VATIS UPDATE Article

Four joint venture companies are going to invest more than $600 million in different parts of the Bangladesh to generate 258 megawatts (MW) of electricity from solar energy. The government will purchase electricity at Tk 10.40 to Tk 11.20 per kilowatt-hour unit. Funds for the power plants will be raised from inter-national banks and financial institutions. The division has selected the companies based on their financial strength and capacity to raise credit.

The figure on the actual investment to be made by the companies will be available after implementation of the projects, which have to be completed within 18 months of signing the agreements. A consortium of Zhejiang DunAn New Energy Co, China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation, Solar Tech Power and Amity Solar will set up a 100 MW plant in the Teesta barrage area under Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat districts.

Bangladesh now produces 190 MW of electricity from solar energy, according to the Sustainable and Re-newable Energy Development Authority. This represents 44 percent of the renewable energy produced in the country. The government is diversifying its energy sources amid depletion of natural gas reserves, which account for more than half of 8,000 MW to 9,000 MW of actual electricity generation in the country.