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.
The Little Earth provides 20 solar-powered equipment sets to mountain families in TajikistannewsThe Little Earth, a member of the Mountain Partnership, provided 20 sets of solar-powered equipment to vulnerable mountain families in villages of the Yaghnob Valley, Tajikistan, on the eve of the Idi Kurbon holiday in June. The recipients included 20 women participating in the project "Sustainable use of natural... Read more » |
Women Move Mountains photo contest openspeak to peakThe November 2022 issue of Peak to Peak announces the opening of the International Mountain Day 2022 photo contest, "Women move mountains". Top news stories spotlight countries' mountain advocacy efforts in Nepal and Romania and continue with updates on Mountain Partnership members' projects in Ecuador and Tajikistan. Peak to Peak... Download » |
30 mountain families of Yaghnob Valley, Tajikistan receive energy-efficient equipment setsnewsOn 19-21 August 2022, staff of the non-profit organization Little Earth – a member of the Mountain Partnership –visited six remote mountain villages in the Yaghnob Valley, Tajikistan, where they distributed sets of energy-efficient equipment to 30 families. Each set included a parabolic solar cooker, a portable lantern with... Read more » |
"Women move mountains" theme of International Mountain Day 2022peak to peakThe February 2022 issue of Peak to Peak announces the theme of this year's International Mountain Day: "Women move mountains". Top news stories cover a briefing note on mountains in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the European Cohesian Policy and how its impproving the daily lives of mountain citizens, and... Download » |
Solar cooker improves Tajik mountain family’s well-beingnewsStory by Timur Idrisov, originally published on The Little Earth’s website The village of Roshorv, where 43-year-old Gulisandzhid lives, is located at an altitude of more than 3 000 metres above sea level in the upper part of the Bartang Valley of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan. The nearest main... Read more » |
IMD 2021 to focus on sustainable mountain tourismpeak to peakThe March 2021 issue of Peak to Peak announces this year's International Mountain Day theme of sustainable mountain tourism. This month, the 'Members' Voices' section highlights the story of a Mountain Partnership Product, Ulikan red rice, which is grown in the Philippine Cordillera. Top news stories from March focus on trainings for implementing... Download » |
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