The 68 MW Shirajgonj solar park has been supplying power to the national grid since July, 2024. Developed on 214 acres of land located on the flood plains of the river Jamuna (near the Jamuna Multi Purpose Bridge). the solar park has so far installed 156,576 units of interconnected solar panels with the capacity of 545 watt each. The plant is being operated by the Bangladesh-China Renewable Energy Company Limited (BCRECL)-- a joint venture of North-West Power Generation Company of Bangladesh and China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation. BCRECL invested approximately US$ 90 million for implementing the plant and signed a contract with BPDB to supply power to BPDB grid for 20 years at a tariff of US 10.20 cents per unit.
At this stage BPDB has only 3 per cent (1 per cent from hydro and 2 per cent from the grid connected solar and wind power plants) power generation capacity from 15 plants using renewable energy sources. There are a number of renewable energy (mainly solar parks) based power plants under implementation at different locations of the country to generate and supply power to the national grid.
The solar parks have been encouraged to install plants in places that are generally recognised as 'non agricultural lands'. Despite technological advancements, approximately 3 acres of land are required in Bangladesh to generate one megawatt of electric power using solar energy. Power producers are hopeful that the solar panels (photovoltaic cells) have improved their efficiency and there will be a requirement for approximately 2 acres of land for generating one megawatt of power using solar energy in the near future.
Bangladesh has installed electricity generation capacity of 27,791 MW (BPDB, 31 August 2024) as against the demand for 11,370 MW (BPDB, 15 September 2024). BPDB calculated power distribution system loss (for 2023-2024) at 7.25 per cent. Media reports say, the required amount of stable power supply can not be ensured at the consumer end for various reasons. The BPDB and its power generation units have been suffering from systematic primary fuel (natural gas, liquid fuel, coal) supply shortages. Additionally, there are technical and management limitations in the power transmission and distribution systems.
A close review of the power plants' installed capacity shows that the 43 per cent of the total power generation capacity depend on natural gas as primary fuel. Petrobangla sources suggest that the total daily demand for natural gas (including the converted gas from imported LNG) in the country is approximately 330 MMCFD to 350 MMCFD. Fifty per cent of the demand for gas supply in the country comes from the power generation plants. But Petrobangla can supply approximately 250 MMCFD. As a result, the gas-based power generation units has to sit idle for fuel shortages. Published reports suggest that Petrobangla owes approximately US$ 607 million to Chevron (company under PSC contracts with Petrobangla) and the LNG suppliers in Qatar, Oman and other Spot LNG suppliers as on September 10, 2024.
Also, the power generation plants that use coal as primary fuel in the country (21 per cent of the total installed capacity) suffer from coal supply shortages and generate significantly less amount of power than the plants' capacity. Furnace oil (21 per cent plants use FO as primary fuel) and diesel (2 per cent plants use diesel as primary fuel) are costly fuels and the plants are generally discouraged to generate power for maintaining the government's subsidy (for generated power) limits for consuming the liquid fuel-based power. BPDB has currently valid contracts for importing 2,656 MW (approximately 9 per cent of the total capacity) of power from India. But the pending import bills are huge at this stage. As a result, the power export companies in India have been supplying less than their capacities and asking for settling their dues.
In the backdrop of the increased pressures for supplying uninterrupted electricity and in line with the global commitment to 'go green', Bangladesh has been trying to generate more power from renewable energy sources. Geographical limitations restrict Bangladesh to generate hydroelectricity. Wind capacity has its own limitations to expand in the country, as there are limited spots suitable for generating wind power on commercial basis. Hence, solar energy has become the main renewable source for generating commercially attractive power at an affordable price.
As the solar radiation availability and intensity varies during the day-time and at night, large-scale solar generation plants have been considering to develop storage capacity (with the help of installing batteries) along with the grid connected solar panels. Experts believe 20-30 per cent storage capacity support may enhance average solar power generation cost up to US 12-12.5 cents per unit. Despite the cost hike, such an arrangement may help stabilise the grid frequency and offset the need for using costly liquid fuel during the peak hours.
Over all, increased use of renewable and non-carbon energy-based power generation will contribute to the country's commitment for reduction in Green House gas emission, and also substantially raise the renewable energy capacity.
Mushfiqur Rahman is a mining engineer. He writes on energy and environment issues.
mushfiq41@yahoo.com