Australia and Nepal - Worlds Apart - An examination of present and possible future energy consumption patterns in Australia and Nepal.

Between 1976-1994, New South Wales’ total energy consumption increased by 80%, and within the same period the household energy consumption increased by 27% per capita.  As shown in the graph below in Figure 5, the energy consumption (as measured in 1000’s of PJ) since the late 1970’s has increase significantly, and it can be predicted that in the next 20 years, consumption will continue to rise.  

Figure 5: Graph showing the growing consumption of energy over time in Australia

Source: 2003 Year Book Australia

A large sector of Australia’s energy goes towards transport, approximately 26% (as can be seen in Figure 3).  The energy counted in this statistic considers the amount of petrol used for transport.

This is highly reflective of the increasing rate of car ownership and car usage in the country.  The increasing usage of cars, and decreasing use of public transport (which is more fuel economical than if the passengers each had a private car) is depicted in the table below, Figure 6.        

Increased car usage could result from various factors, such as the increasing affordability of cars, the greater need for cars because of an increasing number of commuters, or streets are less congested and drivers can get to places faster than they previously could thus it is more appealing to drive rather than to take public transport.  

At the moment, 9.28GJ of the 16.2 GJ/capita of energy consumed in Australia is provided by fossil fuels.  There is enough coal in Australia to last hundreds of years, but despite this, there is increasing awareness that fossil fuel reserves worldwide are dwindling, and people are looking towards more efficient ways of using what is left of the reserves, and alternative sources of energy, renewable energy.

The government (federal, state and local) will have great influence on the way in which we embrace renewable energy in the future.  In 1992 our problem of our excessive energy consumption was identified, and a National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development was formulated.   Renewables in Australia include bagasse from sugar cane, hydroelectricity and solar energy.  Thus, with availability of these clean, ‘green’ renewable energy sources, the total consumption in the long term may not actually fall, because people know that it can be replenished, but they will be using less or no fossil fuel derived energy.  Thus, energy consumption patterns will still be the same, but the sources of the energy are different.  Realistically though, within the next 20 years, these renewable energy sources will not have been developed yet so that they can effectively replace fossil fuels.  It was estimated, however, than by 2010, the total contribution of renewable energy to Australia’s electricity supply will be approximately 4%, although according to government plans, should reach 12.7%.

Having said this, the government is looking to educate the public in order to increase usage efficiency and reduce wastage.  Although we may not realise it in everyday life, there is a lot of wastage occurring that can be avoided, such as energy wasted when appliances are on stand-by all day.  

On a domestic scale, people will become more aware of star-ratings on new appliances that they buy, yet they want bigger and more advanced appliances (such as two door refrigerators, big-screen plasma televisions, high-speed computers, etc.).  Product design in the future will improve on energy efficiency, with the government reinforcing initiatives for star-ratings and other programs.

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Nepal’s energy consumption per capita is one of the lowest in the world, with an estimate of 12GJ/capita/annum, or 342.7 kg of oil equivalent/capita/annum, and it has the lowest per capita commercial energy utilisation in the world of 1GJ/annum.  Nepal’s per capita commercial energy consumption of 30 kg of oil equivalent is also very low in comparison to other countries in the sub-region.  This low consumption is a direct reflection of the low standard of living and low level of economic development within the country.  The World Bank estimated that 51% of the total population lives under absolute poverty with incomes of less than a dollar a day.  

Over 86% of the total population and 44% of those in poverty live in rural areas, so traditional energy sources account for approximately 90% of the total energy consumption between the years 1984 and 2001.  This is shown in Figure 7.  Modern forms of energy such as electricity, kerosene and diesel are new or yet to be introduced to some rural areas.  

Approximately 89% of traditional energy is sourced from fuelwood which is taken from public forests, shrub lands, grasslands and private holdings.  Forests are being mismanaged, and wood is being cut faster than it is being replaced, thus causing a range of environmental problems such as increased erosion and poor fertility.  Despite this, 80% of total energy consumption in Nepal is sourced from fuelwood, although it has a very low efficiency.  It is used for traditional stoves and for space heating. Usage of fuelwood has continued to grow at a rate of 2.7% per annum, which is said to be in proportion to the population growth, which is 2.37% per annum.  In the foreseeable future, it is likely that people will continue to depend on this cheap source of energy.

Since Nepal has no proven deposits of fossil fuels, all petroleum fuel and coal must be imported (they do not have the means to utilise natural gas because of its expensive pipelines storage which must be considered).  The usage of fossil fuels as energy over the last two decades is increasing popular, as seen above in Figure 7.  In 1984, only 5% of total energy consumption was from a commercial source, but by 2001, this percentage had grown to 13.6%.   A conjecture can be made that in the next 20 years this percentage, along with the percentage of energy from renewable resources, will grow, when current obstacles such as finance, economic viability, and availability are alleviated.

Overall, the population of people living in rural areas uses 84% of total energy, and 45% of the total commercial energy, yet only 4% of the rural population has access to electricity and only 14% of the total population has access to electricity.  Although at present only 11.9% of the total population lives in urban areas, in 2000, urban growth was 5.1%.  This may indicate a growing portion of the population with access to electricity and other forms of commercial energy.   Currently, commercial energy is used in transport, industry and for residential purposes (cooking and lighting).

Nepal has the theoretical hydropower potential of 83 000 MW, of which 42 000 MW is said to be technically feasible, but currently only 250MW is developed.  This only supplies less than 1% of the total energy requirements.   The government has promised to further develop this potential resource in the near future, via subsidies and policies.    This may influence consumption patterns as more renewable sources are introduced.  The benefit of renewable energy is that it is in effect a once-off installation cost – after the initial set-up, the maintenance costs are extremely low for the power received.  There would be no need to ‘replenish’ the energy by means of money.  

Other renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind and geothermal power are also being considered, but of these, only solar energy has much impact today.  In Kathmandu, there are 35 manufacturers involved in manufacturing and installing solar water heaters, which are made and sold locally.  With efforts from the government and education, solar driers and cookers could replace fuelwood and kerosene in rural households in the near future, thus affecting the pattern of sources of energy.        

Australia, currently highly dependent on fossil fuels and in particular on electricity, are the sixth largest consumers of energy in the world per capita, but have a wide scope for improvement through increased energy efficiency.  Australia is also fortunate enough to have the resources and capabilities to develop renewable sources such as bagasse from sugar cane, hydroelectricity and solar energy.  Thus, in the next twenty years, the government may boost education and awareness, and people will become more efficient, and to add to that, development of renewable sources may begin, but not reach the stage where fossil fuels can be replaced.

On the other hand, only a very small percentage of Nepal’s population has access to commercial energy that people in developed countries take for granted.  The majority of the population lives in rural areas, and thus they rely on what they can find – mostly fuelwood.  This increasing consumption of fuelwood is causing environmental problems, which can be avoided.  Nepal has a great capacity to develop its hydro electric sources, but due to restrictions, in particular finance, is unable to.  In the next 20 years, the consumption of fuelwood will probably continue to increase in proportion to population growth (at a rate of between 2-3%), but there will be without doubt a greater percentage of people with access to commercial energy,

Concluding, the current consumption patterns of these two contrasting countries are worlds apart, and while one country only begins to enjoy the comforts of commercial energy, the other has already exploited it and is looking for alternative sources.  Over the coming 20 years, consumption patterns of how much is used, how it is used and where the energy is sourced from will change in individual ways.  

 

 

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