Nepal explores tapping flood-risk glacial lakes for clean power

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Since 2017, 175 households in Langtang and Kyanjin, two villages in the high Kyanjin Valley, have been able to tap clean hydropower from efforts to drain the Kyanjin glacial lake for cooking, lights and other energy needs.

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If it were to burst, the resulting floods could directly affect 166,000 people downstream and impact many more, with roads, bridges and larger hydropower projects in the region at risk, according to an unpublished analysis by Narendra Khanal, a geography professor at Tribhuvan University.

Losses could reach $415 million, the research found, if expected flood levels of 35 metres (114 feet) above the riverbed were reached, requiring replacement of the Marsyangdi and Middle Marsyangdi hydropower dams and putting their revenue at risk.

Channelling water out of the lake to hydropower generating equipment, could produce 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity year-round, he said, and lower the lake's water level by five to 10 metres (16.4 to 32.8 feet).

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