Nepal Invites Tenders for 100 MW Solar Projects

• The last day for the players to submit their bids is February 26, 2023.
• The notification additionally stated that those projects that will be chosen will be granted 25 year power purchasing agreements (PPAs).

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power utility, has actually invited bids for the option of independent power producers (IPPs) for the development of 100 MW of grid-connected solar PV capacity. These projects will come up at 16 designated sites in the Himalayan nation.

According to the notification, the last day for the players to submit their bids is February 26, 2023. Business from any type of country can submit bids. The NEA claimed that the tendered projects need to be of 1-MW at least in capacity. Nevertheless, the green energy capacities at certain sites can range between 10 MW as well as 30 MW.

The notice also claimed that those projects that will certainly be selected will certainly be provided 25 year power buying agreements (PPAs). The Nepalese authority has actually set an optimum PPA rate of NPR 5.96/ kWh in March this year. The power created from the solar projects will be bought by NEA.

Developers require to commission the projects within 18 months from the day of signing the PPAs. With regards to eligibility, the programmers submitting bids must possess experience in creating grid-connected solar projects of 1-MW or 5-MW grid-connected renewable power projects aside from solar.

The qualification requirements likewise hold that bidders also need to have survey licence for generation or generation licence from the Nepal's Department of Electricity Development. They should possess a quarter of a hectare of land for every single MW for the project.

NEA desires the release of only crystalline silicon modules or thin-film modules in the solar projects.

The victors will certainly likewise need to mount a transmission line of 11kV or above from the substation of the solar project to the substation of NEA.

According To International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Nepal had installed 93 MW of cumulative solar capacity by the end of 2021. Nepal has signed up with the International Solar Alliance and also the Nepalese government had stated in April this year that it will certainly export solar power to India.

Subsequently, Delhi-based solar energy developer GreenZo Energy exposed that it has authorized an MoU with Nepal's API Power for the development of 50 MW of green hydrogen plants in Nepal.