With the goal of promoting investment by further expanding the concept of energy mix, the Electricity Development Department has revised the ‘Grid Connected Alternative Electricity Development Procedure, 2022’.

Navinraj Singh, director general of the department informed that the procedure has been amended according to the Electricity Regulations, 1998, as it is necessary to connect the alternative power generation project and its related transmission line to the national grid, to make it simple, easy and transparent.

Earlier, the government had implemented the procedure on 26 April 2021 According to the procedure, in the case of alternative power projects with a capacity of up to one megawatt, the promoter who wants to join the national grid must obtain permission for power generation when submitting an application to the Nepal Electricity Authority.

However, during the ‘net metering’ of the solar electricity produced by the domestic solar energy system, it has been arranged that the electricity production permit is not required. It is mentioned that the promoter should arrange the required land, road, transmission line to the electricity connection point etc. for the project.

In the case of government land, there is an arrangement for coordination and facilitation between the federal government, state government and local level as needed. In the procedure, it is arranged that the promoter should submit an application in the format prescribed in the regulations and guidelines for the electricity survey and construction of solar power projects with a capacity of more than one megawatt. It is mentioned that the promoter should submit a recommendation letter from the concerned ward or local level and a recommendation letter from the Ministry of Forests and Environment in the case of parks and reservation areas that the solar power project will be developed in the proposed area.

According to the procedure, the cost of the project, interest rate of the loan, depreciation, self-investment return, general expenses, operating expenses, maintenance expenses, income, taxes, additional capital, ratio of debt to capital, cost of equipment, battery storage capacity, etc.

Nepal Electricity Authority has advanced the process to develop a solar energy project with a capacity of nearly 1000 megawatts with the aim of meeting the winter demand. The authority had requested the promoters of the private sector to submit proposals for the power purchase agreement through public speaking. The process has also progressed accordingly.

In the case of the survey of the project, there was some ambiguity about who would recommend whether or not there is irrigable land. The department clarified that the ambiguity has been addressed according to the latest procedure. With the revision of the procedure, the way has been paved to move forward with the solar energy project.

In the department, 33 solar projects with a total capacity of seven hundred and four megawatts have taken survey permission. 35 projects with a capacity of 717 megawatts have applied for the survey. Likewise, nine projects with a capacity of 77 MW have taken permission for construction. Similarly, 10 projects with a capacity of 59.6 megawatts have been applied for construction permits.

According to the department, 21 projects with a capacity of 167 megawatts are currently in operation. Among them, the solar energy project conducted by the Authority in Nuwakot is the largest. The capacity of the project is equal to 25 MW.

Source: Kantipur