 SUN SYSTEM: the rooftop solar array of a captive power system installed at Maiti Nepal. |
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/
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