Installers which took advantage of cheaply-priced government finance say customers affected by the Covid-19 crisis cannot afford to pay for the solar home systems they have rolled out while expanding renewables programs.
Industry representatives call for a $59 million, five-year package of grants, loans and tax incentives from the government after Dhaka extended a coronavirus-driven industrial shutdown into the middle of the month.
Solar project developers and other component importers are among those eligible to apply for low-interest loans for up to 10 years. The government had already offered a $200 million credit line last year.
Indian company Mahindra Susten will provide engineering, procurement and construction services on a $1.7m, 3.1 MW array for a German-Bangladeshi knitwear company which will buy the power generated for $0.077/kWh.
A scheme to install solar lighting and household power, as well as biogas and solar cookers and larger PV plants, has already driven deployment of more than 1.2 million systems. Now the government wants more partners to join the program.
F Cubed, an Australian company that specializes in solar-powered desalination systems, has landed a contract valued at almost $5 million to supply 1,140 units that will provide clean drinking water to around 30,000 people in Bangladesh.
The government will reportedly be ready to tender contracts to install rooftop PV on its buildings across eight divisions of the nation in as little as three months’ time.
Renewables authority official tells pv magazine the nation’s irrigation canals could host almost 1 GW of solar generation capacity.
Industry figures indicate the expansion of the Bangladeshi grid is hitting demand for the solar home systems which have traditionally generated power for homes formerly out of reach of the electricity network.
A pre-bid meeting has been arranged on January 20 for the project, which is being financed with a $74 million World Bank loan.
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