Nepal Will Export Solar Power to India, Joins ISA

India will import solar energy from Nepal and the Himalayan country will also join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) led by India. This is the crux of the outcome of the three day visit of Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to India.

The delegation level talks between Indian PM Narendra Modi and Deuba led to several key decisions which include that Indian companies’ participation in Nepal based hydropower projects will increase here onwards. Nepal’s Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project of 456 MW became operational last year that made Nepal a power surplus country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “It is a matter of happiness that Nepal is exporting its surplus power to India. This will make positive contributions to the economic development of Nepal. I am delighted to announce that several more proposals for importing power from Nepal are being approved. I am happy that Nepal has become a member of the International Solar Alliance. This will promote sustainable, affordable and clean energy in our region.”

Modi informed Deuba that the proposal for power import from Nepal to India has been cleared by India that will contribute to economic prosperity of Nepal. Foreign Secretary of India, Harsh Shringla informs that both countries will collaborate on power harvesting, power generation, transmission and power trade. Shringla also said that the joint vision statement between on power cooperation will be a blueprint for future cooperation in the power sector.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Nepal is mostly dependent on renewable energy, but most of it comes from hydropower. Out of the renewable electricity that was produced in the country in 2020, hydropower makes about 96% and 4% comes from solar installations. It has a capacity of 60 MW in solar power at the end of 2020 with an addition of 10MW in that year. Last Year, Nepal’s NMB Bank secured $15 million from OPEC Fund for International Development and the bank is investing the money in renewable energy development.

PM Modi and PM Deuba had also inaugurated a cross-border passenger train service between Jaynagar (India) and Kurtha (Nepal), the Solu Corridor 132 KV Power Transmission Line and India’s RuPay payment card in Nepal.