Energy Bangla

A German company has been selected as right bidder to install the country’s first commercial solar grid power plant at Sarishabari under Jamalpur District, a power cell official said.
The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will develop a 30MW solar park on the bank of the river Dhorola in Kurigram and a 60 MW similar park at Rangunia, according to the Power Division.
All these have been planned for supporting the irrigation system, which is seen as an innovative, economic and environmentally friendly solution for the agro-based economy of Bangladesh.
“If a sun-tracker is used, it will help in maximising utilisation of the sunlight the panels receive. Under the proposed programme, a total of 10,000 solar irrigation pumps will be installed all over the country to replace diesel based pumps. Replacement of part of agricultural pumps with Solar PV technology could save significant amount of foreign currency and would offset considerable GHG emission,” PDB officials told.
PDB sources said that the Sharishabari project would be a 3 megawatt (mw) solar power plant and run as an independent power producer (IPP) on build, own and operate (BOO) basis, the official said adding it would be set up on eight acres of BPDB land, the official added.
As part of the energy diversification plan the government earlier announced that it would produce 10 percent of its total energy from the renewable sources and add 500 MW from solar, according to the power division. However, the country is capable of producing around 360 MW from renewable sources, of which 126 MW comes from solar energy.
“We expect to get electricity from this IPP at a rate of Tk 17 to Tk18 per KWH, which is slightly higher from rental and quick rental power project,” Power Division official said.
At the initial stage the cost of solar power will be higher, but on a long term basis it will require no additional cost like oil or gas-coal fired power plants, he added.
“Finally, the cost will be lower as there will be no battery as the generated power will be connected to the local grid,” the official said.
According to the sources, eight bidders took part in the bidding process, of which two participated in the final round.