Sri Lanka has no coal or natural gas, but has small oil reserves. It has 2000MW hydroelectric potential generates 48% of the power of this capacity. Residual demand is covered by the production of energy from oil, naphtha and coal. He also has dreams of nuclear energy and a proposal for a link with India. Although Nepal has enormous potential for hydroelectric power generation, it is facing a severe electricity shortage and has been importing the same from India for many years. If Nepal`s hydroelectric potential is realized, it can be a net energy exporter, but there are several obstacles in this direction. The Maldives is the smallest member of SAARC and meets its energy needs through the importation of fuel. Its geographical location makes it impossible to connect to a country in the near future. The planned conference will be a one-day event and consists of conferences/conferences of experts from the SAARC region as well as external experts from the SAARC region to share their experiences with these regional energy frameworks. The event is aimed at government officials from relevant ministries, policy makers, energy professionals and universities in ASACR member states. Bangladesh produces energy from natural gas, imported oil, coal, hydropower and solar energy.
It has already depleted most of its natural gas deposits; and there are no more new discoveries. There are good deposits of coal, but they are underground and the country has no economically viable way to dig it up. It has already exhausted its hydroelectric potential almost entirely. The Government of Bangladesh is building large power plants to produce energy from imported coal, LNG and also nuclear power. In some parts, solar energy is also produced for the budget. Bangladesh`s installed capacity is 10800MW, which is not able to meet peak demand. To address this shortfall, it buys electricity from small oil facilities and also imports 500 MW from India. It also hopes to import energy from Nepal and Bhutan. Afghanistan currently produces 600 MW of electricity and about two of its population do not yet have access to electrification.
Most of this 600 MW is hydropower, followed by fossil fuels and solar energy. It also imports energy from Uzbekistan through a 442 km high-voltage line with a capacity of 300 MW. By 2020, it will need 3,000 MW of electricity to meet its own needs. It intends to use wind energy and hopes to export it in the near future. However, its political tensions with Pakistan stand in the way of interdependence with Pakistan. Recognising the importance of electricity for economic growth and improving the quality of life, the Saarc Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity) was signed in 2014. The adoption of this agreement is a decisive step towards a regional market for electricity from AESAC. The main objectives of this agreement are to improve the availability of electricity throughout the region and to facilitate the integrated operation of the regional electricity grid. The concept of a SAARC power grid has been in the minds of political planners for many years, but so far progress has been very slow.
There are two main reasons for this. First, it is clear that the lack of political will is due to occasional conflicts and mistrust among ASAC members. Second, and more importantly, almost all SAARC countries are, as we have discussed above, a lack of power. How can an interconnected electricity grid work if all SAARC countries are running out of electricity? Policy makers are counting on untapped potential to build such a network.
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