Greener Garments Initiative (GGI) has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Jamuna Group to install 34 MWp of solar panels on the rooftops of Jamuna Group’s factories.
It is the largest operating expense (Opex) rooftop solar agreement in the commercial and industrial sector of its kind in Bangladesh to date.
The Opex agreement was signed on Thursday, October 8, at the Bestseller office in Gulshan, Dhaka.
Sumaiya Rozalin Islam, group director of Jamuna Group, and Nure Alam, chief executive officer of GGI, signed on behalf of their organizations.
GGI board chairman Willem Grimminck and GGI board director Sebastian Groh were also present at the event.
Also present from Jamuna Group were Engr AKM Kamal, senior general manager, utility; Saiful Islam, head of legal; and Golam Sorwar Mozomder, senior general manager, accounts and finance.
From GGI and SOLshare, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, chief technology officer, and Aziza Sultana Mukti, deputy CEO, also attended.
GGI will fully finance the rooftop solar plants. Its founding partner, SOLshare, will engineer, procure, and commission (EPC) them, then operate and maintain them for the next 20 years.
Jamuna Group will make no upfront investment and will pay for the electricity the systems produce.
Once running, the systems are expected to generate 46,000 MWh of clean electricity while cutting about 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, roughly the amount absorbed by more than one million trees in a year.
Jamuna Group’s factories also produce for Bestseller, the global family-owned fashion company.
Running these factories on solar power supports Bestseller’s Scope 3 emission reductions, which are the emissions from its supply chain, and helps it source greener fashion.
“For manufacturers in Bangladesh, rooftop solar is a business decision. It helps factories meet EU requirements, strengthens their relationships with customers, lowers energy costs and gives them the power they need to keep production lines running,” commented Willem Grimminck, chairman of the board, GGI.
“With this partnership, our factories will run on cleaner power. Jamuna Group is committed to cutting carbon emissions and meeting the compliance standards of our buyers. This model supports us in doing both, and helps us stay competitive as an exporter”, said Sumaiya Rozalin Islam, group director of Jamuna Group.
“Solar is where we start, but GGI offers a range of decarbonization solutions for factories, including battery storage, heat recovery, energy efficiency and water treatment. We take care of the cleaner energy and decarbonization side, so manufacturers can cut emissions across their whole operation and stay focused on their core business. We are ready to work with more factories in Bangladesh that want to make the same move,” added Nure Alam, CEO of GGI.
