Kathmandu, Aug. 14 -- In 1911, Nepal became the second country in Asia to installa hydroelectric plant, and was a pioneer inelectric transportation with the opening in1922of a ropeway connecting Kathmandu to Dhorsing andlater to Hetauda.

The Chinese gifted anelectric trolley bus linefrom Kathmandu to Bhaktapur in 1975, which provided valuable commuter service for nearly 30 years. In 1995, the government replaced polluting diesel three-wheelers with electric ones, and 700 of theSafa Tempoare still running on 28 routes, serving Kathmandu's public transport needs.

However, despite these milestones in electric transportation, Nepal has not taken the leaps it could have in powering mass transit with the country's plentiful renewable energy p...