World Bank may finance 25-MW Nepali solar project - report

Nov 21, 2014 - Nepal will soon sign the deal for a loan from the World Bank that will support a 25-MW solar project and grid upgrades, The Himalayan Times said today, citing a government official.

Negotiations with the bank on the USD-130-million (EUR 103.6m) “Grid Solar and Energy Efficiency Programme” have already been concluded, Madhu Kumar Marasini, chief of International Economic Aid Coordination Division at the Ministry of Finance, told the paper. Most likely, Nepal will get a World Bank loan with an interest of 0.75% and a 38-year term.

The first part of the project involves the construction of 20 MW of solar capacity by June 15 and 5 MW more by September, both to be connected to the grid. The financing for the solar systems is USD 54 million, according to the report. Nepal’s government will contribute USD 8 million.

The other component of the World Bank-financed project involves improvements to power transmission infrastructure aimed at reducing power losses. Currently, losses represent 26% of of the installed capacity of 770 MW, the Himalayan Times. With the USD-84-million upgrades project, Nepal will aim to cut that percentage to 10% by 2018.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) will take on both the solar power and grid efficiency projects.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.797)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!