Buthan‘s Department of Renewable Energy has launched a tender for the construction of a 17.38 MW solar park in Sephu, in the central part of the country. Interested developers have until Sept. 19 to submit their bids.

“The facilities comprise of main electrical system including solar PV modules, inverters, cables, transformers, and protection equipment, solar PV module mounting structures, site access and internal roads, buildings and civil works, drainage systems, water supply system, lightning protection system, external lighting system, earthing system, fire fighting and detection system, emergency generator, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA),” the government said in a statement.

Bhutan currently has 2.33 GW of installed generating capacity, all from hydropower. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the country did not have any PV capacity installed at the end of 2021. The first attempt to deploy solar in Bhutan dates back to October 2020, when Bhutan Power Corp. launched a tender to build the country’s first ground-mounted solar plant, with just 180 kW of capacity.