Nepal Infrastructure 
KATHMANDU: The 1 Mw Simara Solar Power Project developed by Api Power Company in Bara has been connected to the national grid on 14th July.
The developer company stated that the project was completed within six months from the date of construction commencement. According to the company, the solar plant was installed on the land owned by Shree Nepal National Secondary School. The solar energy has been connected to the Dhalkebar substation in Dhanusha district.
The technical team of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), a state-owned power distributor, connected to the power system after conducting tests. The project will provide free electricity to the NEA during test generation for the next two weeks. The commercial production will start after the completion of the testing phase.
The construction of this solar power project was completed with an investment of Rs. 85 million. Bank of Kathmandu, a leading commercial bank in Nepal, has financed the project. The company has already developed 4 Mw Chandranigahapur Solar Power Project and 1 Mw Dhalkebar Solar Power Project, which are in operation.
According to the weather conditions of the project site, 4.97 units per square meter of electricity can be generated annually. With an average annual temperature of 25.3 degrees celsius and an average wind speed of 3.24 kilometres per hour, the region will contribute 16.3 million units of electricity annually to the national transmission system, the company said.
The NEA has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) at Rs 7.30 per unit to purchase electricity generated by the solar power project. For the project, 2688 solar panels of Langi 450 Wp monocrystalline modules have been used.
A 1.4 MVA ABB central inverter is connected to convert the generated DC energy into AC energy. The 690-volt AC power produced by this inverter is housed in a three-phase 1250 kV transformer swager for conversion. It converts the produced AC energy into 11 Kv.
During the construction period of this solar power project, more than 200 locals were directly employed. The construction of all three solar projects was undertaken by Kushal Projects Nepal.
Api Power, a leading hydropower power developer, has been investing in hydropower, has been expanding its investment in solar power projects recently.
