Contracts for Chandpur, Inani projects likely soon

Two more wind power plants- one in Chandpur and another at Inani Beach, Cox’s Bazar-are likely to be awarded soon as the government wants wind energy to be poured into the national grid power to ensure a better power supply in the country.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has already started evaluating a number of bids submitted by aspiring bidders, according to official sources, UNB reports.

They said the proposed two plants are to be set up at Kachin in Chandpur and at Inani Beach in Cox’s Bazar on build-own-operate (BOT) basis in private sector.

“Each of the two projects will have 50-MW generation capacity,” said a source adding that the BPDB received bids for the two projects through a re-tender process in December last year. Earlier, the BPDB had moved to set up three wind power plants, including the above two and another at Mongla.

After floating of tenders, only one responsive bidder was found for Mongla plant and no one found for the Chandpur and Inani Beach projects, the official said. “In the re-tender, we’ve received three bids for Inani Beach and two for Chandpur location,” said Zahir Ahmed, head of BPDB’s Renewable Energy Cell. He said he is hopeful that this time BPDB can pick responsive bidders for the two projects as they look good in the preliminary assessment.

“We’re hopeful that we can complete the evaluation of the bids within a month and award the contracts within the first half of the current year,” he said. The BPDB awarded contract for the Mongla (Bagerhat) project in December to a Chinese-Bangladeshi joint venture- the Consortium of Envision Energy, (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., China, SQ Trading and Engineering, Bangladesh and Envision Renewable Energy Limited, Hong Kong.

State-owned BPDB will purchase electricity from the plant at a levelised tariff of US$ 13.20 cents, equivalent to Tk 10.56 per kilowatt hour (each unit) over the period of 20 years. Zahir Ahmed said the consortium has already started construction work on the project. The government will pay a total of Tk 2035.12 crore for the entire contract period against its purchase of electricity from the maiden private wind power project, said the officials.

BPDB officials said works on two more wind power projects are going on in full swing-one having 60 MW capacity in Cox’s Bazar and another 30 MW capacity plant in Feni in private sector.

Under a power purchase agreement signed with BPDB in March 2015, the US-DK Green Energy (BD), a joint venture between Taylor Engineering Group of USA, ph-consulting group of Denmark and Multiplex Green Energy of Bangladesh, is setting up the 60 MW plant at Kurushkul, the southeast of the Moheshkhali River in Cox’s Bazar while Indian firm Wind Energy Limited is constructing the 30 MW plant in Feni. According to the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (Sreda), only three small wind energy plants, having a total capacity of 2.9 MW, have been installed by the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) so far against its target of setting up wind power projects having total capacity of 1152 MW by 2020.

Sreda Chairman Mohammad Alauddin also said this time the government is very serious to expedite the process for contract awarding of the Chandpur and Inani Beach projects.

Officials at Sreda and BPDB said a number of studies were conducted in collaboration with international donor agencies to assess the wind energy potentials across the country. The latest one was conducted by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), with financial support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which identified nine locations, having the wind energy potential across the country.

The locations, having average wind speed between 5-6 metre per second at a height of over 60-80 metre, are Lalpur of Natore in Rajshahi, Chandpur, Sitakundu and Parkay Beach in Chattogram, Gouripur in Mymensingh, Madhupur Tea Estate in Habigonj, Dacop in Khulna near Mongla port, Inani Beach in Cox’s Bazar and Badarganj in Rangpur.

(AA)