Background

The strategies for continuous development of Renewable Energy Technology (RET) for socio-economic development and environmental sustainability have been at the forefront of global ‘development discourse’ for past several decades. It has become an important global agenda especially since climate change issues have taken center stage in the domestic and international policy arena. Because we all share the same planet, global climate change issues are a concern not only for industrialized nations, but also for the least developed countries as it will affect every sphere of society, environmental niche, region of the globe and will reshape human-environment systems as never experienced before. With the increasing global awareness of the negative consequences of climate change amidst ever-increasing urban population, a dramatic increase in energy demand and price, the need for continuous innovations and inventions in RET for promoting a sustainable energy mix and harnessing fundamental energy resources has become the global necessity more than ever.

In an attempt to contribute to this global realization and knowledge sharing in this sector, Center for Energy Studies (CES) of Institute of Engineering (IOE), Tribhuvan University (TU) along with co-organizers held first ever International Conference in Nepal on Renewable Energy Technology for Rural Development (RETRUD-98) in 1998 which was followed by 2nd (RETRUD-03) and 3rd (RETRUD-11) in 2003 and 2011 respectively. Between the 2nd and 3rd International Conferences, a National Conference (RETRUD-06) was organized which helped in bringing significant policy changes to the national renewable energy sector. Another international conference in 2009 on Renewable Energy Technology for Sustainable Development (RETSUD) organized by Nepal Solar Energy Society in close co-operation with Centre for Energy Studies, was instrumental in contributing to the development of renewable sector in the country. While RETRUD-98, helped in exchanging experience and information in the field of renewable energy technology, RETRUD-03 contributed to exploring existing engineering educational activities, disseminating successful RETs undertaken in participating countries, and developing closer cooperation. Likewise, RETRUD-11 put its focus on climate change which was quite successful in terms of wider and dignified participation from all over, meeting its objectives.

Building upon the experience of successful completion of past conferences, Renewable Energy Technology for Rural and Urban Development (RETRUD-18) Conference is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal between 29th and 31st October, 2018. The conference provides a platform for disseminating the latest knowledge in RET from professionals, academicians and practitioners alike.

Conference Objectives

• Sharing the knowledge on the renewable energy for addressing the issues related to climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-7) and Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) by ‘ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all’ through the continuous development of RET
• Creating an international platform for exchanging ideas and information dissemination in the field of RET

Thematic areas

• Energy and Sustainable Development, Energy Security
• Climate Change & Carbon Trading; Green Economic Growth
• Renewable Energy Technologies: Micro, Mini, and Small Hydropower, Solar, Wind Energy, Bio-energy etc.
• Gender Mainstreaming and Energy (Special Session co-hosted by NTNU/EnPE Program)
• Mini Grid (Special Session co-hosted by ICIMOD)
• Energy Efficiency and Conservation (Special Session co-hosted by GIZ)
• Energy for Economic Empowerment of Women (Special Session co-hosted by ENERGIA/Hivos)
• Power Trade
• Green Building and Sustainable Settlements
• Distributed and Grid Integrated Energy Systems
• Renewable Energy Education
• Mountain Ecology and Energy
• Green Computing
• Private Sector in Energy
• Financing Clean Energy Technologies
• Sustainable Energy Access

The Organizer

Considering this as a common responsibility to deal with climate change issues to achieve sustainable and economic development goals, the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEI), Government of Nepal (GoN) and the Institute of Engineering (IOE), Tribhuvan University (TU) are jointly organizing the 4th International Conference on "Renewable Energy for Economic and Sustainable Development" (RETRUD-18) in Kathmandu, Nepal on 29th to 31st October 2018.

Supporting organizations

The conference is supported by;

• National Planning Commission (NPC), Government of Nepal
• Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEI), Government of Nepal
• Ministry of Finance (MoF), Government of Nepal
• Ministry of Population and Environment (MoPE), Government of Nepal
• Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD)
• Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD)
• Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)/EnPE Program
• International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)