6.8 MW of electricity from solar power plants to be connected in national grid by mid-December

KATHMANDU, A total of 6.8 MW of electricity produced by solar power plants will be added to the national grid in the next two months.

GI Solar Company, which has been installing solar power plants in Hattimuda of Budhi Ganga Rural Municipality, Morang, said it has completed about half of the installation works as of now. Sandeep Agrawal, managing director of Kushal Power Projects Pvt Ltd, the contractor company, said they have targeted to produce electricity by mid-December.

Construction of the solar plants started in the third week of June. “The power plant is unique in its type as the land below the solar panels of the production units can even be used for farming,” Agrawal told Urja Khabar on Sunday.

According to the project, all the necessary equipment has reached the construction site and installation works have been expedited to meet the deadline set for the production. The solar panels used in the power plants are said to be capable of producing electricity from both sides. Agrawal said the efficiency of the solar panel is 21.8 percent compared to a normal solar panel, which has an average efficiency of just 17 percent.

The solar power project is estimated to cost a total of Rs 580 million. It is being built at a 70 percent loan investment of NMB Bank Limited. The cost of the electricity produced by the solar plant is estimated at Rs 85 million per MW.  

The project has signed an agreement with Nepal Electricity Authority to supply its electricity to the Duhabi-based substation of the power utility.  The company has been constructing a 5 km long transmission line to evacuate the produced electricity to the substation concerned.

Citing lower costs compared to hydroelectricity, many investors are found to be attracted to invest in solar power projects. A growing demand for hybrid type projects has also prompted investors in the segment.

In the past two years, Kushal Power Projects has constructed four solar power projects. According to the company, it completed construction of almost all these projects six months prior to the set deadlines.