The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) is planning to develop a 442 MW solar power plant near the 1.32 GW coal-fired Rampal Power Station, which is currently under construction at Rampal Upazila of Bagerhat District in Khulna, in the southwestern part of the country.
According to BPDB, around $200 million will be invested to build what is expected to be the country’s largest solar installation, covering approximately 685 acres.
BPDB will finance around 15% of the project cost from its own funds, with the remaining 85% to be sourced from the government’s Power Development Fund.
Construction costs at the Rampal site are expected to be lower than those of a 220 MW solar project in Sonagazi. As a result, the proposed power purchase tariff is also lower, with electricity from the Rampal plant being priced at $0.050/kWh, compared with $0.072/kWh for the Sonagazi facility.
A 230 kV double-circuit transmission line will be built to connect the solar plant to the nearest substation operated by Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Limited, located 1.5 km from the site.
Under the Renewable Energy Policy 2025, the government aims to source 20% of its electricity from renewables by 2030 and 30% by 2040. Currently, Bangladesh has approximately 1,699 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, of which about 1,405 MW is generated from solar.
Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA) President Mostafa Al Mahmud said Bangladesh, like many other countries, is facing an energy crisis linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which has contributed to increased load shedding.
“Had the government placed greater emphasis on renewable energy, such a crisis could have been mitigated,” he said.
Mahmud added that the government should accelerate approvals for additional solar projects to strengthen the country’s energy security.
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