SYSTEM-SCALE PLANNING TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AND CONSERVATION OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE AND NATURE

The USAID Paani Program developed a three-part system-scale planning approach for Nepal to optimize energy production while protecting freshwater resources. The project identified High Conservation Value Rivers (HCVR), conducted an Energy Options Assessment (EOA) using the SWITCH model to find least-cost power pathways, and utilized System Scale Planning (SSP) to visualize tradeoffs between economic and environmental goals. Findings indicate that significant river conservation can be achieved with minimal increases in system costs by diversifying the energy mix with wind, solar, and battery storage, and by strategically siting hydropower projects.

• A national assessment of 50,500 km of rivers in Nepal categorized 62% (31,300 km) as HCVR Type 1, which are rivers with at least one conservation value that remain free-flowing and have high water quality.
• The Karnali River Basin was identified as having the highest number of Type 1 High Conservation Value Rivers, followed by the Gandaki, Koshi, Mahakali, and West Rapti basins.
• Energy modeling suggests that implementing effective conservation policies in the Karnali basin has very low cost impacts; the most stringent scenario (removing 189 projects) resulted in system costs only 3.5% higher than the reference scenario.
• Nepal-wide conservation scenarios, such as protecting all free-flowing rivers or HCV levels 1 and 2, result in system costs 2% to 10% higher than the reference case, while more restrictive hydropower-limited scenarios increase costs by 20% to 34%.
• Diversifying the energy mix can mitigate the impacts of river conservation; for example, the Nepal-HCV1 scenario triggers the deployment of up to 3.5 GW of additional wind and 1.4 GW of additional solar PV by 2040 compared to the reference scenario.
• In the reference scenario for 2040, an optimal balance of cross-border trading would require approximately 21% to 25% of annual energy needs to be met through imports from India.
• System Scale Planning (SSP) using a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) allows decision makers to identify 'pareto-optimal' solutions where energy production is balanced against environmental metrics like sediment capture and recreation values.

APA

WWF International (2020). SYSTEM-SCALE PLANNING TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AND CONSERVATION OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE AND NATURE. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/800/4120b8rvuc_USAID_Paani_SSP_Executive_Summary_final.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. SYSTEM-SCALE PLANNING TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AND CONSERVATION OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE AND NATURE. 2020. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/800/4120b8rvuc_USAID_Paani_SSP_Executive_Summary_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=SYSTEM-SCALE PLANNING TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AND CONSERVATION OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE AND NATURE |date=16 December 2020 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/800/4120b8rvuc_USAID_Paani_SSP_Executive_Summary_final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2020systemscale, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{SYSTEM-SCALE PLANNING TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AND CONSERVATION OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE AND NATURE}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/800/4120b8rvuc_USAID_Paani_SSP_Executive_Summary_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }