Renewable energy
Mountains play as key role in providing renewable energy, especially through hydropower, solar power, wind power and biogas for downstream cities and remote mountain communities.
Hydropower currently provides around a fifth of all electricity worldwide, and some countries rely almost exclusively on mountain regions for hydropower generation In Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Peru, at least 95 percent of hydropower is generated in mountain regions.
Solar power can also be efficiently produced in mountains and other cold regions - contrary to popular belief. The Himalayas and Tropical Andes are particularly promising locations for the development of solar energy, where installations could produce approximately 20 percent more energy than they could at sea level. In Nepal, for example, almost all remote airports and telecommunication facilities are powered by solar energy; solar cookers are widely used in the mountain regions of China and India.
Wind power is a vast, but largely untapped source of potential sustainable energy in mountains. Even at lower elevations, the terrain and topography of mountains can create wind corridors with high wind speeds that are ideally suited for wind turbine development.
Sustainable energy brings benefits to human health, the mountain environment and global climate. Reduced dependency on firewood, for example, can lead to fewer respiratory diseases, improved water and soil conservation, and less black carbon (soot) in the atmosphere – one of the most widespread short-lived climate pollutants. However, many sustainable energy sources in mountains remain unused or underutilized.
How Sabzali illuminated his mountain villagenewsThis is a story about changing people’s lives. This is Sabzali Javlonov’s story. Sabzali Javlonov was born in the remote mountain village of Nisur in Tajikistan. Located at 2 500 metres above sea level in the upper reaches of the Bartang Valley, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, the village has no access to...
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Call for participation, IPCC special reportpeak to peakIssue 114 – Month 4 – Year 2018 The April issue of Peak to Peak opens with a call to contribute literature on mountains for possible inclusion in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. The newsletter continues... Download » |
ICENECDEV at the Mount Cameroon Race of HopenewsThe Mount Cameroon Race of Hope is an international mountain race organized every year in the month February by the Government of Cameroon together with partners. This year, the athletic competition was organized on 17 February 2018 with the participation of more than 226 athletes from nine countries. Simultaneously, on...
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Clean energy and sustainable mountain communitiesnewsA round table to discuss the outcomes of the pilot project "Clean energy: sustainable communities" was held on 9 February 2018, in Yapshorv Village, Savnob Jamoat (municipality), Gorno-Badahshan Autonomous Region, Tajikistan. The event was attended by the jamoat officials, women from the project’s target group, village advocates and the staff...
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Call for abstracts, Mountain Futures conferencenewsThe Centre for Mountain Ecosystem Studies, together with the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences and World Agroforestry Centre would like to invite contributions for the second International Conference on Mountain Futures, with a focus on "Ecosystem Rhythms, Land Systems and Sustainable Livelihoods". The International Conference on Mountain Futures...
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Energy poverty in the mountains of TajikistannewsPeople living in remote, rural communities in Tajikistan face serious difficulties accessing energy sources. This is one of the main reasons for the increased pressure on natural resources in mountain areas. The lack of access to electricity supply has a negative impact on the livelihoods of local communities and impairs...
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