Move to Green Energy
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Mahammad Abdul Baten and Rashedul Tusher
"Power shortage" and resultant threatened "energy security" probably the foremost challenge to the present and even to the future policy makers after political upheaval. Now and recent past, in some parts of Bangladesh, people have been experiencing 18 hours load-shedding in a day. Unfortunately, their miseries are not limited to only power shortage, being feathers of the flock; gas crisis, food shortage, price hiking trends of essential commodities make the life of middle and lower income people like a sinking ship trying to be buoyant in a virile ocean. Standing in front of such reality, our argument, Bangladesh will attain self-sufficiency in the energy sector by 2015 if it uses its resources pragmatically, sounds rhetoric to many. However, after systematically looking upon its resources status that it endowed from nature, a question arises to our mind, why such a darling child of nature has there been neglecting its green energy sources that will help to pull off long term security in the energy sector?
Green energy synonymous with renewable enegry is used to describe sources of energy which are considered environmental friendly, non-polluting; and therefore may provide a remedy to the global warming that is a by product of conventional fossil fuel burning. Generally, renewable energy combined that resources which restore themselves over short periods of time and do not diminish. Such fuel sources include the sun, wind, moving water, organic plant and waste material (biomass), and the earth's heat (geothermal).
Few years ago, renewable energy was considered as an alternative power source to the remote areas where regular power line is absent or not cost effective. But, with the changing circumstances from the impacts of climate change, the whole world is now trying to reduce CO2 emissions and thinking more about green energy sources for its low or no carbon emitting characteristics. Moreover, the extinguishing character of conventaional fuel sources allured the world communities to shift their fuel consumption behaviour. Though, still debate is going on along with research for the use of renewable energy, but all agreed to the point that in the coming decades renewable energy sources will take a significant share in the global fuel market. Many world famous energy companies like BP, Shell etc., are now investing on green energies, which beckons its bright future.
Bangladesh is a mineral resources poor country except natural gas. Disappointingly, due to wrong policy intervention and too much foreign dependency this resource is now fraught with dangers. Because of gasbased power station, industries are now in a pit-fall due to unanticipated gas shortgae. Consequently, half day or more load-shedding become an uneqivocal event. Nobody knows when and how this problem will be solved. Though we have no immediate remedies to this huge problem that affects every sector of the economy, yet if we rationally utilize our resources then we have all potentiality to become self-sufficient in power sector within near future.
Bangladesh has a comperative advantages over renewable energy sources like sun, wind ,biomass and tidal forces. But, it needs a systematic evaluation of these resources and also ogranized planning for using the resources to attain a stable position in the energy sector.
Solar energy: Being situated in the tropical climatic zone, Bangladesh has enormous opportunity to use solar energy over a long period in the year. Here. daily average solar radiation varies between 4 to 6.5 kWh per square meter with maximum amount of radiation is available on the month of March-April and minimum on December-January. Except few days in the rainy season, the sun appears all day in 10 to 12 hours with required radiation that can be used effectively to produce electricity. Earlier, it was thought that solar energy could be used only to electrify some remote and island areas where regular power line is unavailable. But, it is fascinating to announce that few international companies along with local companies are now showing interest to install solar panel in new built up areas in the urban and sub-urban areas. This will help reduce pressure on the national grid and will help to attain self sufficiency in power sector as well. Grameen Shakti, a sister concern of Grammen Bank, won Ashden Awards-2006 (Global green awards which is generally considered as alternative nobel prize) for outstanding contribution in the renewable energy sector. This has shown us a golden route to use effectively our valuable resources.
Besides the environmental advantages of individual solar panel, another important advantage is reduction of system loss. Now one third of electricity are misused due to the so-called system loss. Basically, it is caused from individual extravagance to departmental corruption. In case of solar panel, every panel holder will be responsible for its use. So the system loss will be reduced or be nil.
Wind energy: Windmill is a fashionable item showed in western movies used in farm house, many people still think so. But Denmark, being pioneer in wind energy use, has changed people's perception. It uses free cost wind to generate a major share of the country's power consumption. It is beyond imagination but it is true, that in 2007 Denmark generated 3125 megawatts (MW) electricity by windmill (19% of their national consumption) that is almost equal to Bangladesh's national demand though 3 times smaller in area than us.
Geographically Bangladesh is blessed with a constant flow of strong trade and monsoon winds. It has 724 km long coastal belt, around 200 km hilly-coast-line and about 50 islands in the Bay of Bengal. The strong south/south-westerly monsoon wind, coming from the Indian Ocean enter into the coastal areas of Bangladesh from March to October. This wind enhances speed onwards the V-shaped coastal regions in Bangladesh. Based on the last 16 years wind speed records at 20m above the ground, assembled by the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, it has been noted that average wind blows in areas like Chittagong, Dhaka, Jessor, Patenga and Thakurgaon were between 5.5 to 9.50 m/s almost throughout the year. "This speed has been proved as appropriate for setting up commercial and non-commercial level wind power plants," power experts explained.
However, using modern wind turbines, each windmill is capable of generating electricity from 250 watts (W) to 5 megawatts (MW), varies from tower height and the size of turbines, experts further elaborated. Besides, 12 other locations in Bangladesh were also identified as moderate wind energy generation sites, where use of non-commercial and households level wind turbines would result successful. "Average 3.5 to 4.5 m/s wind speeds of these areas are strong enough to rotate pumping water for irrigation, as well as charging batteries," experts added.
Biomass Energy: Bangladesh entered into biomass energy technology in 1972 through the bio-gas demonstration plant at Bangladesh Agriculture University. After that, there was a large blow to efforts for installation of bio-gas plant in rural areas. Lack of government support, improved technology, difficulty in installation and bad smell from the plant made it less attractive to the user. However, the recent bonanza of bio-fuel again brings the biomass energy in the hot seat. In spite of some criticism, it has to be agreed by all that bio-fuel is the ever best invention that has full potentiality to be an alternative to fossil fuel.
Every year Bangladesh spends a large amount of money -- and that too in valuable foreign exchange -- to import oil, taking a substantial part of the budgetary resources. Through bio-fuel production, Bangladesh can save half of its foreign currency by cutting oil imports. It can then allocate the savings to the other sectors of the economy. In Bangladesh, other than sugarcane, bio-fuel can be produced from some crops that can be grown in areas not suitable for traditional food crops e.g. jatropha (verenda), pongamia (caron) etc. that can grow under conditions of low fertility and rainfall. The north-western region with low fertility could be put into bio-fuel crop production commercially which may help convert the monga-affected region into an important economic zone.
Hydro power: As a riverine country, Bangladesh always has opportunity to go for hydro power. Few hilly rivers with strong current make this opportunity more feasible from economic point of view. As large hydro electricity project has some environmental impacts, we should, therefore, go for small scale hydro power project which are more environmentally and ecologically acceptable. Already, in Khagrachori, a member of indigenous community succeeded in producing electricity from small-scale hydro power plant made by indigenous technology. To explore the possibility of hydropower from small hilly rivers/streams in the country, a working committee was constituted as far back as in 1981, with officers from both Water and Power Development Board (BWDB) and BPDB. The committee explored 19 prospective sites for possible installation of small hydro power plant. Regrettably, their works were confined only to the study rather implementation.
Sea power: Almost every year Bangladesh suffers from cyclone and tidal surges originating in the Bay of Bengal. But, our policy makers seldom thought of using this huge sea power for generating electricity, though many countries are using sea power.
The normal tidal head rise and fall in the coastal region of Bangladesh is between 2.0 and 8.0 meters. This tidal range can easily be converted to pollution free clean renewable energy by using the simple low-cost technology of a "tidal wheel" in the sluice gates. ISTP of Murdoch University, Australia is planning a demonstration tidal power project in Sandwip, one of the coastal islands of Bangladesh. ISTP has developed a feasibility plan for rebuilding a recently damaged sluice gate with a trial paddle wheel. If become successful, the tidal project of Sandwip can be replicated in the other coastal areas and which will usher new light in the region.
Tidal Electric Inc (TE), one of the global leaders in tidal power field is active in our neighbouring countries and planning to install 1000-megawatt (MW) plant at Gujrat in India in the Bay of Bengal.
Geothermal energy: Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma. Generally, geothermal reserviors are located in hilly region and expressed by the presence of magma or hot salt water spring. Though we have well defined hilly region in the south and south eastern region, but no fessibilty study has so far been made to explore the potentiality of geothermal energy source.
There is a known hot salt-water spring, known as Labanakhya, in Bangladesh at five kilometres to the north of Sitakunda (40 kilometres from Chittagong). The possibility of extracting energy from this site or any other unknown sites should be carried out by Satellite Remote Sensing or Physical Surveys.
It is imperative to go for green energy not only for combating climate change but also for attaining self-sufficiency in the energy sector. We are lucky to have lots of green energy options. We now need conceted efforts for systematic utilization of these. We have no other way to to find solutions to our energy problem.
(Mohammed Abdul Baten [e-mail-baten_123@yahoo.com] is at Stockholm Resilience Centre (www.stockholmresilience.org), University of Stockholm, Sweden and Rashedul Tusher is (Staff Reporter, Daily Suprobhat Bangladesh, Chittagong. Source: Internet)
"Power shortage" and resultant threatened "energy security" probably the foremost challenge to the present and even to the future policy makers after political upheaval. Now and recent past, in some parts of Bangladesh, people have been experiencing 18 hours load-shedding in a day. Unfortunately, their miseries are not limited to only power shortage, being feathers of the flock; gas crisis, food shortage, price hiking trends of essential commodities make the life of middle and lower income people like a sinking ship trying to be buoyant in a virile ocean. Standing in front of such reality, our argument, Bangladesh will attain self-sufficiency in the energy sector by 2015 if it uses its resources pragmatically, sounds rhetoric to many. However, after systematically looking upon its resources status that it endowed from nature, a question arises to our mind, why such a darling child of nature has there been neglecting its green energy sources that will help to pull off long term security in the energy sector?
Green energy synonymous with renewable enegry is used to describe sources of energy which are considered environmental friendly, non-polluting; and therefore may provide a remedy to the global warming that is a by product of conventional fossil fuel burning. Generally, renewable energy combined that resources which restore themselves over short periods of time and do not diminish. Such fuel sources include the sun, wind, moving water, organic plant and waste material (biomass), and the earth's heat (geothermal).
Few years ago, renewable energy was considered as an alternative power source to the remote areas where regular power line is absent or not cost effective. But, with the changing circumstances from the impacts of climate change, the whole world is now trying to reduce CO2 emissions and thinking more about green energy sources for its low or no carbon emitting characteristics. Moreover, the extinguishing character of conventaional fuel sources allured the world communities to shift their fuel consumption behaviour. Though, still debate is going on along with research for the use of renewable energy, but all agreed to the point that in the coming decades renewable energy sources will take a significant share in the global fuel market. Many world famous energy companies like BP, Shell etc., are now investing on green energies, which beckons its bright future.
Bangladesh is a mineral resources poor country except natural gas. Disappointingly, due to wrong policy intervention and too much foreign dependency this resource is now fraught with dangers. Because of gasbased power station, industries are now in a pit-fall due to unanticipated gas shortgae. Consequently, half day or more load-shedding become an uneqivocal event. Nobody knows when and how this problem will be solved. Though we have no immediate remedies to this huge problem that affects every sector of the economy, yet if we rationally utilize our resources then we have all potentiality to become self-sufficient in power sector within near future.
Bangladesh has a comperative advantages over renewable energy sources like sun, wind ,biomass and tidal forces. But, it needs a systematic evaluation of these resources and also ogranized planning for using the resources to attain a stable position in the energy sector.
Solar energy: Being situated in the tropical climatic zone, Bangladesh has enormous opportunity to use solar energy over a long period in the year. Here. daily average solar radiation varies between 4 to 6.5 kWh per square meter with maximum amount of radiation is available on the month of March-April and minimum on December-January. Except few days in the rainy season, the sun appears all day in 10 to 12 hours with required radiation that can be used effectively to produce electricity. Earlier, it was thought that solar energy could be used only to electrify some remote and island areas where regular power line is unavailable. But, it is fascinating to announce that few international companies along with local companies are now showing interest to install solar panel in new built up areas in the urban and sub-urban areas. This will help reduce pressure on the national grid and will help to attain self sufficiency in power sector as well. Grameen Shakti, a sister concern of Grammen Bank, won Ashden Awards-2006 (Global green awards which is generally considered as alternative nobel prize) for outstanding contribution in the renewable energy sector. This has shown us a golden route to use effectively our valuable resources.
Besides the environmental advantages of individual solar panel, another important advantage is reduction of system loss. Now one third of electricity are misused due to the so-called system loss. Basically, it is caused from individual extravagance to departmental corruption. In case of solar panel, every panel holder will be responsible for its use. So the system loss will be reduced or be nil.
Wind energy: Windmill is a fashionable item showed in western movies used in farm house, many people still think so. But Denmark, being pioneer in wind energy use, has changed people's perception. It uses free cost wind to generate a major share of the country's power consumption. It is beyond imagination but it is true, that in 2007 Denmark generated 3125 megawatts (MW) electricity by windmill (19% of their national consumption) that is almost equal to Bangladesh's national demand though 3 times smaller in area than us.
Geographically Bangladesh is blessed with a constant flow of strong trade and monsoon winds. It has 724 km long coastal belt, around 200 km hilly-coast-line and about 50 islands in the Bay of Bengal. The strong south/south-westerly monsoon wind, coming from the Indian Ocean enter into the coastal areas of Bangladesh from March to October. This wind enhances speed onwards the V-shaped coastal regions in Bangladesh. Based on the last 16 years wind speed records at 20m above the ground, assembled by the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, it has been noted that average wind blows in areas like Chittagong, Dhaka, Jessor, Patenga and Thakurgaon were between 5.5 to 9.50 m/s almost throughout the year. "This speed has been proved as appropriate for setting up commercial and non-commercial level wind power plants," power experts explained.
However, using modern wind turbines, each windmill is capable of generating electricity from 250 watts (W) to 5 megawatts (MW), varies from tower height and the size of turbines, experts further elaborated. Besides, 12 other locations in Bangladesh were also identified as moderate wind energy generation sites, where use of non-commercial and households level wind turbines would result successful. "Average 3.5 to 4.5 m/s wind speeds of these areas are strong enough to rotate pumping water for irrigation, as well as charging batteries," experts added.
Biomass Energy: Bangladesh entered into biomass energy technology in 1972 through the bio-gas demonstration plant at Bangladesh Agriculture University. After that, there was a large blow to efforts for installation of bio-gas plant in rural areas. Lack of government support, improved technology, difficulty in installation and bad smell from the plant made it less attractive to the user. However, the recent bonanza of bio-fuel again brings the biomass energy in the hot seat. In spite of some criticism, it has to be agreed by all that bio-fuel is the ever best invention that has full potentiality to be an alternative to fossil fuel.
Every year Bangladesh spends a large amount of money -- and that too in valuable foreign exchange -- to import oil, taking a substantial part of the budgetary resources. Through bio-fuel production, Bangladesh can save half of its foreign currency by cutting oil imports. It can then allocate the savings to the other sectors of the economy. In Bangladesh, other than sugarcane, bio-fuel can be produced from some crops that can be grown in areas not suitable for traditional food crops e.g. jatropha (verenda), pongamia (caron) etc. that can grow under conditions of low fertility and rainfall. The north-western region with low fertility could be put into bio-fuel crop production commercially which may help convert the monga-affected region into an important economic zone.
Hydro power: As a riverine country, Bangladesh always has opportunity to go for hydro power. Few hilly rivers with strong current make this opportunity more feasible from economic point of view. As large hydro electricity project has some environmental impacts, we should, therefore, go for small scale hydro power project which are more environmentally and ecologically acceptable. Already, in Khagrachori, a member of indigenous community succeeded in producing electricity from small-scale hydro power plant made by indigenous technology. To explore the possibility of hydropower from small hilly rivers/streams in the country, a working committee was constituted as far back as in 1981, with officers from both Water and Power Development Board (BWDB) and BPDB. The committee explored 19 prospective sites for possible installation of small hydro power plant. Regrettably, their works were confined only to the study rather implementation.
Sea power: Almost every year Bangladesh suffers from cyclone and tidal surges originating in the Bay of Bengal. But, our policy makers seldom thought of using this huge sea power for generating electricity, though many countries are using sea power.
The normal tidal head rise and fall in the coastal region of Bangladesh is between 2.0 and 8.0 meters. This tidal range can easily be converted to pollution free clean renewable energy by using the simple low-cost technology of a "tidal wheel" in the sluice gates. ISTP of Murdoch University, Australia is planning a demonstration tidal power project in Sandwip, one of the coastal islands of Bangladesh. ISTP has developed a feasibility plan for rebuilding a recently damaged sluice gate with a trial paddle wheel. If become successful, the tidal project of Sandwip can be replicated in the other coastal areas and which will usher new light in the region.
Tidal Electric Inc (TE), one of the global leaders in tidal power field is active in our neighbouring countries and planning to install 1000-megawatt (MW) plant at Gujrat in India in the Bay of Bengal.
Geothermal energy: Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma. Generally, geothermal reserviors are located in hilly region and expressed by the presence of magma or hot salt water spring. Though we have well defined hilly region in the south and south eastern region, but no fessibilty study has so far been made to explore the potentiality of geothermal energy source.
There is a known hot salt-water spring, known as Labanakhya, in Bangladesh at five kilometres to the north of Sitakunda (40 kilometres from Chittagong). The possibility of extracting energy from this site or any other unknown sites should be carried out by Satellite Remote Sensing or Physical Surveys.
It is imperative to go for green energy not only for combating climate change but also for attaining self-sufficiency in the energy sector. We are lucky to have lots of green energy options. We now need conceted efforts for systematic utilization of these. We have no other way to to find solutions to our energy problem.
(Mohammed Abdul Baten [e-mail-baten_123@yahoo.com] is at Stockholm Resilience Centre (www.stockholmresilience.org), University of Stockholm, Sweden and Rashedul Tusher is (Staff Reporter, Daily Suprobhat Bangladesh, Chittagong. Source: Internet)