Christmas Day could usher in Bangladesh’s biggest solar field

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A solar project in Bangladesh which took shape after plans for a coal plant were blocked over environmental and heritage-site concerns, could start commercial operation on Christmas Day.

The 100 MW, $196 million solar field, installed near the port of Mongla, will be the nation's largest to date and began a trial run of generating full load a week ago.

Withe the testing run producing “satisfactory” results, project manager Mehedi Islam Aneek said commercial operation will begin on Saturday or Sunday, depending on the weather.

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Get the latest edition of pv magazine today to read about the kinks in the global supply chain which, like the mixed-bag outcome of COP26, have kept a significant portion of this year’s progress tangled up. We find more to celebrate than condemn, however, for 2021 was another record year for solar installations, and the forecasts for 2022 look even more promising.

The 280-acre site was developed by the Energon Renewables unit of Bangladeshi industrial conglomerate Orion Group which, in February 2019, secured a 20-year agreement from state body the Bangladesh Power Development Board to buy the electricity to be generated at the site for $0.138/kWh.

MM Ahsan Huda, Bangladesh country manager for Chinese solar manufacturer Longi, said the project features 250,000 Longi Solar Hi-MO5 panels.

Compatriot manufacturer Sungrow supplied the project's central inverter with the Singapore unit of Swiss electricals company ABB supplying the rest of the electrical equipment. Mumbai-based Mahindra Susten acted as the owner's engineer and project management consultant.

Original plans for a coal plant on the site were shelved because of its proximity to the Sundarbans. The world’s largest mangrove forest is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

With the Bangladeshi government aiming to use renewables to generate 40% of its electricity by 2041, and all of its power by mid century, it is estimated the Mongla project will take the country to 877.31 MW of clean power generation capacity.

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