DESK STUDY REPORT

Of

MITHILA SOLAR PROJECT (5 MW)

Mithila Municipality
Dhanusha District
Province -2, Nepal

Prepared By:

Ace Power Consult Pvt. Ltd.

Kathmandu

Submitted By: Submitted To:

Solar Star Pvt. Ltd. Department of Electricity Developement
Address: Kathmandu -31 Ministry of Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation
Thapagaun, Kathmandu, Nepal
 Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary 1
2. Introduction 3
2.1 Project Scenario of Nepal 3
3. Plant Overview 5
3.1 Power and Energy Estimation 5
3.2 Equipment Required 6

4. Site Details/Overview 7
4.1 Site Topography 7
4.2 Site Accessibility 7
4.3 Land Requirement 7
4.4 Water Requirement 7
4.5 Interconnection Facilities 7

5. Climate 8
5.1 Weather Condition 8
5.2 Wind 8
5.3 Temperature 8
5.4 Precipitation 9

6. Solar Resources 9
6.1 Availability of Resource Data 9

7. Photovoltaic Technology Overview 10

7.1 Grid Connected PV Solar Plant 11
7.2 PV Modules 11

8. Power Evacuation and Interfacing With Grid 14

Annex - 1, Project Location Map 15
Annex - 2, Cost Requirement 16
Annex – 3, Work Scope 17
Annex – 4, Work Schedule 18
1. Executive Summary
Solar Star Pvt. Ltd. is established on 2076 for development of a solar project in Dhanusha
District, Nepal. Company has planned to install a 5 MW solar PV Project at Mithila Municipality
Ward No- 3, Dhanusha district, Nepal. It is planned to supply the generated electricity to national
grid through 33 KV transmission line to the Dhalkebar Sub-Station of NEA

1. Site Details

Site Topography
Proposed site is flat terrain having slope around 10 - 4 0 to the horizontal plane.

Site Accessibility
The project site is accessible via both roadway and airway from Kathmandu, capital of
Nepal. First option is airplane from Kathmandu to Janakpur which takes around 25 minute.
After that the vehicle can be used to reach the project site following Janakpur - Mithila
highway (25 km).
Kathmandu – Narayanghad – Pathlaiya – Mithila (Dhalkebar) is another option to reach
project site from kathmandu. However Kathmandu – Sindhuli – Bardibas route also can be
used to in case of no heavy transportation.

Land Requirement
Total land requirement for developing 5 MW PV Project is estimated about 15 hactor i.e.
about 150,000 Square Meter.

Water Requirement
Water requirement for various works of the project shall be fulfilled either from deep boring
or from nearest river whichever is appropriate.

2. Solar Resources
There is no measurement data is available from the proposed site for depth analysis. So that
the data has been obtained for the NASA website and Solar Atlas which indicates that the
mean of 5.2 kwh/m2/day of global horizontal irradiation during clear sky is received at site.
This is better than average irradiation received in Nepal and can be considered for suitable
for the solar power project

3. PV Technology

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There is different PV technologies such as thin film and crystalline film technology and we
have concluded to crystalline technology is suitable for the solar project because of lower
losses.

1. PV Modules
Crystalline Silicon PV modules are proposed to use. At least 25 years warranty is
required.

4. Invertors
String Invertors have been selected and can be changed during detailed study of the project.
5. Energy Yield Prediction.
Predicted Annual Energy Yield for Mithila Solar PV plant is mentioned in below. Some
losses are calculated within the PVSYST software whereas some other losses (such as
external line loss) were applied externally and data from similar PV plants.

First Year Nominal PV power output 5,000.00 KW

PV Power output 4,750.00 KW
Nominal AC Power 4,775.00 KW
Max operating power @ STC 4,790.00 KW
Max operating power @ Ambient Temp 4,700.00 KW
Plant Production @ STC / Year 8,865,000.00 KWH

Plant Production power @ Ambient Temp 8,124,000.00 KWH

1. Power Evacuation
The generated power from the project is planned to evacuate from switchyard of the project
to NEA's 220 KV Dhalkebar Substation which is 3.5 km far from the proposed Switchyard.

6. Project Overview

Project Name Mithila Solar Project ( 5 MW)

Co-Ordinates Latitude : 26°56'18"N to 26°55'25"N
Longitude : 85°59'20"E to 86°00'00"E
Project Owner Solar Star Pvt. Ltd.
Project Capacity 5 MW
Location Mithila Municipality
Nearest Major Town Janakpur
Nearest Airport Janakpur

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 Soalr Module Type Crystalline Silicon, Polycrystalline
Capacity of Each Module(W) 230 W
No of Modules 24,000
PV System Mounting Structure Type Ground Mounting
Invertor's Capacity 100 KW each
Power conditioning nit specification Input Voltage 450 - 800
No of Invertors 50
Cables and Earthing System 1 set
Land required 15 ha
Land Development Entire station will be developed in flat land
Power Evacuation To Dhalkebar Substation by 33 KV
Transmission Line

2. Introduction
Solar Star Pvt. Ltd. is established on 2076 for development of a solar project in Dhanusha
District, Nepal. Company has planned to install a 5 MW solar PV Project at Mithila Municipality
Ward No- 3, Dhanusha district, Nepal. It is planned to supply the generated electricity to national
grid through 33 KV transmission line to the Dhalkebar Sub-Station of NEA.

2.1. Power Scenario in Nepal

Electricity Installation and Generation
Nepal's power generation is heavily dependent on hydropower, as nearly 95 % of the total
electricity has been generated by either NEA-owned or private hydropower plants (Source:
DoED). Solar Project's contribution in country's electricity is only 0.7 % despite being huge
possibility. In order to meet the growing demand for more electricity, NEA is importing large
amount of the energy so far from India. In 2018, imported energy accounted as 2581.8 GWh
i.e. 30.71 % of total electricity consumption in Nepal (Source: NEA Annual Report).
Whereas private and state-owned hydropower generation has contribution of 36.58% and
32.71% respectively

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A similar picture can be drawn in terms of installed generation capacity. Installed capacity of
power plants in Nepal is around 1050 MW in 2019 on which 500 MW of hydropower
capacity is NEA-owned and the rest by IPPs, however, demand of electricity is still
remarkably high than the country's capacity of electricity generation. Because of fast
installation and growing use of it worldwide, solar projects are becoming the alternative
source of electricity to fulfill the country's demand of electricity.

Solar Power in Nepal

Nepal has great potential for some types of solar energy technologies such as: grid connected
PV, Solar Water Heaters, Solar lanterns and solar home system. Nepal receives solar
radiation of 3.6-6.2 KWh/m2/day with roughly 300 days of sun a year making it ideal for
commercial solar energy.
Nepal is lacking in solar installation despite having large resource availability. 943 medium-
size solar PV units provide 1.2 MW of electricity for the communications sector. Solar
lanterns, popularly known as solar tuki, with 155,000 units in use as of 2010 constituting 737
kW power of capacity. 225,000 of solar home systems are used throughout Nepal across
2600 villages with an output of 5.36 MW.
Increasing global demand of green energy and huge technological advancement in recent
year solar energy may become a viable option to enhance electricity generation capacity in
Nepal as well as to generate clean energy.

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Figure: Global Horizontal Irradiation Map – Nepal (source: globalsolaratlas.info)

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3. Plant Overview

Solar energy gathered by photovoltaic solar panels, intended for delivery to a power grid, must
be conditioned, or processed for use, by a grid-connected inverter. This inverter sits between the
solar array and the grid, draws energy from each, and may be a large stand-alone unit or may be
a collection of small inverters, each physically attached to individual solar panels. The inverter
must monitor grid voltage, waveform, and frequency. One reason for monitoring is if the grid is
dead or strays too far out of its nominal specifications, the inverter must not pass along any solar
energy. Another reason for the inverter monitoring the grid is because for normal operation, the
inverter must synchronize with the grid waveform, and produce a voltage slightly higher than the
grid itself, in order for energy to smoothly flow outward from the solar array.

3.1. Power and Energy Estimation

Annual average irradiation on panels (shadings not included) is about 1773 Kwh/m2/year and
shading days are considered as 65 days per annum. Losses are depends on the site condition,
technology, and sizing of the system. Losses taken for project are considered as 37% as
follows.

Table: Losses in PV project

Inverter losses 10%
Temperature losses 10%
DC cables losses 2%
AC cables losses 2%
Shadings 3%
Losses weak irradiation 6%
Losses due to dust, 4%

Estimated output of the project are as follow as mentioned in table

Table: Output Estimation of the Project (Approximate)

First Year Nominal PV power output 5,000.00 KW

PV Power output 4,750.00 KW
Nominal AC Power 4,775.00 KW
Max operating power @ STC 4,790.00 KW
Max operating power @ Ambient Temp 4,700.00 KW

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 Plant Production @ STC / Year 8,865,000.00 KWH

Plant Production power @ Ambient Temp 8,124,000.00 KWH

The estimated annual energy generation from the project is calculated. The average
efficiency including photo voltaic module, Inverters, Cables and Junction boxes are
considered as 15.24%. the performance ration RP is considered ad 63% and the module area
required for 5 MW project is 47,398 square meter.

Table: Estimated Energy Table

Solar
Radiation in Total
GHI / Tilt at 26 Efficiency Module Performance Energy
Month
(kWh/m2) Degree % Area Ratio PR (kWh)
( m2)
(kWh/m2)
15.24% 47,398 0.63 525,
January 115.6
84.94 956.07
750,
February 164.9
131.32 385.90
953,
March 209.5
186.31 217.54
842,
April 185.1
182.1 438.40
852,
May 187.3
199.02 139.68
709,
June 155.8
171 235.52
592,
July 130.1
140.74 225.93
646,
August 142.1
146.94 699.82
720,
September 158.3
149.7 185.61
821,
October 180.4
155.62 098.52
November 126.3 165.8 754,
656.75

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 697,
December 153.2
113.46 273.19
Annual 8,865,512.
1,773 1,948
total 93

1.2. Equipments Required

Following equipment may be required for the project

Solar PV Modules 230 W : 24000 Nos
Inverters 100 KW, 3 Phase & MPPT : 50 Nos
Vmax 800 V Transformer 1600 KVA : 1 No
SCADA / Monitoring System : 50 Nos
Bus bar/Panel to Transformer : 1 No
Switch Gear : 1 Set
Distribution Panel : 1 No
Isolator : 1 No
Cables : 200 mtr each approx.
Hand Tools, provided by supplier : As required

4. Site Details /Overview

3.2. Site Topography
Proposed site has flat topography having slope around 0 - 4 0 to the horizontal plane with
faces reflected to south direction so that there is not found to have shadow from any
nearby structures and Hills.

3.3. Site Accessibility

The project site is accessible via both roadway and airway from Kathmandu, capital of
Nepal. First option is airplane from Kathmandu to Janakpur which takes around 25
minute. After that the vehicle can be used to reach the project site following Janakpur -
Mithila highway (25 km).
Kathmandu – Narayanghad – Pathlaiya – Mithila is another option to reach project site
from kathmandu. However Kathmandu – Sindhuli – Bardibas route also can be used to in
case of no heavy transportation.

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 Project Area
Fig: Site Accessibility Map

3.4. Land Requirement

Total land requirement for developing 5 MW PV Project is estimated about 15 hactor i.e.
about 150,000 Square Meter.

3.5. Water Requirement

Water requirement for various works of the project shall be fulfilled either from deep
boring or from nearest river whichever is appropriate for the project.

3.6. Interconnection Facilities

The generated power from the project is planned to evacuate from switchyard of the
project of NEA's 220 KV Dhalkebar Substation which is 4 km far from the proposed
Switchyard.

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4. Climate
4.1. Weather Condition
No any weather station has been installed at the site so that any reference data from
around the site could not be collected. However data has been analysed from the other
source and observation of the site condition also notified as a better place to install solar
project.

4.2. Wind
There are 40 wind measurement stations installed all over the country under the
Department of Hydrology and Meteorology; however, presently only 29 stations are
properly running. They measure average monthly wind speed data at particular time of
the day, maximum hourly gust and maximum gust. Even among these stations many
provide only discontinuous data. Out of the 29 stations, 7 are in the higher Himalayan
region, 11 in middle mountain region and 11 in the Terai plains in the south. The average
monthly wind speed at project is around 3-5 km/hr with reference to data of nearby
stations.

4.3. Temperature
In Nepal, temperature is lowest during winter (December - January) and increases as
spring advances due to increase in solar isolation. However, the arrival of monsoon rain
checks the increase in temperature making generally May or early June the hottest
months. The temperature starts decreasing from October and reaches the minimum in
December or January. Temperature is directly related to season and altitude of the
location. The hottest part of the country is the southern Terai belt and the coldest part lies
in the high mountain or the Himalayas in the north. Annual mean maximum air
temperature of the project area around 28 - 36 0C and annual mean minimum air
temperature of the site is around 10-18 0C

4.4. Precipitation
Precipitation in the project area is about 1600 to 2000 mm as per the following figure
published by DHM. Higher rate of rainfall at the project area occurs during the month of
May to September. About 85% of annual rainfall occurs in those months. Calculation of
solar radiation at the site has considered the effect of rainfall on solar energy output.

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 Fig: Mean
Annual

Precipitation in Nepal

Fig: Average Monthly Precipitation in Nepal

5. Solar Resource
The annual energy yield of PV plant is heavily dependent on the solar resources of the site.
As there is no weather station to obtain the data about solar radiation the data has been taken
from various sources and strongly followed up the data provided in NASA website.

5.1. Availability of Resource Data

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 1. NASA's surface metrology and solar energy (NASA - SSE) data set, which holds
satellite delivered monthly data for a grid of 1''X1'' covering the globe. This data can
be considered as suitable for the prefeasibility study of the solar energy projects.

2. METEONORM Global climatological database and synthetic weather generator,

which contains a data base of ground station measurements of irradiation and
temperature. Where a site is over 3 km from the nearest measurement station it
outputs climatological averages estimated using interpolation algorithms. For this
nearby measurement station is required which is not available for this site.

3. GLOBALSOLARATLAS provides the solar radiation data of all the surface of earth.

7. Photovoltaic Technology Overview

A grid-connected photovoltaic power system or grid-connected PV system is an electricity
generating solar PV system that is connected to the utility grid. A grid-connected PV system
consists of solar panels, one or several inverters, a power-conditioning unit and grid
connection equipment. A grid-connected system rarely includes an integrated battery
solution, as they are still very expensive. The grid-connected PV system supplies the power
to the utility grid.
Connection of the photovoltaic power system can be done only through an interconnection
agreement between the developer and the utility company i.e. Nepal Electricity Authority
(NEA). The agreement details the various safety standards to be followed during the
connection.

Solar energy gathered by photovoltaic solar panels, intended for delivery to a power grid,
must be conditioned, or processed for use, by a grid-connected inverter. This inverter sits
between the solar array and the grid, draws energy from each, and may be a large stand-alone
unit or may be a collection of small inverters, each physically attached to individual solar
panels. The inverter must monitor grid voltage, waveform, and frequency. One reason for
monitoring is if the grid is dead or strays too far out of its nominal specifications, the inverter
must not pass along any solar energy. Another reason for the inverter monitoring the grid is
because for normal operation the inverter must synchronize with the grid waveform, and
produce a voltage slightly higher than the grid itself, in order for energy to smoothly flow
outward from the solar array.

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 Fig: Grid Connected PV Solar Plant

5.2. Grid Connected PV Solar Plant

5.2.1. Solar PV Modules

Photovoltaic is the direct conversion of light into electricity at the atomic level. Some
materials exhibit a property known as the photoelectric effect that causes them to absorb
photons of light and release electrons. When these free electrons are captured, electric
current results that can be used as electricity.

1.1.1. Module Mounting/Tracking System

The solar array of a PV system can be mounted on rooftops, generally with a few inches
gap and parallel to the surface of the roof. If the rooftop is horizontal, the array is
mounted with each panel aligned at an angle. If the panels are planned to be mounted
before the construction of the roof, the roof can be designed accordingly by installing
support brackets for the panels before the materials for the roof are installed. Some of the
PV mounting systems are:
· Ground Mounting
· Roof Mounting
· Mounting as Shade Structure

1.1.3. Invertors
These are required to convert the DC electricity to AC for connection to the utility grid.
Many modules in series strings and parallel strings are connected to the invertors.

1.1.2. Step Up Transformer

The output from investors generally requires further step up in voltage to reach the AC
grid voltage level. The step up transformer takes the output from the invertors to the
required grid voltage depending on the power evacuation.

1.1.3. Grid Connection Interface

This is where the electricity is exported in to the grid network; a switchyard with required
switchgear, control, protection of the PV plant might be required for grid interfacing
along with energy meters. Modules may be connected together in series to produce string
of modules. When connected in series the voltage increase. String of module connected
together in parallel boost the current that the system is able to deliver.

1.2. PV Modules
A PV module consists of many PV cells wired in parallel to increase current and in series
to produce a higher voltage. 36 cell modules are the industry standard for large power
production. 
The module is encapsulated with tempered glass (or some other transparent material) on

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 the front surface, and with a protective and waterproof material on the back surface. The
edges are sealed for weatherproofing, and there is often an aluminum frame holding
everything together in a mountable unit. In the back of the module there is a junction box,
or wire leads, providing electrical connections.

There are following commercial production technologies for PV Modules:

1.1.1.1.Crystalline (Single Crystalline and Polycrystalline or Multicrystalline)

Crystalline silicon PV cells are used in the largest quantity of all types of panels on
the market, representing about 90% of the world total PV cell production in 2008.
The highest energy conversion efficiency reported so far for research crystalline
silicon PV cells is 25%. Standard industrial cells are limited to 15–18% with the
exception of certain high‐ efficiency cells capable of efficiencies greater than
20%.High‐efficiency research PV cells have advantages in performance but are often
unsuitable for low‐cost production due to their complex structures and the lengthy
manufacturing processes required for fabrication. World annual production of PV
cells reached more than 7.9 GWp in 2008 (10.6 GWp in 2009), and the average
annual growth rate in PV cell production over the last decade has been more than
40%.Yet the electrical power generated by all PV systems around the world is less
than 0.1% of the total world electricity generation

Mono Crystalline Solar Cell

1.1.1.2.String Ribbon
A process in which multi crystalline silicon strips and foils are manufactured for
Photovoltaic (PV) Technology. In this process, high temperature resistance wires are
pulled through the molten silicon to form multi –crystalline thin ribbon of silicon
crystals. These very thin ribbons then cut into different lengths to form PV and Solar
cells. Solar panels made with String Ribbon technology looks the same to traditional
polycrystalline PV panels. The process was first developed in the 1970s by Mobil-
Tyco, Solar Energy Corp and The Evergreen Solar were the major manufacturer of
using String ribbon Technology to make the solar cells. String Ribbon PV panels are
also made out of polycrystalline silicon.

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1.1.1.3.Thin Film
Thin Film Solar Cells (TFSC) are also known as Thin Film Photovoltaic Cells
(TFPV) or Amorphous PV Modules. Integrating one or more thin layers of PV
materials or thin film (TF) on a substrate, e.g. metal, glass, plastic etc. is the basic
process to make thin film solar panels and it is a second generation solar cell. The
thickness of film varies from a few nanometers (nm) to tend of micrometers (µm)
while the much thinner of thin film has been developed. The first generation
Crystalline Silicon solar cell (c-SI) uses up to 200 µm silicon wafers.

1.1.1.4.Module Degradation
Although crystalline solar power panels are often sold with 25 to 30 year lifespan
guarantees, those 30-year-old modules won’t be performing as well as they did on
Day 1. Performance declines as solar cells degrade due to unavoidable circumstances
like UV exposure and weather cycles. Manufacturers realize this, so solar panels
come with a power output or performance warranty that usually guarantees 80%
production at 25 years

1.1.1.5.Module Efficiency
Lesser Efficient module required large area to produce the same
nominal power. As the result the cost advantage gained at the module level may get
offset by the cost incurred in providing additionally required power system
infrastructure (cables and mounting frames) for a larger module area. So using the
lowest cost module does not necessarily lead to the lowest cost per Wp for the

15
 complete plant. Crystalline silicon technology currently dominating the market as
80% of solar power plant is using this technology.
Table. Confirmed terrestrial cell and sub module efficiencies measured under the global AM1.5
spectrum (1000 W/m2) at 25°C

Classification Efficiency (%) Area (cm2) Voc (V) Fill factor (%)

Si (crystalline) 25.6 ± 0.5 143.7 (da) 0.740 82.7

Si (multicrystalline) 21.25 ± 0.4 242.74 (t) 0.6678 80.0

Si (thin transfer 21.2 ± 0.4 239.7 (ap) 0.687 80.3

submodule)
Si (thin film 10.5 ± 0.3 94.0 (ap) 0.492 72.1
minimodule)

8. Power Evacuation and Interfacing with Grid

It is Important that power plants are designed to operate satisfactory in parallel to grid under
the voltage and frequency fluctuation condition, so as to export the maximum possible units
to the grid it is also important to safeguard the system during major disturbance like tripping,
Pulling and sudden over loading during the fluctuation of the grid loads on the generating
units in island mode under condition.

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ANNEX - 1

Project Location Map

26 + 56'18" N 86 + 00'00" E
26 + 56'18" N 85 + 59'20" E

26 + 55'25" N 86 + 59'20" E 26 + 55'25" N 86 + 00'00" E

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ANNEX-2

Cost Requirement

Cost for Feasibility Study

S.No. Description Proposed Amount, NPR

1 Project Layout and Detailed Project Report 2,000,000.00
2 Initial Environment Examination (IEE) study 800,000.00
and preparation of IEE Report
3 Land Identification and Detailed Land 600,000.00
Acquisition Report
4 Bid Documents 800,000.00
VAT @ 13% 546,000
Miscellaneous 500,000
Total 5,246,000.00

Approximate Cost for Project Development

SN Description Estimated Cost, NPR (Approx.)

1 Land Purchase 80,000,000.00
2 Civil General Works 80,000,000.00
3 PV Modules 60,000,000.00
4 Mounting Structures 36,000,000.00
5 Power Conditioning Units 28,000,000.00

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 6 Power Evacuation Cost 48,000,000.00
Pre operating Expanses including IDC and
7 Contingency 48,000,000.00
8 Project Management and Supervision 20,000,000.00
  Total Cost 400,000,000.00

ANNEX - 3

Work Scopes
Step 1: License and Approval
· Preparation of Project Study Report
· Selection of location
· Apply for a License
· IEE/EIA Approval
· Obtaining Construction License

Step 2: Design
· Preparation of Design and cost estimation of the project
· Preparation of Alternative Design
· Parallel can be done with step: 1

Step 3: PPA
· PPA with Nepal Electricity Authority

Step 4: DPR
· Preparation of Detail BOQ, Specification of Goods, Technical Feasibility

Step 5: Financial Closure

· Arrange and conclude financial closure

Step 6: Procurement / Contract Award

· Tender Award, selection of vendor

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 Step 7: Construction
· Civil Works, Installation of Solar System, Grid Connection Facility

Step 8: Commissioning
· Commissioning, Testing, COD

ANNEX - 4
Work Schedule

Work Schedule for Feasibility Study

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Work Schedule for Project Construction

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