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Published on May 17, 2014
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, will establish the plant at Kurushkul, southeast of Moheshkhali river.
The project that will be built at a cost of $120 million is expected to begin commercial operation by May next year. It will boost the production of renewable energy, which now accounts for 2 percent of total electricity generated in the country.
US-DK Green Energy will sell electricity at $0.12 a kilowatt-hour to state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board, according to an agreement signed yesterday. The contract was signed for 18 years.
“It's a milestone in the power and energy sector in Bangladesh,” said Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, adviser to the prime minister for energy, at a signing ceremony at Biddut Bhaban.
Despite having a 710km coastal line, Bangladesh is yet to take advantage of wind energy to generate electricity. Some experts doubt the feasibility of wind energy in Bangladesh.
With 2MW of electricity generation capacity each, 30-35 wind turbine generator units will be established on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, about 5km from Cox's Bazar town.
The project, if successfully implemented, will encourage entrepreneurs to build more wind turbine power plants on the coastal belt, Chowdhury said.
“Wind power is considered one of the greenest sources of renewable energy in the world today,” said Peder Hansen, director of US-DK Green Energy.
Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, said there is doubt about the success of generating electricity from wind power. “We are doing wind mapping. We will get the results next year.” “The future of wind energy depends largely on the success of this initiative,” he said.
Hanne Fugl Eskjaer, Danish ambassador, said the technology that is used in Denmark will be used in Bangladesh to establish the wind turbine power plant.
Once implemented, the project will give way to large-scale wind energy projects in Bangladesh, she said.
Source: The Daily Star
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