World Bank may back 25-MW solar scheme in Nepal

Jul 4, 2014 - The World Bank is expected to extend a USD-80-million (EUR 59m) loan to Nepal for the construction of 25 MW of solar parks, according to World Bank document.

The photovoltaic (PV) facilities will be installed at existing hydropower plants in the country in order to avoid the construction of additional transmission lines and thus save costs, an unnamed senior official from the Ministry of Energy (MoE) told the Himalayan Times on Thursday. The specific sites for the solar plants have been not selected yet.

The World Bank might issue a global tender notice in two months to gather applications from interested developers.

To fight the power crisis in Nepal, the government intends to build 150 MW solar farms in the fiscal year starting on July 16, MoE assistant spokesperson Sanjeev Baral said, as cited by the newspaper. An additional 100 MW of PV capacity is to be added in collaboration with the private sector.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.735)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!