ALBERT

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2841: Electricity as a Cooking Means in Nepal—A Modelling Tool Approach Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082841 Authors: Ramchandra Bhandari Surendra Pandit Cooking energy has an important role in energy demand of Nepal. Over the last decade, import of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has increased by 3.3 times as an alternate cooking fuel to kerosene and firewood. The growing subsidy burden to endorse modern fuel switching from traditional energy sources and high import of LPG are challenges for sustainability and energy security. This paper analyzes the future residential cooking energy demand and its environmental and economic impacts from 2015 to 2035 using a Long-range Energy Alternative Planning System (LEAP) tool. In 2035, the LPG demand for cooking is projected to be 26.5 million GJ, 16.3 million GJ, 45.2 million GJ and 58.2 million GJ for business as usual (BAU), low growth rate (LGR), medium growth rate (MGR) and high growth rate (HGR) scenarios, respectively. To substitute LPG with electricity in the cooking sector by 2035, an additional 1207 MW, 734 MW, 2055 MW and 2626 MW hydropower installation is required for BAU, LGR, MGR and HGR scenarios, respectively. In the MGR scenario, substituting LPG with electricity could save from $21.8 million (2016) to $70.8 million (2035) each year, which could be used to develop large-scale hydropower projects in the long term.