Registered Mechanical Engineer
Nepal Engineering Council
Professional registration authorising independent mechanical engineering practice in Nepal.
License No. 12056
Sandip Paudel — Renewable Energy Engineer & Mechanical Engineer in Nepal
I work at the intersection of engineering assessment, financial modelling and energy policy, and I teach what I learn along the way.
I assess renewable energy projects technically and financially, publish energy policy research with the Nepal Policy Forum, and teach technical training courses for engineering students in Nepal.
- 25+ MWsolar PV projects worked on
- 28sites and plants reviewed
- 5+training programs designed and delivered
- 15+certifications and technical courses completed
About
Engineering that has to add up
Nepal Engineering Council registered mechanical engineer, working across renewable energy, technical due diligence and energy policy in Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
My training is mechanical engineering: fluid dynamics, turbomachinery and CFD. My work sits where that engineering meets money and policy. I check whether renewable energy projects hold up technically, financially and in the regulatory environment around them.
Since 2025 I have worked at Quasar Energy Consultants in Lalitpur, running solar PV feasibility studies, technical due diligence and techno-economic modelling for investors and developers across Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Alongside that, I have worked as an Energy Policy Fellow at the Nepal Policy Forum, publishing research on electricity tariffs and power trading governance, and I design and teach short courses on battery storage and solar PV design for engineering students.
How I approach a project
- 01
Assess
Site and desk-based technical assessment — shading and structural loads for a rooftop array, flow geometry and boundary conditions for a CFD study, whatever the specific project needs checked.
- 02
Model
PVsyst yield modelling, techno-economic analysis, or CFD simulation in ANSYS, linking the engineering to payback, tariff exposure, risk or physical performance.
- 03
Verify
Independent technical due diligence and compliance checks where the work is for a lender or investor, not just a developer.
- 04
Deliver
A clear, defensible recommendation — not a report that just states the obvious.
Education, experience & fellowship
- 2019 — 2024
BE Mechanical Engineering
Kathmandu University
- Thesis: numerical investigation of double-jet flow phenomena in a Turgo turbine
- 2025 May — Present
Renewable Energy Engineer
Quasar Energy Consultants, Lalitpur
- Solar PV feasibility studies, detailed feasibility studies (DFS) and energy yield assessment
- Technical due diligence and lender's technical verification for banks and investors
- Techno-economic and tariff modelling, including solar water pumping (SWP) and lift irrigation projects
- Energy sector research, BESS and solar PV curriculum development, and technical training delivery
- 2025 Feb — 2025 May
Renewable Energy Intern
Quasar Energy Consultants, Lalitpur
- Market landscape assessment and detailed feasibility study support
- 2024 Jan — 2024 Apr
Mechanical Engineering Intern
Kaligandaki 'A' Hydropower Plant
- Plant operations and maintenance exposure on a 144 MW hydropower station
- 2023 Sep
Event Manager, Aid to Education
Association of Mechanical Engineering Students, Kathmandu University
- Coordinated logistics and stakeholder engagement for a university-wide technical exhibition, and facilitated a Training of Trainers session on STEM education for school teachers with Kathmandu Metropolitan City
- 2026 Jan — 2026 Mar
Energy Policy Fellow
Nepal Policy Forum
- Co-authored a policy brief modelling the long-term wholesale electricity price for the Nepal Electricity Authority
- Published three articles on hydropower financing, grid expansion and power trading governance
- 2026 Jun
BESS Course Design & Delivery
Khwopa College of Engineering
- Planned and delivered a 12-hour applied Battery Energy Storage Systems course for fourth-year engineering students
- Co-developed instructional materials and assessment tools, measuring a 58% increase in students' confidence in BESS sizing
- 2025 — 2026
Solar PV Grid-Connected System Design Course
Skill Lab Asia
- Designed the technical curriculum: site assessment, sizing, technical design and financial analysis for grid-connected solar PV
What I do
Scope of work
Six areas where I take on project work, each with real proof and its own page on how I approach it.
Rooftop solar at commercial scale
6.76MWp DC
26Sites
14Districts
Nepal · 2025Site assessment and PVsyst yield modelling for a 26-site, 6.76 MWp DC commercial rooftop programme, plus feasibility studies for solar lift irrigation across six pilot sites in Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Read moreInformed decisions across the project lifecycle
- Banks
- Investors
- EPC contractors
- Project developers
- ✓Independent site verification
- ✓Construction progress assessment
- ✓Technical risk identification
- ✓Technical due diligence for lenders
- ✓Quality & compliance checks
Independent engineering review of ten operating rooftop sites and a 5 MW utility-scale plant, for banks and impact investors.
Read moreFeasibility & business models for solar lift irrigation
- Detailed feasibility studies
- Pump & array sizing
- Techno-economic analysis
06Pilot sites
03Countries
Public-private-community partnership structures for "Water as a Service" delivery, alongside tariff and scenario modelling — including a policy brief forecasting NEA wholesale electricity prices.
Read more
Numerical simulation of flow and structure
- ANSYS CFX
- External aerodynamics
- Static structural & stress
- Internal & pipe flow
- Turbomachinery meshing
Turbomachinery jet interaction, vertical-axis wind turbine aerodynamics, and structural stress analysis, in ANSYS CFX. The Turgo turbine work behind this was my final year thesis — full abstract below.
Read more
Modelling, assembly and drafting
- SOLIDWORKS
- CATIA V5
- AutoCAD
- Surface & solid part modelling
- Assemblies, rendering & prototyping
- Dimensioned 2D layouts & drawings
- Finite element stress analysis (FEA)
From EV charging station layouts to consumer products, mechanical components and aerodynamic surfaces. The full set, 35 models, is on GrabCAD.
Read more
The full scope, end to end
- Nepal
- Bhutan
- Bangladesh
- Feasibility & yield assessment
- Due diligence & verification
- Techno-economic modelling
- Policy & training
Feasibility, due diligence, modelling and design brought together for a project end to end, for solar PV and storage work across Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Read moreEngineering tools
SOLIDWORKS
AdvancedPart and assembly modelling, CSWA certified
AutoCAD
Advanced2D layouts, single line and civil drawings
ANSYS CFX
ProficientTurbomachinery CFD, thesis and coursework
PVsyst
ProficientSolar yield simulation and loss analysis
Excel & VBA
AdvancedTechno-economic and scenario models
CATIA V5
Working knowledgeSurface modelling coursework
Academic work
Final year thesis
Numerical Investigation of Double-Jet Phenomena in a Turgo Turbine
Abstract
Turgo turbines are a strong fit for Nepal's many medium head, pico and micro hydropower sites, but how two water jets actually interact inside the runner had not been studied in much numerical depth. For our final year thesis, my project partner Anish Paudel and I built a full CFD model of the double jet Turgo turbine test rig at the Turbine Testing Lab, Kathmandu University, in ANSYS CFX, and validated it against real measurements from the physical rig rather than leaving it as simulation only. We modelled the bifurcation that splits flow into two nozzles on its own first, checking how a butterfly valve at different opening angles changed the discharge split between the jets, then simulated the complete rotating assembly to calculate torque and efficiency directly from the flow. The simulated efficiency came out to 28 percent at an effective head of about 5.2 metres, against roughly 20 to 39 percent measured on the rig depending on flow conditions. Looking closely at the flow explained most of that gap: the jets were not striking the front face of the runner buckets the way they should have been. A large share of the water was hitting the hub and the back of the buckets instead, wasting energy that should have gone into torque. That points to the nozzle angle and the number of buckets on the runner, not the simulation itself, as the real source of the inefficiency, and gives a specific, testable direction for improving the design rather than a vague call for more research.
Visual work
Infographic carousels
Explainers I design to make energy sector topics readable for non-technical audiences.
Credentials
Certified Skills & Professional Credentials
Registration, certifications and short courses, most recent first.
Applied BESS – Training Assistant
Khwopa College of Engineering
Recognition for assisting delivery of a 12-hour applied battery energy storage systems course.
Fundamentals of Future Energy Storage
University of Newcastle
A course covering the fundamentals of emerging energy storage technologies and their role in the energy transition.
Computational Fluid Dynamics Fundamentals
Udemy
A course covering the core principles and workflow of computational fluid dynamics simulation.
Introduction to Climate Change and Carbon Markets
atingi.org
A course covering the fundamentals of climate change science and how carbon markets work.
A Hands-on Introduction to Engineering Simulations
Cornell University via edX
A course introducing engineering simulation methods and their practical application.
Engineering for New Energy
APA Group via Forage
A virtual work experience programme on engineering challenges in the transition to new energy.
EV Engineering Intro
Forage
A virtual work experience programme introducing electric vehicle engineering fundamentals.
Solar PV Implementation Essentials
Quasar Energy Consultants
An internal course covering the essentials of implementing solar PV projects, from site assessment to commissioning.
AutoCAD Essentials
SourceCAD
A course covering core AutoCAD drafting skills for 2D technical drawing.
Climate and Energy Certification
Quasar Energy Consultants
An internal certification covering climate and energy sector fundamentals.
SOLIDWORKS Associate Certifications
Dassault Systèmes
Industry-recognised certifications validating proficiency across part modelling, additive manufacturing, electrical design, sustainability analysis and rendering.
CSWA, Additive Manufacturing, Electrical Design, Sustainability, 3DSwymer
LaTeX Workshop for Scientific Writing
Kathmandu University
A workshop on using LaTeX for structured scientific and technical writing.
EV Specialization Crash Course
DIYguru
A crash course covering the fundamentals of electric vehicle systems and technology.
MATLAB Onramp
MathWorks
An interactive course covering the fundamentals of MATLAB programming.
Writing for the Nepal Policy Forum
All articlesFrequently asked
Are you a mechanical engineer or a renewable energy engineer?
Both. I'm a mechanical engineer in Nepal, registered with the Nepal Engineering Council. My degree at Kathmandu University covered the mechanical side: CAD, CFD, heat transfer, thermodynamics. Since 2025 I've used that background as a renewable energy engineer at Quasar Energy Consultants, working mainly on solar PV feasibility studies, technical due diligence and techno-economic modelling. Renewable energy engineer is the current job; mechanical engineer is the qualification behind it.
Do you work outside Kathmandu, or outside Nepal?
Yes. Project work has covered sites across Nepal, plus solar lift irrigation studies in Bhutan and Bangladesh under the ICIMOD-led HI-CAS project.
What's the difference between a feasibility study and technical due diligence?
A feasibility study asks whether a project should be built: site assessment, yield modelling, financial projections. Technical due diligence reviews a project that already exists or is under construction, for a lender or investor deciding whether to fund or acquire it.
Are you a solar engineer, or do you work on other renewables too?
Most current work is solar PV, across both scales: a 12 MW rooftop portfolio spanning 26 commercial sites, and utility-scale plants up to 10.5 MWp DC for lender's technical verification. Alongside that, battery storage is an area I'm actively building into, and past project work includes hydropower turbine analysis and solar lift irrigation systems. The training behind all of it is mechanical engineering with a CFD background.
Can you build the financial model as well as the engineering assessment?
Yes. Techno-economic modelling, tariff and scenario analysis, and linking engineering assumptions to cash flow and payback are core parts of the work, not a separate handoff.
How do I get in touch about a project?
Through the contact page. It has the fastest way to reach me and what to expect once you do.
Have a project in mind?
Available for solar feasibility studies, due diligence, techno-economic modelling and CFD work.
Get in touch