Nepali Times
June 5, Environment Day
Uninterrupted power



SUN SYSTEM: the rooftop solar array of a captive power system installed at Maiti Nepal.
Experts believe Nepal's power rationing is here to stay, with the electricity crisis expected to continue for another 10 years. In the absence of state provided electricity from the grid, captive power plants could be the answer.

Captive plants generate electricity from a combination of in-house solar, diesel or wind and are not dependent on the grid. Such systems are not just a green statement, but are a necessity for Nepali households, businesses and charities like Maiti Nepal (pictured, below).

For facilities with high energy demand during the day of up to 30 kVA, a solar-diesel utility is an ideal energy mix. The photovoltaic panels can be fed directly into the circuit during sunny days and the surplus stored in battery banks. On days with higher demand and cloudy days, the diesel auxiliary equipment can kick in. Such systems also avoid the need of large and expensive batteries, and the 20 per cent average losses that occur in storing energy chemically.

"Captive power plants can generate energy at a price which is competitive with present diesel generators," says Avishek Malla of Gham Power, a leading supplier of solar systems which has installed 150kWp of solar cells in Kathmandu in the past year-and-half.

The downside of solar arrays is that they have high capital expenditure, the batteries need maintenance and replacement, they need backups during cloudy days. However, by combining with diesel in a captive system many of these drawbacks can be removed and can be cheaper than having just diesel. Gham Power and other solar suppliers also offer packages where the customer pays a dual rate that gives uninterrupted power supply cheaper than the grid and diesel only systems.

Says Gham Power's Anjal Nirula: "By providing uninterrupted power and reducing dependency on fuel imports, captive power plants could set the foundation of energy security for Nepal."

Gham Power Nepal
+977 1 4438950
http://ghampower.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gham-Power/297969003831




1. Laxmi
I salute efforts done by ghampower and other private solar companies but I don't understand why government don'tsubsidised for solar energy for small and medium household usage.   It is green and any surplus electricity what can be salvage can be uilised by heavy commercial user and industry.

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