The Rampal coal-based plant is a challenge for the government but it would be implemented fast, said Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, power and energy adviser to the prime minister, yesterday.
He claimed that the locals around the plant site in Bagerhat disrict were happy about establishment of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Project, which is popularly known as Rampal Power plant.
The adviser was speaking at a seminar titled “Coal Power Generation in Bangladesh: World’s Best Practices” at Bidyut Bhaban in the capital. The Power Cell under the energy, power an dmineral resources ministry arranged the event.
Towfiq said the chimney of the plant would be 275 miters high. So, the smoke to be emitted from burning coal would not harm the Sundarbans, one the world’s largest mangrove forests. Besides this, the ambient atmosphere would not be affected because of using supercritical technology at the plant.
On January 29, 2012, the government struck a deal with India for installing the 1,320MW coal-based power plant on the bank of Poshur River of the Sundarbans. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction work in October last year.
The Indian state-owned power company is implementing the project where they will use imported coal to generate electricity. The government has plans to construct another coal plant of similar capacity at the same site and several others across the country, mainly in the coastal areas.
An India-Bangladesh joint venture, the Rampal plant has been facing strong criticism from conservationists as it falls within the vicinity of the Sundarbans, a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Power Division Secretary Monowar Islam said the government had targeted producing around 20,000MW of electricity by 2030 from coal.
The country would require to produce 24,000MW electricity by 2021 and 40,000MW by 2030, as per the power sector roadmap.
Anjuman Islam, an environmental engineer, and Kazi Ahmad Pervez, faculty member of Eastern University, jointly presented the keynote paper at the seminar.
They said coal was a key fuel used for generating electricity worldwide. In 2012, coal was used to generate 41% of the world’s total electricity.
Bangladesh should diversify its electricity generation scheme by establishing more coal-fried mega power plants to solve the country’s electricity demand in the future, they said.
They said clean coal technology with highly-efficient supercritical boiler was a proven technology used worldwide in generating power with minimal disruption of ambient air and water quality. With proper monitoring of the effluent parameters and maintenance of the power plant, there was no other major environmental concern.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, Power Cell Director General Mohammad Hossain and Prof Ijaz Hossain of Buet also spoke on the occasion.
