The 250-megawatt solar energy project, proposed to be built in Kohalpur of Banke and Banganga of Kapilvastu, has remained confined to paper even after five years. Although the Detailed Feasibility Study Report (DFSR) has been prepared, the project has not been able to move forward.

On January 26, 2021, the government, through the Investment Board Office, signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore’s Risen Energy JV to prepare the Detailed Feasibility Study Report. However, although the necessary processes have since moved forward, the situation for commencing project construction has still not materialized.

There is a plan to build a solar project with a total capacity of 250 megawatts - 78.16 MW in Kohalpur of Banke and 171.9 MW in Banganga of Kapilvastu. It is also said that there will be battery storage plants of 12.5 MW in Kohalpur and 27.5 MW in Banganga. According to the memorandum of understanding, Risen Energy was required to submit the DFSR within 12 months.

On June 19, 2020 , the 44th meeting of the Investment Board had granted the company permission to prepare the DFSR. The board stated that the project would be Nepal’s largest solar energy project to date. The company submitted the feasibility study report to the Investment Board Office on August 5, 2022 . Following immediate feedback, the company resubmitted a revised feasibility study report to the Investment Board Office on August 4, 2023 .

On August 25, 2023 (Bhadra 8, 2080 BS), at the 55th meeting of the Investment Board, the DFSR prepared by Risen Energy was formally presented. However, the meeting only took the feasibility study report ‘into notice,’ instructing that the Environmental Impact Assessment be completed. The board has not yet approved the DFSR.

On April 4, 2024 , the 57th meeting of the Investment Board approved foreign investment of Rs. 21.10 billion for the project. Although the project was said to be built with 100 percent foreign investment, it still remains uncertain. The same meeting had decided to form a committee, led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), to negotiate with the developer company for signing the Project Development Agreement (PDA). At that time, the CEO of the board was Sushil Bhatt, whereas now it is Sushil Gyawali. However, as various concerned ministries have delayed in appointing their representatives to the committee, the negotiations have not been able to move forward.

The Investment Board Office, on April 7, 2024, informed about the formation of the negotiation committee and sent letters to the concerned bodies to nominate representatives for the committee. Since then, on May 30, 2024, the board had also reminded them to send the names of members for the negotiation committee. However, so far only the Ministry of Law has sent the name of its representative, according to Pradyumna Upadhyaya, spokesperson of the Investment Board Office. He stated that ministries related to energy, forests, and environment, among others, have not yet sent the names of their representatives to the negotiation committee.

Stakeholder agencies say that due to administrative delays and the project not being given priority, the initiative to bring in 100 percent foreign investment has not been able to gain momentum. The Investment Board Office has stated that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the solar project has already been prepared. However, it has yet to be forwarded to the Ministry of Forests and Environment for approval. The total estimated cost of the project will be around USD 158.5 million (over Rs. 21 billion). The electricity to be generated in Kohalpur and Banganga is envisioned to be directly connected to the national transmission line.

The government has adopted a policy of energy mix to resolve the energy crisis. By issuing the Concept Paper on National Energy Crisis Mitigation and Electricity Development Decade in 2015 , the government introduced the policy of energy mix. The concept paper mentions that, with the objective of ending load-shedding in the long term through Nepal’s own production, the production mix of hydropower projects will be determined according to the type of projects.

According to the concept paper, electricity generated from storage-based hydropower projects will account for 40 to 50 percent, from semi-storage projects 15 to 20 percent, and from run-of-river (ROR) and other alternative sources 5 to 10 percent. However, out of the total installed capacity of 3,591 megawatts so far, solar energy accounts for only 116.94 megawatts. Although alternative sources like solar were intended to be included in the energy mix alongside hydropower, the policy adopted by the government has remained confined to paper due to failure in its practical implementation.

Source: Kantipur