1.25 MW Electricity Added To National Transmission System From Solar Power
June 4, 2020 | Investopaper
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has added 1.25 MW of electricity to the grid-connected solar project being constructed in Nuwakot to the national transmission system. The concept of energy mixing has been put forward by the government and the solar project has gradually entered the stage of completion. Out of the total installed project of 25 MW, 1.25 MW of electricity has been connected to the national transmission system since Wednesday.
According to NEA, the electricity generated from the solar project has been transmitted to the national transmission system at the substation of Devighat Power House. It is said that 80 to 90 percent of the 1.25 connected capacity will be produced on the basis of sunshine in the afternoon.
The electricity generated in the afternoon is directly connected to the national transmission line through a solar panel placed on the land owned by Devighat Power Station. As there is no battery, arrangements have been made to generate electricity from the solar plant only when the sun is shining. It is the largest solar project in Nepal with a total grid capacity of 25 MW.
The government has implemented the production mix ratio of the power project based on the target of generating 15,000 MW in the next 10 years with the objective of becoming self-sufficient in electricity from domestic production in the long run. According to the government’s plan, the system will have 30 to 35 percent from reservoir and pump storage, 25 to 30 percent from semi-reservoir (peaking run of the river), 30 to 35 percent from river flow and 5 to 10 percent from other alternative sources.
The solar system has been installed to generate 10 MW of electricity on vacant land near the staff quarters of the power plant and five MW at three places near the powerhouse. At present, it is connected to the power system generated from a panel placed at a place near Devighat Power House. One panel will generate 275 watts of electricity. 20 ropanis of land has been used to generate one megawatt of electricity. A new 66-33 KV substation is also being constructed near Devighat Power House to connect the electricity generated from the solar project.
Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barshaman Pun laid the foundation stone of the project in Baisakh, 2075 BS. At that time, the project, which was started with the aim of being completed within a year, was delayed due to design approval, cutting trees and other reasons. It took a long time to complete the legal process to remove more than a thousand trees owned by NEA. The contractor’s delay in preparing the design has taken more time.
A contract worth $ 38 million was signed with Chinese company Rysen Energy to set up the plant under the World Bank’s Grid Solar and Energy Efficiency Project. The design, supply, construction, operation and maintenance of the solar plant will be done by the contractor company for five years. The company will operate and maintain the plant for five years and hand it over to NEA in running condition. The company will have to supply 33 million units of guaranteed energy annually from the plant.
Once the plant is fully operational, it will help reduce the energy shortage in the national grid in winter. NEA is confident that this will help in making the power supply system of Kathmandu Valley more reliable as the plant is close to the Kathmandu Load Center. After the operation of the plant, water will be stored in the reservoirs of Kulekhani Reservoir and Kaligandaki A, Madhyamsryangdi, Marshyangdi, Chilime and other semi-reservoirs in the afternoon. NEA expects to make the management of peak time electricity demand and supply more convenient.
