Considering environmental issues and primary fuel crisis, the Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) is going to buy electricity from a private solar project at a higher price.
It signed an agreement with the Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd yesterday for the installation of the 50kilowatt-peak (kWp) Grid Tied Solar Project on the rooftop of Bangladesh Secretariat.
This is the first power purchase contract through a solar plant and a milestone for rooftop solar applications in the country.
According to the agreement, under the project 50kWp will be directly added to the national grid through an inverter.
The DPDC will buy a unit for Tk19.95 for 20 years from the project.
Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd MD Munawar Misbah Moin said: “We will design, install, operate and maintain the project with world class photovoltaic materials and technology.
“The system will generate 75Megawatt-hours of electricity a year and reduce carbon emission of approximately 50 tonnes annually, and in 20 years 1,000 tonnes will be reduced.”
The company aims at implementing the project in six months from the date of contract signing.
DPDC’s Superintending Engineer of Contracts and Procurement Sanjit Kumar Ghose and Rahimafrooz’s Munawar Misbah Moin signed the contract.
DPDC Chairman and Additional Secretary Tapos Kumar Roy, DPDC MD Nazrul Hasan, Power Cell Director General Mohammad Hossain, among others, addressed the ceremony.
At present, generation of a unit of electricity at a gas-based plant costs an independent power producer less than Tk2 whereas the cost at a diesel- or furnace oil-run plant is Tk15.
On the other hand, generation of a unit of electricity costs a gas-based rental power plant less than average Tk2, whereas the cost at a diesel- or furnace oil-run rental plant is Tk17-Tk20.
On November 14 last year, the government approved a proposal for purchasing electricity from the consortium of PIA Group LCC and Bangladesh Alternative Energy Systems Limited, which will set up a wind-based project with a capacity of 100MW at Anwara in Chittagong.
The Power Development Board will buy a unit of electricity for $0.12 (Tk9.87) for 20 years from the plant.
The demand for electricity in the country has been forecast 24,000MW in 2021 and 40,000MW in 2030. Of the demands, the government has a plan to generate 10% of electricity from renewable energy sources.
“Renewable energy generation should be encouraged but it should not go beyond 2-3% of the total generation. The rate of Tk19.95 per unit is very high – it should be below Tk15,” Prof Ijaz Hossain of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“The contract has been signed according to the government policy. The energy mix is essential to create diversity in the electricity generation. Purchasing electricity from private companies should be monitored,” Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission member Md Delwar Hossain said.
