KATHMANDU, JAN 28 –
The government has begun preparations to install a 5 MW solar power plant at its central secretariat in Singhadurbar. The plant is being installed to supply power to all offices inside Singhadurbar and some other government offices within the periphery.
An official at the Ministry of Energy (MoE) said that the move was being taken under the recently introduced Load-shedding Reduction Action Plan that envisages managing an alternative power plant for the government’s administrative centre.
“We are working on a war footing to complete the plant within the next six months,” said the official. The ministry had recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Hydro Company to set up the plant.
Another official said that as the offices in Singhdurbar and its vicinity would not require the all of energy generated by the plant, the surplus energy could be feed in to the central grid of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
“The offices inside Singhdurbar require 3 MW of energy a day,” said the official, “Not more than 3.5 MW will be used for the offices inside Singhadurbar and about the same
amount of energy will be provided some major government offices inside the valley and the remaining energy will be provided to the NEA.”
Previously, a study conducted by Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APEC) had suggested that the Singhadurbar requires 3.5 MW energy.
The installation of solar plant in Singhadurbar, according to the official, will help address some of Kathmandu valley’s energy demand. He claimed that the attraction of the Singhadurbar will be upgraded with the usage of solar energy.
The installation of the solar plant inside Singhadurbar was first proposed by China Hydro, China’s state-owned company. In response, the government decided to request the Chinese government to install the power plant in grant assistance.
“We have already asked the Finance Ministry to make a request for the Chinese grant to install the solar plant,” said the official. The ministry has estimated the installation cost at Rs 264 million per MW and Rs 1.32 billion for the entire project. Once the fund is managed, the Chinese company will promptly begin the study and proceed towards the installation of the plant within six months.
The solar panels will be placed on the roof of all offices. “As it requires a big plot of land to install the solar plant with capacity of 5 MW, we have proposed to place the solar panels on the roof of individual office buildings,” added the official.
In October, 2012, the NEA had also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese solar energy firm Hunan Yueer Solar Energy Technology Co. Ltd. to build a 30 MW solar station—the largest ever solar energy project in the country. According to the MoU, a solar company would be established in Nepal and the NEA would buy and sell electricity produced from the solar station. The site of the solar station is yet to be decided.
Source : The Kathmandu Post
