{
  "id": 10152824,
  "title": "Nepal’s hydropower ambitions face climate reality check",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/nepals-hydropower-ambitions-face-climate-reality-check-10152824",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-27T03:55:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Japan Times",
    "slug": "japan-times",
    "url": "https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2026/09/27/energy/nepal-hydropower-focus/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kathmandu – Nepal's ambitious hydropower expansion, once hailed as a key driver of economic growth and renewable energy, now faces a stark reality check following the devastating August flood. Triggered by a glacial mountain collapse at the China-Nepal border, the disaster claimed over 1,400 lives and left thousands missing, while plunging 410 megawatts (MW) or approximately 10% of the nation's power generation capacity offline. With over 90% of Nepal's electricity sourced from hydropower, the extent of damage to its river projects has raised serious questions about the country's energy security in the face of intensifying climate and geological risks.\n\nUttam Bhlon Lama, senior vice president of the Independent Power Producers' Association (IPPAN), emphasized the pivotal role hydropower has played in the country's development, creating jobs and income. However, the aftermath of the disaster has prompted a reevaluation of Nepal's aggressive dam-building strategy. \"We have to prepare... This is our new normal,\" he stated, acknowledging the need to adapt to the evolving risks.\n\nOver the past decade, Nepal's hydropower output has surged more than fourfold to about 4,120 megawatts, enabling near-complete grid connectivity for the nation's 30 million residents. The country had also sought to export surplus electricity to neighboring India and Bangladesh, aiming to monetize its glacier-fed rivers. Yet, the major destruction of hydropower infrastructure has led authorities to suspend such exports in the wake of the disaster.\n\nThe scale of the damage underscores the vulnerabilities inherent in Nepal's energy sector, which accounted for roughly half of the overall infrastructure losses. Seven hydropower projects were directly impacted, while six under-construction projects with a combined capacity of 508 MW also sustained damage. Rescue efforts, weeks after the catastrophe, are still underway, with focus on the hydropower tunnels housing hundreds of missing workers and personnel.\n\nThe disaster has prompted calls for a comprehensive reassessment of project design and construction standards. Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha emphasized the importance of learning from the incident and implementing measures to mitigate future risks. The World Bank has also warned Nepal to develop a hydropower system capable of anticipating, absorbing, and recovering from the growing complexity of Himalayan hazards, driven by long-term warming, glacier retreat, and geological instability.\n\nNepal's hydropower infrastructure, predominantly located in steep river valleys fed by glaciers, is particularly susceptible to floods, landslides, and geological hazards. IPPAN's Lama advocated for relocating powerhouses higher up from riverbeds, enhancing evacuation plans, and exploring remotely operated systems to safeguard against future disasters.\n\nThe flooding has reignited discussions about diversifying Nepal's power mix, as the current system heavily reliant on hydropower is strained and lacks coal or gas-fired generation capacity. Germany's development agency GIZ recommended augmenting the electricity system with solar energy to bolster resilience. However, the wider Himalayan and Hindu Kush ranges, where Nepal is situated, are home to around 240 million people in mountainous regions and 1.65 billion in downstream river valleys below, making a robust regional monitoring system for early warning crucial, according to Basanta Raj Adhikari, director at the Centre for Disaster Studies at Tribhuvan University. Adhikari stressed the urgent need to design climate-resilient infrastructures to confront the existential threat posed by climate change and anthropogenic activities.",
  "summary": "More than 90% of Nepal's electricity comes from hydropower, but extensive damage to its river projects has prompted questions about energy security.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Nepal’s hydropower ambitions face climate reality check",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/nepals-hydropower-ambitions-face-climate-reality-check",
        "published": "2026-09-27T03:17:55.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn",
        "title": "Nepal's hydropower ambitions face climate reality check",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/nepals-hydropower-ambitions-face-climate-reality-check-10171604",
        "published": "2026-09-27T04:57:55.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Nepal's hydropower ambitions face climate reality check",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/nepals-hydropower-ambitions-face-climate-reality-check-10161671",
        "published": "2026-09-27T07:08:26.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}