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Karnali Solar Energy Project

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Updated
2026-05-13

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A programme line referenced in the NEA Annual Report FY 2024/25 (Distribution / Customer Service Directorate) covering off-grid solar plants with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Karnali, with operation and maintenance support from NEA. The programme is emerging as Nepal's institutional template for off-grid solar + BESS hybrid delivery in grid-absent districts.

Summary

The Karnali Solar Energy Project is an off-grid solar plus BESS programme line referenced in NEA FY 2024/25. The page tracks it as an emerging NEA/AEPC-style remote-energy delivery template for grid-absent Karnali districts.

What the project is

  • Location: Karnali Province — the grid-weakest and resource-strongest off-grid zone in Nepal (Dolpa, Humla, Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Jajarkot, Rukum, Surkhet, Salyan, Dailekh).
  • Configuration: Multi-site, each site ~50 kWp – 1 MWp solar + BESS (4–8 hour).
  • Operational model: NEA + AEPC joint delivery with community co-operative O&M.
  • Scale indication: approximate aggregate ~5–15 MWp across multiple sites (scope continuing to evolve; project documentation is preliminary).
  • Status: In-development / early implementation as of FY 2024/25; firm aggregate MW to be verified from AEPC progress reports.

Why this programme matters

Three things that make Karnali Solar the institutional template rather than just another remote project:

1. It is the first formal NEA–AEPC co-delivery structure at scale.

Historically AEPC delivered off-grid solar through community cooperatives; NEA delivered grid-tied solar through tenders. Karnali Solar Energy Project is the first programme where NEA provides O&M support and technical backstop to AEPC-delivered off-grid systems, pre-structured for eventual grid-edge integration when the NEA radial feeder eventually reaches each site.

2. It validates solar + BESS economics at the remote site

Diesel generation in remote Karnali sites costs NPR 60–90/kWh (delivered fuel + logistics + wear). Solar + 8-hour BESS at ~NPR 25–35/kWh (grant-supported) is 2–3× cheaper than the incumbent — the value gap is enormous. This is the highest-leverage per-kWh solar in Nepal, by far.

3. It prepares the grid-edge integration question

As NEA's grid finally reaches former off-grid villages (~8.6% of households still grid-absent), what happens to the community solar + BESS asset? Karnali Solar Energy Project pre-formalises this: the asset continues to operate, is tariff-integrated with the NEA grid, and the BESS provides local reactive-power / voltage-stability service at the grid edge. Without this pre-formalisation, each off-grid system becomes stranded on grid arrival (the historical pattern).

Site-by-site data

Preliminary publication from NEA FY 2024/25 references the programme at aggregate level; per-site details (exact location, MWp, BESS hours, developer, community partner) require cross-reference with AEPC monitoring reports.

Relevance to project

Limitations & Controversies

  • Exact site list, MWp per site, BESS specification, developer / community partner
  • Cumulative CAPEX / CAPEX per kWp
  • FY 2024/25 generation + diesel-displacement data
  • AEPC monitoring report for the programme

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