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Bhutan Energy
Electricity and gas production was expected by the
government
to account for 10.7 percent of GDP in 1991. Hydroelectric
power has
long been a very important aspect of Bhutan's economic
development
as a low-cost energy source supporting more
capital-intensive
industries, such as forestry, mining, and cement and
calcium
carbide production. Bhutan's steep mountains, deep gorges,
and
fast-flowing rivers create abundant hydroelectric
potential, which
the government began to develop in the early 1960s with
India's
assistance. In 1981 Bhutan generated 22 million
kilowatt-hours of
energy from hydroelectric sources. A major plant in
southwest
Bhutan--the 18,000-kilowatt Jaldhaka hydroelectric
plant--furnished
electricity locally and exported the balance to India's
West
Bengal. The major expansion of hydroelectric facilities
started in
1975 on the Wang Chhu between Thimphu and Phuntsholing.
Known as
the Chhukha Hydel Project, it helped boost the nation's
fledgling
industrial development. The 336-megawatt Chhukha plant
came on line
in 1986 and was synchronized with the Indian grid that
same year,
and additional capacity became available in 1988. The
Nu2.44
billion Chhukha project was 60 percent paid for by India
and
budgeted outside the normal development plan process. It
was
planned that Bhutan would sell at low cost all power to
West Bengal
that it did not consume itself. At the same cost, Bhutan
also hoped
to re-import some of that power through the Indian power
grid into
southern districts. The Chhukha project was important not
only
because it supplied electric power to western and southern
districts but also because it provided a major source of
income for
the government. The project's gross annual income was
projected at
Nu380 million in 1989. In 1989 nearly 95 percent of
Bhutan's
government-installed power generation--a total of 355
megawatts--
was supplied by Chhukha, and a total of some 20 principal
towns and
170 villages had been electrified. By 1990 Thimphu's
commercial
district had an underground cable system for its power
supply.
Besides the Chhukha project, government installations
included
seven minihydroelectric plants, each averaging 7,350
kilowatts
capacity; twelve microhydroelectric plants, each averaging
340
kilowatts capacity; and eight diesel-powered generation
stations,
each averaging 6,000 kilowatts capacity. Because domestic
consumption was low (just over 16 megawatts, more than 80
percent
of which was consumed by industry), ample power could be
exported
to India. The project not only cut domestic electricity
costs in
half, but also revenues from electricity sold to India
were nearly
equal to the total government revenue from all domestic
sources.
Smaller enterprises, such as the 1.5-megawatt Gyetsha
Mini-Hydel,
which was inaugurated in 1989, brought badly needed power
to
Bumthang and was expected to provide additional power to
neighboring districts by 1993. Another major plant, a
proposed 60-
megawatt plant at Kurichu in eastern Bhutan, was included
in the
Sixth Development Plan (1987-92).
Other sources of energy included biogas, which was used
in some
districts for lighting and cooking and was primarily
generated from
cow dung. Solar energy was used for a variety of purposes,
including heating dwellings and greenhouses and lighting
hospitals.
Despite the potential solar energy that might be produced,
Bhutan's
mountainous terrain prevents maximum use. The same
mountains are
funnels for powerful winds, however, providing another
viable
renewable energy source. High-technology windmills were
installed
in Wangdiphodrang in 1987 to produce electricity to run
irrigation
pumps.
Still another source of fuel in the 1980s was wood.
Although
Bhutanese had greater access to electric power than they
had had
previously, traditional methods of cooking and heating
required
readily available fuel. In the mid-1980s, Bhutan produced
a coal
equivalent of 982,000 tons of fuelwood per year to meet
domestic
needs. Coal itself was available in reserve in some 1.3
million
tons, but recovery was difficult and the quality was poor.
Data as of September 1991
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