Nepal Infrastructure 
KATHMANDU: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Api Power and India’s GreenZo Energy Company to set up various green hydrogen plants with a total consumption capacity of 50 MW by 2025 in Nepal. A total of Rs 10 billion will be required to establish the plants which have a capacity to generate 4000 tons of green hydrogen annually.
The MoU was signed by Satish Neupane, Chairman of Api Power Company, and Shreya Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GreenZo Energy Company. According to the MoU, a green hydrogen plant will be established within 3 years in utilizing the water coming out of the tailraces of hydropower plants operating in different districts.
To implement the MoU, the company will establish a green hydrogen plant with a capacity of one megawatt using the water discharge from the 8.5 Mw Naugarh hydroelectric plant located in Darchula. It is going to be established as a model green hydrogen plant in the country.
For the first time, the private sector has taken the lead to attract investment to establish a green hydrogen plant using renewable energy. Guruprasad Neupane, a pioneer energy entrepreneur who is also the founder of Api Power Company, said that he is going to collaborate with GreenZo for investment to establish a green hydrogen plant. ‘I have been actively working in the development of the energy sector for the past two and a half decades. After hydropower and solar energy, now I have ventured into a green hydrogen energy sector,’ he said, expressing confidence that the collaboration with GreenZo will be successful.’.He said that he is willing to invest in wind energy in the future as there is potential in Nepal like hydropower and solar energy.
He also said that about one dozen hydroelectric power stations that have been completed so far can produce electricity on the rooftops of their powerhouse and supply it to the grid. “We are conducting a study on it also”, he said.
There is a possibility that a rooftop solar plant of up to one MW can be installed in each power plant. We are ready to invest in rooftop solar as there will be no problem with the transmission line,” he said.
Sanjeev Neupane, managing director of Api Power Company, said that they are going to invest about 10 billion rupees to establish 50 MW green hydrogen plants. He informed us that 4 thousand tons of hydrogen can be produced annually from these green hydrogen plants.
“We were the first to invest in hydropower and solar power generation,” he said.
Sandeep Aggarwal, President of GreenZo Energy Company, said that factoring in the growing need for renewable energy, they are going to collaborate with Api Power to establish a green hydrogen plant in Nepal. He said that in collaboration with Api Power, the construction of the solar power project will be completed within the stipulated time, and the green hydrogen plant will also be installed as per schedule.
“We joined Api Power for the first time to cooperate for the construction of solar power projects”, he said, adding that the cooperation will continue to move forward in the future also. In the last few years, Nepal has adopted the new technology in the world market in the energy sector and there is a possibility of going much further, Agarwal said.
Shreya Agrawal, CEO of GreenZo, said a green hydrogen plant will be established in Darchula by 2023. Greenzo Energy is investing in a green electrolyzer manufacturing plant in India also with a consumption capacity of 250 Mw of electricity. The company aims to invest Rs 4 billion by 2025.
