Bangladesh's renewables generation breaches 5% after new solar plant

The 28MW solar plant in Cox's Bazar District is the country's largest yet.

Reuters reports that Bangladesh’s electricity generation from renewable sources has passed the 5% mark thanks to the opening of a major new solar plant. This could help the country meet its goal of getting 10% of power from renewables by 2020.

The new 28MW solar power plant in Cox’s Bazar District is the largest yet opened in the country, following the earlier construction of a 3MW plant.

Currently about 5.2 million small-scale solar home systems provide electricity to almost 12% of Bangladesh’s 160 million people, said Dipal C. Barua, president of the Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association.

He added that the new plant is “good news” for the country, saying the accelerating construction of solar power facilities “will build confidence among future investors”.

The new 116-acre solar park will supply enough electricity to meet about 80% of power demand in the Teknaf sub-district where it is located, said Mahmudul Hasan, chief financial officer for Joules Power Ltd.

That area has about 300,000 power users, though little in the way of industrial or large commercial users, he said.

Read the full report here.