Another utility scale solar power plant with the capacity of 35MW of electricity has started its commercial operation giving supply to the national grid, official said.
The 35MW Spectra Solar Park Ltd, (SSPL), a joint venture of Bangladeshi Spectra Group and Chinese Shunfeng Investments Limited (SIL), developed the project in Shibalaya Upazila in Manikganj, which has supplied electricity to the national grid recently. Some 137,520 panels (PV Module) were installed over 132 acres of land at the site.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will purchase the solar electricity generated by the plant for 20 years under power purchase agreement (PPA) at the rate of BDT11.12/kWh ($0.13).
The independent power producer (IPP) project received $15 million financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), German development lender KfW and the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia.
Earlier, 4 IPP projects -- 50 MW (AC) Solar Park Gauripur, Mymensingh by HETAT-DITROLIC-IFDC Solar Consortium, 8 MW Solar Park in Panchagarh by Parasol Energy Ltd., 20MW (AC) Solar Park in Teknaf Upazila, Cox's Bazar by Joules Power Limited (JPL) and 3 MW Grid-connected PV Power Plant at Sharishabari in Jamalpur by Engreen Sharishabari Solar Plant Ltd, owned by IFE-CPC-JEL Consortium went into operation.
The work on some 21 power plants with public and private initiates having a total capacity of around 1400MW of electricity, is now underway, according to Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).
Bangladesh is the current chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum of 48 nations on the front line of the climate crisis. The forum members are aiming for shifting to renewable energy-only economies by 2050, with the aim of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius as agreed by international community at the 2015 Paris Conference (COP 21).
Experts said Bangladesh is planning to gradually switch to renewable energy as the world is now turning to environment-friendly renewable energy due to the depletion of fossil fuels.
