Bangladesh

The first green bond issued in Bangladesh is attracting investors and funding Beximco Group’s large-scale, Chinese-backed solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 230 MW. The government may soon use bonds to similarly finance infrastructure projects.

A 70MW solar plant at Pabna has today been rubber-stamped, together with a 50MW site in the Mymensingh district proposed by Total Eren alongside Norwegian and local development partners.

Plans for a solar farm in the district of Pabna have been scaled back from the 100MW envisaged by a consortium of developers and the partner companies have also had to reduce the value of the tariff they hoped to receive from the government for the power generated.

The distributed solar power generation sector has started to gain momentum in Bangladesh as industrialists show increased interest in the financial and environmental benefits.

Bangladesh’s first agrivoltaic solar power plant is set to receive government approval on Wednesday, Dec. 29.

A 100 MW solar field near the port of Mongla is expected to begin commercial operation within days and will take the nation to almost 880 MW of clean power generation capacity.

Investment is required so electricity distribution networks can be upgraded to keep pace with an explosion in generation capacity over the last decade, and to harness the potential of renewables and energy storage.

Advances in solar power and other clean energy technologies have failed to keep up with demand for electricity as economies rebound from the Covid crisis and China and India’s fossil fuel appetite will ensure the world stays well short of what is needed for a net zero 2050 for at least the next three years.

The power development authority has signed 20-year electricity purchase deals relating to four solar projects and has awarded the highest price paid in the country to date for ‘clean’ energy, for an island-based system which includes battery storage and diesel generation.

A Shanxi-based clean energy company has asked for 200 hectares so it can construct 50 MW of power generation projects.