In my view, there are only two things that are lacking in the developing countries, i.e. lack of funding and honest political intent to develop (there can many ramifications of it). I think, we should choose the resources according to the cost-value analysis. There can be many RE options for a particular region, but the most cost effective and reliable source should be preferred.

I can talk about Nepal, we have ample water sources with huge hydropower potential almost 83,000MW of which 42,000MW is considered economically viable (this amount is way more than enough for everything we can possibly do in Nepal), there are many things that we have to look into before we can harness that resource. As of now we have a successful example of biogas in Nepal (this has changed the way Nepalese cook in the rural region and very successful in the southern plains and even in the midhills). Biogas is not feasible in the cold mountains, hence solar power (cookers and solar home electric system) with high solar intensity and over 300 sunshine days. And there are many microhydro projects electrifying rural, isolated villages in Nepal (these villages have a better supply of electricity than the capital itself). And in Nepal fuelwood is a major source of energy, hence our government has promoted improved cooking stoves to reduce the fuelwood consumption and cleaner cooking option. Besides that, one of the most interesting option that I'm looking into and interested in is the utilization of marginal land to plant energy crops for the promotion of biofuel.

I suppose that you're in the position to run or promote some projects, hope you choose the best for your country and its people. Good luck.

In most parts of Asia, renewable energy is considered a faddish term to make one appear as a good corporate citizen. A lot of people tend to take it with a pinch of salt and think that it's too expensive to harness renewable energy.

My experience with renewables, specifically solar PV, is that the availability of cheap electricity is the major stumbling block.

If a country has cheap coal or gas, then solar PV is too expensive, but in cases where diesel fuel is used for generation, solar PV is viable.

In my view, there are only two things that are lacking in the developing countries, i.e. lack of funding and honest political intent to develop (there can many ramifications of it). I think, we should choose the resources according to the cost-value analysis. There can be many RE options for a particular region, but the most cost effective and reliable source should be preferred.

I can talk about Nepal, we have ample water sources with huge hydropower potential almost 83,000MW of which 42,000MW is considered economically viable (this amount is way more than enough for everything we can possibly do in Nepal), there are many things that we have to look into before we can harness that resource. As of now we have a successful example of biogas in Nepal (this has changed the way Nepalese cook in the rural region and very successful in the southern plains and even in the midhills). Biogas is not feasible in the cold mountains, hence solar power (cookers and solar home electric system) with high solar intensity and over 300 sunshine days. And there are many microhydro projects electrifying rural, isolated villages in Nepal (these villages have a better supply of electricity than the capital itself). And in Nepal fuelwood is a major source of energy, hence our government has promoted improved cooking stoves to reduce the fuelwood consumption and cleaner cooking option. Besides that, one of the most interesting option that I'm looking into and interested in is the utilization of marginal land to plant energy crops for the promotion of biofuel.

I suppose that you're in the position to run or promote some projects, hope you choose the best for your country and its people. Good luck.

Afghanistan already has a vibrant and growing renewable energy industry. Afghanistan already has over 3,000 micro-hydro power systems for rural villages with over 30 small companies nationally producing turbines. MRRD has a large development program in MHP. You can find PV modules sold in most rural bazaars throughout the country. Many homes use small PV systems now. There are also good wind resources, especially in the west and north, but little wind power has been harnessed yet. We (ACEP) monitored 6 sites as well as GIZ. Biomass resources are relatively limited but of there is potential for MSW and biogas in specific locations. There is potential for geothermal in Badakshan, Uruzgan, etc. but more resource assessment is needed. It is important to educate the next generation of engineers who will build the RE infrastructure attending Kabul University, Kabul Polytech, Balkh Univeristy, Herat University, etc.

Hi, you should read this article. It can be of interest to your topic.

Claudia M. Agudelo-Vera, Wouter R.W.A. Leduc, Adriaan R. Mels, Huub H.M. Rijnaarts, Harvesting urban resources towards more resilient cities, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 64, July 2012, Pages 3-12, ISSN 0921-3449, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2012.01.014.

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344912000250)

Keywords: Urban metabolism; Urban harvest; Resources management; Urban energy; Urban water; Urban planning

Hope it helps

Based on the Afghanistan`s context, I believe that both technologies wind power and PV systems are feasible. The former can supply the demand at the national level (interconnected grid) and the latter can be useful to meet energy needs in rural-disperse communities. In Latinamerica there exist interesting succesful cases on both technologies. Solar energy can also be used at larger scale but is still expensive, Energy from municipal solid waste is also an option but it depends on the kind of waste that people produce and that would be a problem if the landfills are not managed properly.

The harnessing of solar energy using PV panels as greater solar potential is available. Decentralised solar units in individual houses/establishments will surely reduce the transmission loss of energy. Regarding solid wastes, it consists of both biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes. Biogas plant is an excellent treatment option for bio-degradable wastes. Non degradable wastes may as far as recycled. Plastic wastes can be used for the production of plastic granules, road tarring, cement kiln. For developing countries, combustion of solid wastes is not a good suggestion as the calorific value of biodegradable wastes is less, emission of pollutants, costly equipment needed, lack of maintenance/replacement, huge investment. Further I would like to hear more about success story on implementation of biogas plants in Nepal by Mr. Vijaybhat. Whether sewage is also treated in these biogas plants?

Thank you all for responding , indeed your responses were helpful.

In addition to the various responses above, I would suggest that the country develops a robust energy policy focusing on balancing the energy trilemma with a view to achieving a secure, affordable and environmentally sound energy services. This is an area for concern in many developing countries and where energy policies are available lack of synergy in implementation by government agencies is also a huge challenge.

The energy policy structure must be such that will not be easily truncated by transition in governance.

I wish your country well in it's efforts.

Inexpensive availability of food and energy ( electricity ?) are major concerns of modern times. Both are also interdependent. With the looming danger of depletion of the fossil fuels ( coal & oil), and abhorrence towards the nuclear fission energy, renewable energy appears to be the only alternative, unless a major breakthrough takes place in technology. One, nuclear fusion technology, is in the nascent stages. It can change the shape of the energy sector. Others in the renewable energy sector, like the solar and wind have too thin energy density. Hydro-based generation has reached a saturation stage, Bioenergy does appear to be still fully unexplored and technologically deficient. If only we can find ways and means to substitute the rapidly depleting fossil fuel with ever-fresh green energy, produced by fast growing plants cultivated in arid and semi-arid land, green forests and on oceans! It will perhaps become perennial source of energy, and food too.

The bottom line for all energy sources is that they must be reliable and economically competitive. When a renewable energy source meets theses criteria it will be developed. If it requires subsidy it probably isn't affordable in a developing nation. If it is highly intermittent then it is difficult to meet the needs of a modern economy, after all not many developing nations can afford to invest in wind energy and gas/oil thermal plant to fill in the generation gaps. Hydro electric is the exception because it can be turned up and down as required, but it is expensive to build and that cost has to be financed from somewhere.

Renewable sources of energy including solar power and small scale hydro power have emerged as an economical and sustainable alternative source to promote medium term electricity generation to  rural areas in Sri Lanka. Apart from economic benefits renewable sources ensures safety to the natural eco balance by minimizing pollution and mitigating adverse climatic factors through environment friendly energy. A recent report presented by the ministry of power and energy of Sri Lanka report about 350 villages in Sri Lanka electrified by village micro hydro schemes and many other houses by pico hydro schemes that tap the waters passing by the side of the homes and about another 120,000 households are estimated to be electrified by solar home systems. Using mostly a locally developed technology, about 100 houses get electricity from small wind turbines (using about 50 domestic units and 3 community based wind turbines). Bioenergy is used for electricity generation using both solid and liquid forms. There are about 10 villages electrified by dendro power while about 30 houses use electricity generated by biogas. But the cost of production of electricity by large power plants are obviously attractive than small scale off-grid plants. Therefore the use of off-grid renewable power is suitable only for sparsely populated areas. Sri Lanka is blessed with many natural resources that can generate off-grid electricity. A problem associated with  renewable energy is it is considered a non-firm energy, as most forms of renewable energy tend to vary in magnitude with time. Though it limit the ability to fully exploit the renewable energy alternative usage will somehow help our country to develop more and maintain its beauty. 

I agree with Suraji above. 

Our experience in Africa is that combined cycle systems may be a better alternative compared to renewable solar PV. Our experiments with a hybrid solar cogeneration plant shows that there may be scope to use renewables as means to limit deforestation, see comparative energy discussion on this link:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301659032_Model_based_design_of_a_novel_Stirling_solar_micro-cogeneration_system_with_performance_and_fuel_transition_analysis_for_rural_African_village_locations

Article Model based design of a novel Stirling solar micro-cogenerat...

https://ei.haas.berkeley.edu/research/papers/WP202R.pdf

https://www.ecology.com/2011/02/21/renewable-energy-challenge-getting-to-the-mainstream-2/

http://www.orfonline.org/research/harnessing-renewable-energy-sources-for-sustainable-development-in-africa/

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/articles/2015/07/harnessing-africas-renewable-energy-potential-for-sustainable-development.html