Bangladesh prepares to tender solar rooftops on public buildings

The government of Bangladesh is turning to the private sector to roll out a net-metering program on all public buildings.

Under the plan, the nation will be divided into eight blocks which will be tendered to solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) businesses prepared to install the rooftop panels and then sell the power generated to government entities.

With the government bodies occupying the buildings set to benefit from cheaper electricity without incurring the capital costs of installing solar rooftops, a senior official at the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) told pv magazine low-cost loans will be made available by the government and donor agencies to help solar developers keen to bid in the tender.

SREDA is preparing a feasibility study about the proposal and chairman Helal Uddin told pv magazine: “We have already advanced on preparing bid documents and [are] expecting to float [a] tender in three to four months. If we find the electricity rate offered by the EPCs is lower than the government offices [are] presently paying, we will accept the proposals.”

Ezaz Al Qudrat A Mazid, founder and CEO of Dhaka-based consultancy Solar EPC Development Ltd, welcomed the initiative. “If the government can secure the bill payment through signing a tripartite agreement, many local and foreign investors will come forward,” he told pv magazine. Mazid added, his company has a foreign investment proposal to install at least 200 MW of solar generation capacity.