An unavoidable part of life in Kathmandu is the drone of generators. With load-shedding up to 16 hours a day at times, the only way to keep lights and computers going is by cranking up the generator, adding our diesel fumes to those of everyone else in the neighbourhood. Bad for health, bad for the planet, and bad for the budget. Generator fuel is costly, both from the pump, and in terms of the hours staff spend queuing for the increasingly scarce fossil fuel.

It’s not going to get better in a hurry, so UMN has taken the plunge, and begun to install solar panels to generate essential energy. It’s an expensive exercise, so our plan is to move slowly, unit by unit, to provide backup to mains power and reduce our carbon footprint at the same time. Last week, our team installed the first set of panels, to provide backup power for two teams in our main building. We hope that, in two years’ time, our generator will only be needed in emergencies.