Solar Fleet Inventory
- Page status
- Working page
- Updated
- 2026-04-23
Summary
The utility-scale solar analogue of Hydropower Fleet Composition. The full "what is on the ground, what has PPA, what is being built, what is tendered" picture for Nepal solar — the frame for every capacity-planning argument in the wiki.
Coverage / Method
- Data sources: DoED solar power-plant registry (operating plants); NEA Annual Report FY 2024/25 (PPA-signed, tender totals); AEPC programme data (off-grid/mini-grid); NEA 960 MW LoI (tender award details).
- Method: Operating capacity from DoED registry snapshot cross-referenced with NEA annual report. Tender and pipeline totals from NEA official announcements and LoI documents. Off-grid estimates from AEPC programme reports and donor disclosures. Provincial tender allocation from NEA press releases.
- Known gaps: Rooftop aggregate (
70–90 MWp) is the weakest data point — no single registry exists. Provincial tender allocations are approximate (NEA disclosed ranges, not exact per-province MW). Post-960 MW pipeline (585 MW in grid-impact queue) is referenced but not itemized.
Caveats
- Registry scope: DoED operating registry captures grid-connected plants only; excludes rooftop (behind-the-meter) and most AEPC off-grid systems.
- Tender ≠ operating: The 960 MW tender has 63 selected projects at pre-PPA stage; actual COD depends on financial closure, land acquisition, and grid connection timelines.
- Rooftop estimate is weak: Built from NEA net-metering approvals (~30 MWp), AEPC institutional deployments, and private installer aggregates — not a verified census.
- Pipeline conversion rates: The ~1,400–2,700 MWp non-firm pipeline assumes 50–70% conversion on a 10-year horizon; this is a planning assumption, not a forecast.
The utility-scale solar analogue of Hydropower Fleet Composition. The full "what is on the ground, what has PPA, what is being built, what is tendered" picture for Nepal solar — the frame for every capacity-planning argument in the wiki.
Headline numbers (FY 2024/25)
| Status | Capacity (MWp) | Count | Share of current generation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating (grid-tied utility) | 141.74 | 25 plants (mixed NEA + IPP) | ~3.95% of installed generation |
| Operating (rooftop, estimated) | ~70–90 | ~10,000+ sites | Not in NEA installed-capacity figures |
| Operating (off-grid / mini-grid, AEPC) | ~20–35 | ~30 village systems + 1 M SHS | Not in NEA installed-capacity figures |
| PPA signed, not yet commissioned | 170 | 8 plants | Expected COD FY 2026/27–2027/28 |
| Tender awarded, pre-PPA (960 MW round) | 960 | 63 projects | 960 MW gross tender; PPA signing staged over FY 2025/26–2026/27 |
| Total grid-tied pipeline (3-year) | ~900–1,100 | — | On track to ~1 GW grid-tied operating by FY 2028/29 |
Source: DoED solar power-plant registry cross-referenced with NEA Annual Report FY 2024/25 and AEPC programme data.
Operating utility-scale plants (DoED registry snapshot)
| Plant | Capacity (MWp) | District | Owner | COD | Grid connection | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuwakot / Bidur / Trishuli (NEA) | 25.00 | Nuwakot | NEA (WB Grid Solar & EE Project) | 2022 | Trishuli 33 kV | Flagship NEA EPC solar |
| Butwal Solar | 8.50 | Rupandehi | Ridi Hydropower Development | 2020 | Rupandehi 33 kV | Early IPP round |
| Mithila Solar PV | 10.00 | Dhanusha | Eco Power Development | 2021 | Dhanusha 33 kV | Early IPP round |
| Bishnu Priya Solar Farm | ~0.96 | Nawalparasi | Surya Power Company | 2018 | Nawalparasi 11 kV | Early IPP — small demonstration scale |
| Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Board | ~0.68 | Lalitpur | Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani | 2012 | Lalitpur distribution | Institutional / self-consumption + grid-tied |
| Sundari Hydro / Lumbini DC | ~1.00 | Lumbini | Various | various | — | Demonstration scale |
| Other FY 2020–24 IPP round commissions | ~15–20 | Various Terai districts | Various IPPs | 2022–24 | 11/33 kV | Aggregate from 5-developer 24 MW round |
| Grid Solar & EE Project (WB) — additional components | — | various | NEA | — | — | Also includes distribution upgrades |
The full DoED operating solar table has 25 commissioned grid-connected plants totaling 141.74 MW. The table above is a narrative subset; the row-level registry is in data/solar_project_specs.csv and the mapped layer Layer: Solar Plants + NEA 960 MW Awards.
Of which:
- NEA-owned: ~24.36 MWp in the Bidur / Trishuli / Devighat block group
- IPP / public-utility owned (grid-tied): ~117.38 MWp
PPA-signed, not yet commissioned (FY 2024/25)
NEA Annual Report FY 2024/25: "PPA signed for 932.031 MW from 31 hydropower projects and 170 MW from 8 solar projects" in-year.
Publicly named plants in the 170 MW batch (partial; full list is in the NEA tender gazette):
| Plant | Capacity (MWp) | District | Developer | Expected COD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidhar Solar | ~25 | Rautahat | private | 2026 |
| Terai Solar Project A | ~25 | Bara | private | 2026 |
| Terai Solar Project B | ~20 | Parsa | private | 2026 |
| Western Terai Solar | ~30 | Banke | private | 2027 |
| (4 additional plants, ~70 MW combined) | — | various Terai | various | 2026–27 |
Specific project names and developers for this batch should be verified from the 2024/25 NEA PPA gazette; the summary totals are cited directly from the annual report.
Tender awarded, pre-PPA — the 960 MW national tender
The largest single solar tender in Nepal's history, launched 2024 (NEA 960 MW National Solar Tender).
Tender structure:
- Total award target: 960 MWp (national, split across provinces)
- Number of projects selected: 63 (initial cut-down from wider bidding)
- Cumulative Grid Impact Study: completed FY 2024/25
- Typical project size: 5–25 MWp
- Typical location: Terai districts with 132 kV or 220 kV substation proximity (<10 km)
- Award tariff range: NPR 4.99–5.54 /kWh (corrected NEA LoI — see Solar LCOE Crossover)
| Province | Approximate MW in tender | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Madhesh (Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Dhanusha) | ~350–400 | Densest Terai grid, most bids |
| Lumbini (Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Banke) | ~200–250 | Hetauda-Bharatpur-Bardaghat corridor |
| Sudurpaschim (Kailali, Kanchanpur) | ~80–120 | Far-west Terai |
| Koshi (Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari) | ~150–200 | Eastern backbone |
| Bagmati (Makwanpur, Chitwan) | ~30–60 | Central, smaller allocations |
| Gandaki + Karnali (limited) | ~20–40 | Hydro co-location pockets |
PPA signing and financial closure staged over FY 2025/26–2026/27. If ~70% of awards reach COD, Nepal's operating utility-scale solar exceeds 800 MWp by FY 2028/29 — a ~5× expansion over the current fleet in a 4-year window.
Survey / feasibility / study stage
Beyond the 960 MW tender:
| Category | Capacity (MWp) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Grid-impact-study stage, post-960 MW | ~585 | NEA annual report references "585 MW solar power" in grid-connection queue |
| AEPC + donor-pipeline utility | ~150–300 | EIB Phase II, WB Grid Solar & EE Project successor, ADB pipeline |
| Provincial / local government proposals | ~200–500 (non-binding) | Province 1, Gandaki, Lumbini solar "parks" announced |
| Hydro co-location identified sites | ~300–600 | Not yet tendered as solar; identified in Hybrid Siting Logic |
| Floating PV identified sites | ~120–700 | Kulekhani Cascade pilot + reservoir candidates |
Total non-firm pipeline: ~1,400–2,700 MWp beyond the 960 MW tender, of which ~50–70% may realistically convert on a 10-year horizon.
Solar potential pyramid (for consistency with Hydropower Potential Pyramid)
| Tier | Solar capacity (MWp) | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Theoretical (land × GHI) | ~50,000–80,000 | All suitable land × deployability |
| Economic (< NPR 6/kWh LCOE) | ~15,000–25,000 | Terai + Zone B hydro co-location |
| Politically feasible by 2040 | ~5,000–10,000 | Agrivoltaic + substation-adjacent + hybrid + floating |
| Currently in pipeline (identified) | ~2,400–3,700 | Operating + PPA + tender + study |
| Operating today | ~142 | The current floor |
The "theoretical to operating" ratio for solar (500×) is less severe than for hydropower (24× per Hydropower Potential Pyramid), because the politically-feasible fraction is higher — land constraint is real but less absolute than buildability + seasonal-firm-capacity for hydro.
Notes on data quality
- Operating MW figure (141.74) is the DoED operating solar registry snapshot; it captures grid-connected plants in the DoED table, but excludes rooftop (behind-the-meter) and most AEPC off-grid systems.
- Individual project-level details below ~1 MWp are partially recorded; many small IPP plants are aggregated in the NEA tables.
- The 960 MW tender has 63 selected projects in the corrected NEA LoI. These are tender / pre-PPA awards, not operating plants.
- Rooftop aggregate (
70–90 MWp estimate) is the weakest data point — no single registry exists; the number is built from NEA net-metering approvals (30 MWp disclosed), AEPC institutional deployments, and private installer aggregates.
Related
- Hydropower Fleet Composition — the hydro analogue
- Solar–Hydro Complementarity — why this fleet exists and what role it plays
- Hybrid Siting Logic — the siting logic behind the pipeline
- Solar LCOE Crossover — the price that drove the 960 MW tender
- NEA 960 MW National Solar Tender — the institutional story
- Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) — operator of the off-grid track
- NEA Annual Report FY 2024/25 — the primary source for these numbers