Kathmandu, July 19: A 50-megawatt grid-connected solar photovoltaic project will be built in Kushaha Rural Municipality of Sunsari district with an estimated investment of Rs 3.27 billion. The project is being developed by Solaris Energy Pvt Ltd with investment from private sector promoters.
The company said the project aims to increase Nepal’s clean and renewable energy production while contributing to national energy security. Electricity generated by the plant will be supplied directly to the national grid.
The project is estimated to cost Rs 3.274 billion, equivalent to around Rs 65.5 million per megawatt. It will be financed under a 75:25 debt-to-equity ratio. Solaris plans to secure around Rs 3 billion in bank financing, including Rs 2.442 billion in long-term loans and Rs 557.9 million in short-term loans.
The company’s key promoters are Pooja Chand Thakur, Pradipta Rana, Bipul Man Singh, Keshav Raj Vijayanand and Meera Chand Thakur. According to the company, the promoters have extensive experience in renewable energy development, investment management and international development programmes.
By the end of June 2026, the promoters had invested Rs 80 million in paid-up capital, representing about 10 per cent of the total equity requirement. Financial progress had reached only 2.14 per cent by that time. Feasibility studies and site investigations have been completed, while lease agreements have been secured for around 40 per cent of the required land.
Initial construction has already begun, including the construction of camps for workers and technical staff. The project is scheduled to begin commercial electricity generation in November 2027.
Electricity generated by the plant will be transmitted through a 2.6-kilometre transmission line to the under-construction Kushaha 132 kV substation. However, the company warned that delays in completing the substation could prevent the project from supplying its full output to the national grid on schedule.
Solaris signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement with the Nepal Electricity Authority in November 2025 under the “take-or-pay” model. The agreement sets the electricity purchase price at Rs 5.40 per kilowatt hour and will remain valid for 25 years from the project’s commercial operation date or until the generation licence expires, whichever comes first.
The government has identified electricity generation as a priority sector and offers incentives to attract private investment, including tax exemptions for qualifying energy projects and financing support through banking regulations and renewable energy promotion programmes.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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