.

The NPC Vice Chairman said that the private sector should be made well-aware that banks have loanable funds worth Rs 1.1 trillion and that it is a good opportunity to invest in green energy when interest rates are low.

The Executive Director of the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), Nawa Raj Dhakal, said that so far 140 megawatts electricity has been generated from renewable energy and that to increase this, arrangements have been made for a 27-megawatt solar energy plant, 132 charging stations and 513 charging lanes to boost green electricity consumption.

He added that 4,137 solar pumps have been installed to reduce the consumption of imported fuel for irrigation. (RSS)