KATHMANDU, March 3: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has expedited construction of pumped storage hydropower projects (PSHP), citing the low production cost of electricity out of these projects and uninterruptible power supply in the country throughout the year.
According to the NEA, it has recently selected 33 such projects across the country. The state-owned power utility has identified a total of 156 pumped storage projects.
Kulman Ghising, managing director of the NEA, said they have targeted to construct 510 MW of the PSHP in the first phase. “While the process to receive the survey license for these projects will be expedited soon, we have also planned to gradually upgrade the production capacity of these power plants,” said Ghising.
The NEA has planned to produce 336 billion units of energy from the PSHP in the first phase. The estimated cost of the electricity produced from the power plants of this type stands at US $587,000 (Rs 77.5 million).
The per unit cost of electricity that the NEA has projected from PSHP stands at only around one-third of the production cost from run-of-river type hydropower projects at present. According to a research conducted by the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, the cost of hydropower development in Nepal is found to be an average of Rs 219.2 million per MW.
Under the PSHP, water is pumped upriver during off-peak or low-cost periods and stored in a reservoir built at the upstream of the river. The stored water is used to generate electricity during peak or high-cost periods.
The PSHPs are considered important for power system stability, peak demand and surplus energy management and energy security. By utilizing the pumped and stored water during off-peak periods, electricity can be generated during peak periods for internal consumption, while they can be sold to India at a higher price during peak periods, according to the NEA.
Among a number of the PSHPs forwarded by the NEA, a feasibility study is underway for a 332 MW pumped storage project at Syarphu Lake in Rukum (West). The 670 MW Dudhkoshi Reservoir Hydropower Project has also carried out a study for constructing a 200 MW pumped storage project.
Likewise, the NEA is carrying out a feasibility study for the construction of a 1,596 MW Hulingtar-Dukim PSHP in the Hugdi and Mowa rivers in Benighat and Rorang rural municipalities of Dhading district and Ichchakamana rural municipality of Chitwan district. These proposed sites are close to the power load center of Kathmandu Valley, while they have good access to roads, transmission lines and all necessary infrastructures, according to the NEA.