KATHMANDU, Nepal-Diesel generator which are rampantly used for the daily power needs in households and offices have been found emitting more harmful gases than vehicles that are plying in Capital Kathmandu, a recent report revealed.
A study, ‘Diesel for Power Generation: Inventories and Black Carbon Emissions in Kathmandu Valley,’ found that that the annual release of carbon monoxide (CO) and black carbon from the diesel generators was 1,181 and 135 tons respectively.
The study carried out by Clean Air Network Nepal (CANN), with technical support from Kathmandu University, and supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and the World Bank further disclosed that the annual diesel consumption for captive power generation from generator sets in Kathmandu was around 70,715 kilolitres, which accounted for 59 percent of the total diesel sale in the city in the fiscal year 2011-2012.
While the valley’s transportation system is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel, the rise in power cut hours since 2008 led to the demand for diesel generators.
There has been an unprecedented rise in the import of diesel generators since the year 2008-2009 when the country starting witnessing an acute power shortage with load-shedding going up to as long as 18 hours a day.
The report was prepared on the basis of questionnaires, field visits, detailed information on the operation of diesel generator sets and fuel consumption and capacity, brand, model and efficiency of the generators.
The research was carried out in various sectors such as manufacturing industries, the commercial sector, government/NGOs/INGOs/diplomatic missions and hospitals.
According to the report, there are around 200,000 such generator sets across the country.
