As part of the efforts to cut carbon emissions under a green energy initiative, the Power Development Board (PDB) has decided to set up a 7.5MW solar power plant at Rangamati’s Kaptai Hydro Power Station area, which would be the first of its kind to supply power to the national grid.
“We are going to install the plant as part of our renewable energy programme and we hope the power generated here would help the green energy initiative,” PDB Director (renewable energy and research and development) Md Shafique Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
A tender for the solar plant would be floated within a month, while construction was expected to be finished within seven to eight months once a company was selected for the work, he added.
“The plant would generate power uninterruptedly during day time on availability of sun,” the PDB director said, adding that the Asian Development Bank had already assured of providing financial support for the project.
The power produced from the solar plant will be added to the national grid via a substation of the Kaptai Hydro Power Station. The project – with an estimated cost of Tk192.59 crore – would be set up on 22 acres of PDB land.
The PDB has appointed German consultation firm Fichtner to prepare tender documents.
Meanwhile, the PDB has also decided to set up a separate 3MW solar power plant at Sarishabari in Jamalpur.
Shafique Uddin said the Sharishabari project – to be set up on ten acres of PDB land – would be run as an independent power producer (IPP).
He added that the constructing company would bear the costs under build-own-and-operate (BOO) basis and provide power to the local grid, while the PDB would pay the bill as the lone buyer.
The approximate cost of per unit power would be Tk20, he said.
“For this we have already selected an international company. A contract will be signed within two months,” he added.
On the other hand, the PDB also has plans to set up a 30MW solar park on the banks of Dhorola River in Kurigram as an IPP on BOO basis. Several companies have already submitted tender on March 25 for the project, which would be set up on 118 acres of PDB land.
The PDB is currently producing 2MW power from solar panels installed on rooftops of many of its buildings.