Generation of electricity from renewable energy sources
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Shahiduzzaman Khan
OF late, the government approved in principle the renewable energy policy to attract private sector investments, tap the country's huge electricity generation potentials and ease the nagging electricity crisis across the country. The council of advisers gave its nod to the policy that targets at exploring the renewable energy resources for meeting 5.0 per cent of the total electricity demand by 2015 and 10 per cent by 2020 next. Entrepreneurs of the renewable energy projects have been exempted from corporate income tax for a period of 15 years in line with the new policy and will be allowed to get the fiscal incentives.
The country's first renewable energy policy envisages that the electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources like solar, wind, bio-gass and hydro will be purchased by power entities through mutual agreement. The renewable energy producers have been allowed to use existing electricity transmission and distribution systems, if there is adequate capacity, to supply electricity to its customers through mutual agreement between the project sponsors and the owners of transmission or distribution facilities.
The sponsors will be required to pay a wheeling charge to the owners of transmission or distribution facilities. The wheeling charges will be determined by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) in consultation with the government. The BERC will approve the energy tariff as per the provision of the BERC Act 2003 if the capacity of renewable energy project is 1.0 megawatt (MW) or more. Electricity distributors may offer 'green energy' tariffs, which will provide consumers an opportunity to co-finance through their electricity bills for the development of new renewable energy sources.
An independent institution -- Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SEDA) -- will be established under the Companies Act 1994, as a focal point for sustainable energy development and promotion. The SEDA Board will comprise representatives of stakeholders, including business community, academics, NGOs, financial institutions and implementing agencies. The government and SEDA, in consultation with BERC will create a regulatory framework to encourage generation of electricity from renewable energy sources. Renewable energy projects will be required to get power generation licence from BERC if the capacity of the projects is 5MW or more.
A network of micro-credit support system will be established, especially in rural and remote areas, to provide financial support for purchase of renewable energy equipment. The government will facilitate investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The SEDA, in co-operation with local government offices, will set up an outreach programme to develop renewable energy programmes. It will also consider providing subsidies to utilities for installation of solar, wind, biomass or any other renewable/clean energy projects.
It is expected that the adoption of the renewable energy policy would ensure sound growth of the sector. It would harness the potential of renewable energy resources and promote dissemination of renewable energy technologies in rural, sub-urban and urban areas. The policy would also scale up contributions of renewable energy to electricity production and promote clean energy for clean development mechanism (CDM).
Until to date consumption of renewable energy in the country is limited to people mainly in remote areas under the assistance from several public, private and non-government organisations. Currently, the renewable energy contributes less than 1.0 per cent of the country's total electricity generation of around 3,500 MW against the estimated demand for over 5,000 MW.
Bangladesh is more dependent on non-renewable resources of energy, such as petroleum and natural gas, to meet the demand for power. The contribution of renewable sources of energy to power generation in Bangladesh is still little. The draft renewable energy policy recommends establishing an institution named Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SEDA) to ensure development of such energy.
The SEDA will also support establishment of small and medium renewable energy enterprises and providers, creation of market opportunities and start-up business models, according to the draft. A supervisory body, or watchdog would be formed to oversee the activities of different bodies, such as the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB). The body will be under the direct supervision of SEDA.
Renewable energy (non-conventional energy) is defined as energy derived from resources that are regenerative or for all practical purposes cannot be depleted. Sources of renewable energy contribute approximately 25 percent of human energy use worldwide. The prime source of renewable energy is solar radiation, i.e. sunlight.
Mankind's traditional use of wind, water, and solar power are widespread in developed and developing countries; but the mass production of electricity using renewable energy sources has become commonplace only recently, reflecting the major threats of climate change due to pollution, exhaustion of fossil fuels, and the environmental, social and political risks of fossil fuels and nuclear power.
There are different kinds of renewable energy sources. Some of them are solar energy, biomass, wind energy, small hydro, geothermal, solar thermal energy, marine renewable energy resources and waste to energy. In Bangladesh solar, wind, hydro and biomass are used most frequently. The weather forecasting division of the Government of Bangladesh, through support logging system, manually measures the solar radiation of a particular area. But they do this for only seven locations. They only measure radiations in these seven places and, based on these, provide estimated data for the other districts.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department also measures solar radiation and other related parameters. Out of 31 monitoring stations they are measuring solar radiation for only seven. RERC has developed correlation parameters to find out solar radiation for other positions based on other data like sunshine duration or cloud cover data.
To get all data for the entire country the Renewable Energy Research Center of Dhaka University is doing a project called SWERA (Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment) with the support of UNEP. This is one of the long-term projects in RERC. The project is preparing solar and wind energy resource maps over Bangladesh. They have one map using their own regular measured solar radiation data for 2002-2006.
The overall aim of Solar and Wind Resource Assessment (SWERA) is to bring sustainable energy approaches to developing countries through increased investment in renewable energy projects. The database and analytical tools developed through SWERA will help governments develop realistic energy policies and programmes that are based on sound knowledge of available renewable resources.
Solar and wind energy information collected through SWERA will be assembled into widely usable CD-ROMS, and incorporated into a user-friendly Geographical Information System (GIS) tool. In Bangladesh this CD-ROM will be given free of cost to users at the event of launching. There will also be a website where all data of the whole country will be provided. If anybody wants a get data for a particular area then he just has to click on that area on the map to get all the data for that place. This is very important for installing a solar panel or windmill because it gives necessary data about the viability.
In Bangladesh the number of solar system installations is on the rise. Now the government and others can take an initiative to install a small solar panel manufacturing setup from ingot or wafers. It will reduce the price and one can sell those in foreign countries. Biogas plants are now popular in rural areas. More steps can be taken to popularise the proved solar water heating system, solar cooker or solar dryer. It requires proper planning and motivation from government and NGO level.
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szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com
OF late, the government approved in principle the renewable energy policy to attract private sector investments, tap the country's huge electricity generation potentials and ease the nagging electricity crisis across the country. The council of advisers gave its nod to the policy that targets at exploring the renewable energy resources for meeting 5.0 per cent of the total electricity demand by 2015 and 10 per cent by 2020 next. Entrepreneurs of the renewable energy projects have been exempted from corporate income tax for a period of 15 years in line with the new policy and will be allowed to get the fiscal incentives.
The country's first renewable energy policy envisages that the electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources like solar, wind, bio-gass and hydro will be purchased by power entities through mutual agreement. The renewable energy producers have been allowed to use existing electricity transmission and distribution systems, if there is adequate capacity, to supply electricity to its customers through mutual agreement between the project sponsors and the owners of transmission or distribution facilities.
The sponsors will be required to pay a wheeling charge to the owners of transmission or distribution facilities. The wheeling charges will be determined by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) in consultation with the government. The BERC will approve the energy tariff as per the provision of the BERC Act 2003 if the capacity of renewable energy project is 1.0 megawatt (MW) or more. Electricity distributors may offer 'green energy' tariffs, which will provide consumers an opportunity to co-finance through their electricity bills for the development of new renewable energy sources.
An independent institution -- Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SEDA) -- will be established under the Companies Act 1994, as a focal point for sustainable energy development and promotion. The SEDA Board will comprise representatives of stakeholders, including business community, academics, NGOs, financial institutions and implementing agencies. The government and SEDA, in consultation with BERC will create a regulatory framework to encourage generation of electricity from renewable energy sources. Renewable energy projects will be required to get power generation licence from BERC if the capacity of the projects is 5MW or more.
A network of micro-credit support system will be established, especially in rural and remote areas, to provide financial support for purchase of renewable energy equipment. The government will facilitate investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The SEDA, in co-operation with local government offices, will set up an outreach programme to develop renewable energy programmes. It will also consider providing subsidies to utilities for installation of solar, wind, biomass or any other renewable/clean energy projects.
It is expected that the adoption of the renewable energy policy would ensure sound growth of the sector. It would harness the potential of renewable energy resources and promote dissemination of renewable energy technologies in rural, sub-urban and urban areas. The policy would also scale up contributions of renewable energy to electricity production and promote clean energy for clean development mechanism (CDM).
Until to date consumption of renewable energy in the country is limited to people mainly in remote areas under the assistance from several public, private and non-government organisations. Currently, the renewable energy contributes less than 1.0 per cent of the country's total electricity generation of around 3,500 MW against the estimated demand for over 5,000 MW.
Bangladesh is more dependent on non-renewable resources of energy, such as petroleum and natural gas, to meet the demand for power. The contribution of renewable sources of energy to power generation in Bangladesh is still little. The draft renewable energy policy recommends establishing an institution named Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SEDA) to ensure development of such energy.
The SEDA will also support establishment of small and medium renewable energy enterprises and providers, creation of market opportunities and start-up business models, according to the draft. A supervisory body, or watchdog would be formed to oversee the activities of different bodies, such as the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB). The body will be under the direct supervision of SEDA.
Renewable energy (non-conventional energy) is defined as energy derived from resources that are regenerative or for all practical purposes cannot be depleted. Sources of renewable energy contribute approximately 25 percent of human energy use worldwide. The prime source of renewable energy is solar radiation, i.e. sunlight.
Mankind's traditional use of wind, water, and solar power are widespread in developed and developing countries; but the mass production of electricity using renewable energy sources has become commonplace only recently, reflecting the major threats of climate change due to pollution, exhaustion of fossil fuels, and the environmental, social and political risks of fossil fuels and nuclear power.
There are different kinds of renewable energy sources. Some of them are solar energy, biomass, wind energy, small hydro, geothermal, solar thermal energy, marine renewable energy resources and waste to energy. In Bangladesh solar, wind, hydro and biomass are used most frequently. The weather forecasting division of the Government of Bangladesh, through support logging system, manually measures the solar radiation of a particular area. But they do this for only seven locations. They only measure radiations in these seven places and, based on these, provide estimated data for the other districts.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department also measures solar radiation and other related parameters. Out of 31 monitoring stations they are measuring solar radiation for only seven. RERC has developed correlation parameters to find out solar radiation for other positions based on other data like sunshine duration or cloud cover data.
To get all data for the entire country the Renewable Energy Research Center of Dhaka University is doing a project called SWERA (Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment) with the support of UNEP. This is one of the long-term projects in RERC. The project is preparing solar and wind energy resource maps over Bangladesh. They have one map using their own regular measured solar radiation data for 2002-2006.
The overall aim of Solar and Wind Resource Assessment (SWERA) is to bring sustainable energy approaches to developing countries through increased investment in renewable energy projects. The database and analytical tools developed through SWERA will help governments develop realistic energy policies and programmes that are based on sound knowledge of available renewable resources.
Solar and wind energy information collected through SWERA will be assembled into widely usable CD-ROMS, and incorporated into a user-friendly Geographical Information System (GIS) tool. In Bangladesh this CD-ROM will be given free of cost to users at the event of launching. There will also be a website where all data of the whole country will be provided. If anybody wants a get data for a particular area then he just has to click on that area on the map to get all the data for that place. This is very important for installing a solar panel or windmill because it gives necessary data about the viability.
In Bangladesh the number of solar system installations is on the rise. Now the government and others can take an initiative to install a small solar panel manufacturing setup from ingot or wafers. It will reduce the price and one can sell those in foreign countries. Biogas plants are now popular in rural areas. More steps can be taken to popularise the proved solar water heating system, solar cooker or solar dryer. It requires proper planning and motivation from government and NGO level.
................................................................
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com