Bangladesh Economy: News & Updates

[Bilal9]

The Solar Energy Revolution Everyone’s Ignoring… Is In Bangladesh

We put a lot of cyber ink into the German, Australian, US, Chinese, Indian, Chilean, and Japanese solar energy revolutions. However, I think the Bangladeshi solar revolution is one we don’t write about enough. One of the biggest reasons for that is probably that it doesn’t compare to the others on a total capacity basis. However, that doesn’t mean the market isn’t huge.

In July, we did write about a $78.4 million World Bank loan offered to the Bangladeshi government to finance 480,000 solar home systems. Assuming 5.6 people per household (that’s apparently the average), that’s solar power for 2.688 million people. However, this isn’t the beginning of Bagladesh’s solar revolution at all.


Muhammad Yunus

By the end of 2010, Grameen Shakti had already installed over 500,000 home solar power systems (or 518,210, to be more exact). Using the same people-per-household assumption as above, that’s solar for about 2.9 million people. But that was years ago….

Now, Grameen Shakti (a nonprofit organization based in Bangladesh) has brought solar power systems to about 1.5 million Bangladeshi homes, or about 8.4 million people!


Grameen Shakti solar home system installations by year.

“Mr Barua and Mr Yunus founded microfinance institution Grameen Bank way back in 1983,” Sustainnovate writes. Its innovative efforts to fight poverty won it a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. “But it was Grameen Shakti, founded in 1996, that took the work Grameen Bank was doing to the next level and enabled the deployment of much more solar, biomass, and other clean technologies in Bangladesh.”

Approximately 360,000 households have now paid off the systems Grameen Shakti provided to them. And the total number of people who have benefited from Grameen Shakti’s social enterprise is estimated to be over 15 million.

Aside from providing the systems to households, Grameen Shakti “also provides training and capacity development and has created 45 ‘Grameen Technology Centers.'” Grameen Shakti writes:

GS has set up 45 Grameen Technology Centers (GTC) under a pilot program to scale up its solar program, specially production of [solar home system (SHS)] accessories by manufacturing these locally. GTCs are also contributing to women empowerment by developing Solar Technicians. GS will help these technicians sign annual contracts with its clients for after sales maintenance and become entrepreneurs in the future.

More than 60 thousand people each year are installing SHSs all over Bangladesh for business or household purposes…. GS envisages a future where there would be a huge demand for SHS accessories as well as maintenance services to keep the installed SHSs in working order. GTCs are also running a very successful Renewable Energy Exposure Program for rural school children and more than 5000 school children have participated in the program.

Sadly, Grameen Shakti somehow wasn’t even on my radar until I found out that it was a recent Zayed Future Energy Prize finalist. And it probably still wouldn’t be if it weren’t for that? Honestly, how does an organization providing solar to about 10 million fly under the radar? My hunch is that there are a few reasons: 1) these are very small systems, so they don’t as quickly add up to “a lot” even though they are providing electricity to many more people than solar is in the US; 2) the small systems might not even be counted in many global assessments of solar power capacity and generation; 3) Bangladesh is an infrequently discussed country in global news, whether it’s cleantech news, massive flooding news, tragic global warming news, or otherwise. But without a doubt, a solar revolution is afoot in Bangladesh, and it’s a big deal.


Dipal Chandra Barua

Aside from solar, Grameen Shakti “has also delivered 28,762 biogas plants to Bangladeshi communities and 814,562 clean cooking stoves to Bangladeshi homes. It has 1,268 branches covering every district in Bangladesh,” and “Mr Barua, the first winner of the Zayed Future Energy Prize, is also the Chairman & CEO of the Bright Green Energy Foundation,” which does almost the same work, with its own impressive track record!

And, of course, there are other organizations and companies bringing solar to Bangladeshi households and businesses.

Granted, Bangladesh has a population of about 156 million, nearly half of the United States. Still, bringing solar to tens of millions of people is a big deal. Even if we just say 20 million people in Bangladesh have received home solar systems, that’s about 13% of the population. And monthly solar installations are approaching 100,000. That’s insane, in a good way.

So, here’s a big nod of appreciation to the companies, organizations, and people bringing solar to millions of Bangladeshi! As I’ve stated before many times (for example, in an interview on CNBC back in 2010), just as cell phones leapfrogged landlines in the developing world, distributed solar power (and other renewables, to a lesser extent) are leapfrogging centralized, expensive grids based around fossil fuel and nuclear power plants, but this transition still needs to have leaders.

After learning much more about the Bangladeshi solar revolution, I wonder how much small-scale solar growth is occurring under the radar in other developing countries. There are dozens and dozens of solar organizations and companies serving developing countries. How well is their progress really being tracked? How fast is this decentralized solar revolution actually growing?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~25 Million People Benefit From Home Solar In Bangladesh

Even a beggar can go solar in Bangladesh, Dipal Barua says.

During my recent trip to Abu Dhabi for the Zayed Future Energy Prize and Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, I got to spend quite a bit of time chatting with Dipal Barua, a longtime solar energy leader who was actually the first winner of the Zayed Future Energy Prize (ZFEP) — back when there was just one winner a year!

Dipal may not be as well known as some of the more recent winners, but I think he fully deserved to be the first person to take home the prize.

One of the most popular articles I wrote in 2014 was about the solar revolution in Bangladesh — an energy revolution that many people still haven’t heard of but that is one of the best solar country stories out there. As head of the country’s solar energy association, Dipal is better positioned than perhaps anyone else to discuss this energy revolution, and provide recent figures on it. You can watch the video interview below, and a few highlights are listed in text below that.

* Dipal intends to help make Bangladesh the “first solar nation in the world.”

* So far, the country has 4.5 million solar systems installed in the country, resulting in a benefit for ~25 million people.

* >100,000 people are employed by the home solar industry alone.

* In the last few years, Dipal estimates that ~1 million systems a year were being installed, but he estimates that now ~35,000 new systems are being installed per month, as the market has become a bit saturated.

* Dipal estimates that the whole country will be covered by solar by 2021.

* Even a beggar can now buy a solar home system in Bangladesh. It is more cost effective than diesel fuel for lamps.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bangladesh Plans Over 3 GW Renewable Energy Capacity By 2021


With a likely aim to strengthen its power sector, reduce costs, and increase energy access, Bangladesh has announced ambitious plans to set up renewable energy projects.

The Bangladeshi Government has set a target to have 3,168 MW of renewable energy capacity installed by 2021. The Government also aims to have a 5% share of renewable energy in electricity generation by the end of this year, which is planned to increase to 10% by 2021.

The main focus of the the 3 GW capacity addition will be solar and wind energy technologies. The Government plans to add 1,740 MW of solar power and 1,370 MW of wind energy capacity by 2021, with the remaining balance to be largely made up of biomass-based power generation technologies. Less than 10 MW each will be added through biogas and mini-hydro power projects.

The Bangladeshi Power Division has also published a timeline for renewable energy capacity addition with yearly targets. Of the total capacity addition envisaged, a third will be added through state-owned companies, while the balance will be installed by private sector companies.

Demand for power in Bangladesh is more than its current capacity to generate. As a result, it is importing power from neighboring India. The Bangladesh government is also in talks with Bhutan to import hydro power. Thus, renewable energy seems a completely viable option to ease the demand-supply situation.

 

[Bilal9]

Info Ladies – Women Heroes of Rural Bangladesh​

Women have to go beyond any boundaries they might have set for themselves. Thinking something that a woman can’t do because that particular thing is a man’s domain, is where she is restricting herself! Women have incredible power. Just inspiration can help them to grow their dreams. As a photographer every day I am capturing woman’s battles, voices, dreams and triumphs. By putting light on their lives and dreams I would like to tell stories that the world should know about! Welcome all of you to the heroic world of INFO Ladies of Bangladesh!

The Info Ladies cover many miles on their journeys from village to village. With their bicycles and laptops, the Info Ladies of Bangladesh bring the world a sense of independence from one village to the next. This has changed the country, and their lives, too. The young women have become role models for a whole generation.



The Info Ladies cover many miles on their journeys from village to village/www.gmb-akash.com

The meetings in the villages are free, with a charge for some services/www.gmb-akash.com

Sathi is the most successful Info Lady in the Gaibandha district. Between banana trees and flood swamps, she has opened an info shop in her home village Jarabarsha. A banner in front of the shop rattles in the wind. It reads: “We are independent because we are Info Ladies.”



The Info Lady is wearing her info lady uniform, a blue cape and pink trousers. Amid the dark green landscape, she shines like a ladybird on a dandelion leaf/ www.gmb-akash.com

The corrugated iron on the roof shines more brightly than anywhere else in the area. A table mounted on the trunk of a tree lists all the services Sathi offers. Sathi offers Skype calls, online bank transfers, online university application assistance, digital camera rentals, mobile phone ringtone downloads and photography services. She gives pregnancy tests, measures diabetics, takes blood pressure, identifies blood type and even sells underwear for women. Recently she opened her pre-primary school with a vision to create an example for the village.

Sathi is a 24 year-old petite woman with a barely perceptible smile and deliberate movements. When a man pushes his broken mobile phone across the counter, she unscrew the lid of the phone, fumbles around with the speakers for a few seconds with a metal pin and declares: “it’s broken, I will order a new one,” without expecting any rejection. Sathi has a scar with six stitches on her right ankle from a fall from her bicycle when she still had problems keeping her balance. She proudly shows the scar. Laughing loudly while explaining how difficult it was to convince her father about bicycle riding, she says, “I learned the basics of computers in three days, but it took months to convince my father to let me ride a bicycle.” But now she has changed the financial face of her family. In nearly three years of this job she built new house and renovated the old shop which is now the famous info shop.



Sathi has to go from village to village to give her services. On that humid day Sathi repeatedly grabs the corner of her pink dupatta and wipes sweat off her face. She is wearing her Info Lady uniform, a blue cape and pink trousers. Amid the dark green landscape, she shines like a ladybird on a dandelion leaf. Sathi cycles past men in waist-deep water. The men stop their work for a moment and look up. Sathi nods in greeting. When she finally arrives in the village, she rings her bicycle bell three times, and women immediately start crowding around her.



An Info Lady is a nurse, mail carrier, fashion consultant, farmer, photographer, psychologist – all in one.

A short while later the women they roll out fabric bags to sit on and Sathi shows them a film about feeding infants. Then in a firm voice, she repeats every single fact: “You need to wash your breast before you breast-feed your baby. You do not need milk powder from the store; your breast milk is perfectly fine until the fifth month. After this, pay attention to adequate amounts of calcium and proteins. Have you all seen which foods contain these substances?” The women, some twice as old as Sathi, look at her. Their silent glances show how much respect they feel for someone so knowledgeable.

The meetings in the villages are free, with a charge for some services/ www.gmb-akash.com

Sathi’s working day ends with accounting. Using a computer programme, she notes every cent she earns. The group meetings are free, but a digital passport photo costs 10 cents, a blood pressure measurement costs 5 cents. Sathi has earned the equivalent of 2.60 Euros – a moderate day’s income. Last month, her income totaled 133 Euros. By comparison, a farmer in the district of Gaibandha earns about 60 Euros a month.



Many young women resist the opposition of their parents when they become Info Ladies. Sathi’s mother is different. She says: “All women bear children, but not all give birth to children as important as this one”

In a country where less than a quarter of the population uses the Internet and where access is both slow and expensive, Bangladesh’s ‘Info Ladies’ offer a series of vital services to people living in remote, rural parts of the country. The “Info Ladies” project was launched in 2008 by a local non-governmental organisation called D.net. The same organisation had previously sent so-called “mobile ladies” through Bangladesh – young women with mobile phones, who enabled the inhabitants to communicate with people outside their village. When most inhabitants eventually owned a mobile phone, the Info Ladies were launched. They now offer mobile Internet, in a country with 152 million people, of whom five million have access to the worldwide web. D.net works together with local organisations to implement the project. In Gaibandha district, the NGO Udayan is involved. The name translates as “the resurrection”. The Info Ladies are trained for several weeks in the barracks of Udayan.

A Bangladeshi Info Lady is not just a woman with a laptop; she’s an entrepreneurial businesswoman bringing isolated people a piece of the world with valuable information and services. Info Ladies managed to change the perspective of villagers in many ways. Dohrmina, a village elder, now gives advice to the youth that would have been unthinkable in her day. She says: go to school, secure your own income, and don’t have too many children. Dohrmina says: “We didn’t even know what independence meant.”



Like Dohrmina villagers have been paying more attention to their health now the Info Ladies make their visits/ www.gmb-akash.com



After measuring weight of the pregnant woman Mahfuza says, “You need to eat more,”

Of the 10 Info Ladies from Sathi’s group, seven are still active after three years. The Info Lady Mahfuza who is one of them rests her bike on the kickstand. Mahfuza is 22 years old and an Info Lady. She is part of a project in which young women use modern technology to distribute information to the most remote corners of Bangladesh. Mahfuza’s former classmates are now all married; most have one or two children. Some girls are married by the age of 13 or 14 and by the age of 20, parents actively look for a husband for their daughters. But Mahfuza learned to hold her head up.

Meanwhile Mahfuza sits under a roof made of bamboo leaves and takes measures the blood pressure of a pregnant woman. Someone from the crowd shouts: “she’s expecting a boy.” Mahfuzaa does not even look up from the blood pressure meter as she responds: “boy or girl, it does not matter, both are equally good.” Another lesson learned. Mahfuza is contacted by girls who need underwear but do not dare go into a store. She then goes shopping for them. Farmers ask Mahfuza what is wrong with their rice plants. She photographs spots on the leaves and sends the images to an expert in Dhaka.

As a result, the women themselves experience a sense of freedom, empowerment and economic independence. This has started to change their country, still struggling with improving the historical violation of women’s right. They have become heroes for an entire generation of young women by giving them hope and inspiration to also be able to work and enjoy personal freedom in a predominantly Muslim country. Although proving to be a driving force of positive change and transformation, these Info Ladies have had to “walk on thorns”. They have fought against social stigma, a conservative Muslim society as well as deep cultural prejudices against the value and rights of women.

If they were able to change their lives so radically, why should this not also be possible for others?

 

[marbella]

Goodluck Bangladesh..

 

[Nilgiri]

The Solar Energy Revolution Everyone’s Ignoring… Is In Bangladesh

We put a lot of cyber ink into the German, Australian, US, Chinese, Indian, Chilean, and Japanese solar energy revolutions. However, I think the Bangladeshi solar revolution is one we don’t write about enough. One of the biggest reasons for that is probably that it doesn’t compare to the others on a total capacity basis. However, that doesn’t mean the market isn’t huge.

In July, we did write about a $78.4 million World Bank loan offered to the Bangladeshi government to finance 480,000 solar home systems. Assuming 5.6 people per household (that’s apparently the average), that’s solar power for 2.688 million people. However, this isn’t the beginning of Bagladesh’s solar revolution at all.


Muhammad Yunus

By the end of 2010, Grameen Shakti had already installed over 500,000 home solar power systems (or 518,210, to be more exact). Using the same people-per-household assumption as above, that’s solar for about 2.9 million people. But that was years ago….

Now, Grameen Shakti (a nonprofit organization based in Bangladesh) has brought solar power systems to about 1.5 million Bangladeshi homes, or about 8.4 million people!


Grameen Shakti solar home system installations by year.

“Mr Barua and Mr Yunus founded microfinance institution Grameen Bank way back in 1983,” Sustainnovate writes. Its innovative efforts to fight poverty won it a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. “But it was Grameen Shakti, founded in 1996, that took the work Grameen Bank was doing to the next level and enabled the deployment of much more solar, biomass, and other clean technologies in Bangladesh.”

Approximately 360,000 households have now paid off the systems Grameen Shakti provided to them. And the total number of people who have benefited from Grameen Shakti’s social enterprise is estimated to be over 15 million.

Aside from providing the systems to households, Grameen Shakti “also provides training and capacity development and has created 45 ‘Grameen Technology Centers.'” Grameen Shakti writes:

GS has set up 45 Grameen Technology Centers (GTC) under a pilot program to scale up its solar program, specially production of [solar home system (SHS)] accessories by manufacturing these locally. GTCs are also contributing to women empowerment by developing Solar Technicians. GS will help these technicians sign annual contracts with its clients for after sales maintenance and become entrepreneurs in the future.

More than 60 thousand people each year are installing SHSs all over Bangladesh for business or household purposes…. GS envisages a future where there would be a huge demand for SHS accessories as well as maintenance services to keep the installed SHSs in working order. GTCs are also running a very successful Renewable Energy Exposure Program for rural school children and more than 5000 school children have participated in the program.

Sadly, Grameen Shakti somehow wasn’t even on my radar until I found out that it was a recent Zayed Future Energy Prize finalist. And it probably still wouldn’t be if it weren’t for that? Honestly, how does an organization providing solar to about 10 million fly under the radar? My hunch is that there are a few reasons: 1) these are very small systems, so they don’t as quickly add up to “a lot” even though they are providing electricity to many more people than solar is in the US; 2) the small systems might not even be counted in many global assessments of solar power capacity and generation; 3) Bangladesh is an infrequently discussed country in global news, whether it’s cleantech news, massive flooding news, tragic global warming news, or otherwise. But without a doubt, a solar revolution is afoot in Bangladesh, and it’s a big deal.


Dipal Chandra Barua

Aside from solar, Grameen Shakti “has also delivered 28,762 biogas plants to Bangladeshi communities and 814,562 clean cooking stoves to Bangladeshi homes. It has 1,268 branches covering every district in Bangladesh,” and “Mr Barua, the first winner of the Zayed Future Energy Prize, is also the Chairman & CEO of the Bright Green Energy Foundation,” which does almost the same work, with its own impressive track record!

And, of course, there are other organizations and companies bringing solar to Bangladeshi households and businesses.

Granted, Bangladesh has a population of about 156 million, nearly half of the United States. Still, bringing solar to tens of millions of people is a big deal. Even if we just say 20 million people in Bangladesh have received home solar systems, that’s about 13% of the population. And monthly solar installations are approaching 100,000. That’s insane, in a good way.

So, here’s a big nod of appreciation to the companies, organizations, and people bringing solar to millions of Bangladeshi! As I’ve stated before many times (for example, in an interview on CNBC back in 2010), just as cell phones leapfrogged landlines in the developing world, distributed solar power (and other renewables, to a lesser extent) are leapfrogging centralized, expensive grids based around fossil fuel and nuclear power plants, but this transition still needs to have leaders.

After learning much more about the Bangladeshi solar revolution, I wonder how much small-scale solar growth is occurring under the radar in other developing countries. There are dozens and dozens of solar organizations and companies serving developing countries. How well is their progress really being tracked? How fast is this decentralized solar revolution actually growing?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~25 Million People Benefit From Home Solar In Bangladesh

Even a beggar can go solar in Bangladesh, Dipal Barua says.

During my recent trip to Abu Dhabi for the Zayed Future Energy Prize and Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, I got to spend quite a bit of time chatting with Dipal Barua, a longtime solar energy leader who was actually the first winner of the Zayed Future Energy Prize (ZFEP) — back when there was just one winner a year!

Dipal may not be as well known as some of the more recent winners, but I think he fully deserved to be the first person to take home the prize.

One of the most popular articles I wrote in 2014 was about the solar revolution in Bangladesh — an energy revolution that many people still haven’t heard of but that is one of the best solar country stories out there. As head of the country’s solar energy association, Dipal is better positioned than perhaps anyone else to discuss this energy revolution, and provide recent figures on it. You can watch the video interview below, and a few highlights are listed in text below that.

* Dipal intends to help make Bangladesh the “first solar nation in the world.”

* So far, the country has 4.5 million solar systems installed in the country, resulting in a benefit for ~25 million people.

* >100,000 people are employed by the home solar industry alone.

* In the last few years, Dipal estimates that ~1 million systems a year were being installed, but he estimates that now ~35,000 new systems are being installed per month, as the market has become a bit saturated.

* Dipal estimates that the whole country will be covered by solar by 2021.

* Even a beggar can now buy a solar home system in Bangladesh. It is more cost effective than diesel fuel for lamps.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bangladesh Plans Over 3 GW Renewable Energy Capacity By 2021


With a likely aim to strengthen its power sector, reduce costs, and increase energy access, Bangladesh has announced ambitious plans to set up renewable energy projects.

The Bangladeshi Government has set a target to have 3,168 MW of renewable energy capacity installed by 2021. The Government also aims to have a 5% share of renewable energy in electricity generation by the end of this year, which is planned to increase to 10% by 2021.

The main focus of the the 3 GW capacity addition will be solar and wind energy technologies. The Government plans to add 1,740 MW of solar power and 1,370 MW of wind energy capacity by 2021, with the remaining balance to be largely made up of biomass-based power generation technologies. Less than 10 MW each will be added through biogas and mini-hydro power projects.

The Bangladeshi Power Division has also published a timeline for renewable energy capacity addition with yearly targets. Of the total capacity addition envisaged, a third will be added through state-owned companies, while the balance will be installed by private sector companies.

Demand for power in Bangladesh is more than its current capacity to generate. As a result, it is importing power from neighboring India. The Bangladesh government is also in talks with Bhutan to import hydro power. Thus, renewable energy seems a completely viable option to ease the demand-supply situation.

Solar plants are costly in land, that is a premium in BD, so it makes sense to build micro units on existing real estate for sure. What is current solar rooftop capacity in BD (the objective down the road is 3 GW which is good to strive, so curious where it is now)? Does BD impose import tariffs on solar panels (chinese are cheapest) or are they zero duty?

For India the domestic rooftop capacity totals around 1GW and rapidly increasing I believe out of total grid connected solar capacity of 8GW (also rapidly increasing). Rajasthan for example wants to have 25 GW but has signed for close to 40 GW over 5 years given its much more ample availability of land and sunshine. In 5 - 10 years time some are predicting that India will have around 100 - 150 GW worth of solar. You can see why there is a scramble now to develop local solar panel manufacturing and allied electronics.

This is what I mean about the land premium btw:

 

[Bilal9]

Any privatisation, stake selling plans for Biman?

How much is owned by BD govt right now anyway?

Biman became the largest Public Limited Company (PLC) in Bangladesh in 2007. Details are here,

http://www.webcitation.org/696IMVE4g

 

[katarabhumi]

Indonesia's PT Len Industry has secured 25 Million USD contract for railways system from Bangladesh.

• PT. LEN through its sub company PT. LEN Railway Systems has joined a partnership with local company Biswas Construction for the project.

• LEN RS will work on railways system from Ishurdi to Joydebpur and is estimated to complete within 1,5 year.

• For the first phase, LEN systems will be applied on four stations.

source in Indonesian :
http://economy.okezone.com/read/201...n-kereta-api-di-bangladesh-senilai-usd25-juta

original post by @CountStrike

 

[Bilal9]

Solar plants are costly in land, that is a premium in BD, so it makes sense to build micro units on existing real estate for sure. What is current solar rooftop capacity in BD (the objective down the road is 3 GW which is good to strive, so curious where it is now)? Does BD impose import tariffs on solar panels (chinese are cheapest) or are they zero duty?

For India the domestic rooftop capacity totals around 1GW and rapidly increasing I believe out of total grid connected solar capacity of 8GW (also rapidly increasing). Rajasthan for example wants to have 25 GW but has signed for close to 40 GW over 5 years given its much more ample availability of land and sunshine. In 5 - 10 years time some are predicting that India will have around 100 - 150 GW worth of solar. You can see why there is a scramble now to develop local solar panel manufacturing and allied electronics.

This is what I mean about the land premium btw:

Nice.

The impetus in Bangladesh is different and is for providing electricity to people who cannot use electricity off the main grid. And for operating Solar-operated irrigation pumps.

Solar PV units are assembled locally from imported PV components by quite a few firms since the last two decades and I'm guessing when volume warrants, they will start indigenizing the technical components.

Self-contained Home Solar Units (SHS) are sold by the miilions to economically disadvantaged families at very concessional rates in these areas where the main energy grid has not reached yet.

Here's a Java map of these units with numbers. I couldn't really tell you the total GW capacity because either they don't really publish it or it isn't apparent from the stats.

http://www.idcol.org/old/bd-map/bangladesh_map/

To avoid the high real estate cost - industrial solar grids are sometimes built in areas which normally wouldn't provide any real estate value. such as waterlogged areas called 'haors' or 'beels'. This one is in a place called 'Salla' in Sunamganj, part of Northern Bangladesh.

The 650 KWp Solar PV Project is the largest in the country and at one time was one of the largest in the region. The 400KW power plant has been constructed in the remote haor area of Sunamganj.

The remote energy deprived area off the grid was Solarized and hundreds of families and more localities benefitted by this project. The project was completed successfully.

Some local companies have established automated PV module manufacturing plants in Bangladesh.

The product offerings are mono and multi crystalline solar modules of different capacities for both off-grid and On-grid applications. The modules range from 20Wp-300Wp.

Most of the plants have certifications by, IEC from TUV, USA and UL listings. They are also certified by Bureau Veritas for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards.

The plants all have the following key features:

• Production processes are all automated, untouched by hand
• Controlled production environment through precision air conditioning and humidity control system
• Equipment is mostly sourced from USA and Japan
• High-performance cells from renowned manufacturers
• Adequate performance even in diffused sunlight
• Adequate tolerance to rough weather (as is sometimes expected in hurricane-ravaged Bangladesh).
• QC though Hi-Pot & Lab Grade Sun Simulator testing (Govt. standards require this)

Here's one from a major manufacturer

Solar Rooftop systems are also offered as both Grid connected System and Stand alone Grid Independent System with battery back up.

Solar Telecom Solutions are also very common now, which provide energy solutions to off-grid mobile base stations, optimizing cost of operation over costly diesel run generators. In Bangladesh, even though a population of 40% still lives in off-grid areas the tele-density is more than 32%.

 

[Bilal9]

Bangladesh Approves 200 MW Solar Power Project By SunEdison

The Government of Bangladesh has approved construction of a huge solar power project which is expected to play a critical role in the country achieving its renewable energy targets.

A 200 MW solar power project to be constructed in the Teknaf sub-district has been given the go ahead by the Government of Bangladesh. The project will be developed by SunEdison Energy Holding (Singapore), and is expected to be the largest solar power project in the country.

The project is expected to start operation following 18 months of construction. Tariff for the project has been determined at $0.17/kWh, which is said to be less than the price of electricity generated from oil-based power plants in the country.

The Bangladesh Government has set a target to have 3,168 MW of renewable energy capacity installed by 2021. The Government also aims to have a 5% share of renewable energy in electricity generation by the end of this year, which is planned to increase to 10% by 2021.

The main focus of the the 3 GW capacity addition will be solar and wind energy technologies. The Government plans to add 1,740 MW of solar power and 1,370 MW of wind energy capacity by 2021, with the remaining balance to be largely made up of biomass-based power generation technologies.

The daily power generation in Bangladesh is around 7,000 MW, while the daily peak demand is around 8,500 MW. As a result, the country is looking to boost its power generation capacity, and renewable energy projects are a part of that plan. Bangladesh is also importing electricity from India and may start buying power from Bhutan as well.

While SunEdison may seem to have have taken the lead in large-scale solar power infrastructure development in Bangladesh, other foreign developers are not far behind. Earlier this year, SkyPower Global announced that it plans to set up 2 GW solar power capacity in Bangladesh over the next 5 years at an estimated investment of $4.3 billion.

SkyPower Announces 2 GW of Solar Energy Projects in Bangladesh

During the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York, SkyPower, the world’s largest developer and owner of utility-scale solar projects, made a historic announcement with Prime Minister Hasina, unveiling its plans to build 2 GW of utility-scale solar energy over the next five years in Bangladesh, representing an investment of US $4.3 billion.

As part of this historic moment for Bangladesh, SkyPower also announced it will be gifting 1.5 million SkyPower Home solar kits to people of Bangladesh over the course of the next five years.

The SkyPower Home solar kits consist of a solar panel, battery, LED lights, radio, and USB port to charge mobile phones designed to allow families to harness the power of the sun. The high quality home solar kits are durable, portable and IEC certified.

“SkyPower is proud to help Bangladesh achieve its sustainable development goals,” said SkyPower President and Chief Executive Officer Kerry Adler. “The investment in Bangladesh will help increase grid connectivity, ease energy poverty and create new green energy jobs.”

“The new development agenda makes it clear that all our actions need to be underpinned by our strong commitment to protect and preserve our planet, our biodiversity and our climate. We have only a small window of opportunity and we must succeed to set the world on a safer, greener, and more prosperous path,” said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the 70th UN General Assembly.

“SkyPower’s $4.3 billion USD investment will create more than 42,000 total job years in Bangladesh and will include 500 MW of fabrication and assembly facilities,” said SkyPower Chief Commercial Officer, Charles Cohen.

SkyPower has a long history of working closely with local communities to produce hundreds of millions of kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean electricity every year, while ensuring that those closest to the developments reap the rewards of new jobs, education, skills training and accessible energy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Old news from 2014....

Bangladesh’s Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) has won the ‘Asia Power and Electricity Award 2014’ in the category of ‘Solar Project of the Year’.


A press release on Wednesday said the award was given for IDCOL’s efforts, accomplishments, and positive contributions under the Solar Home System (SHS) programme.

IDCOL Director (Investment) and Head of Advisory Nazmul Haque received the award at the Power and Electricity Awards Gala Dinner on Apr 23 at the Resorts World Convention Centre in Singapore.

The release said more that 2.9 million solar home systems have been installed under IDCOL’s SHS programme as of March, providing clean energy solution to around 13 million rural people who are not covered by the country's power grid.

The programme has contributed towards creating over 50,000 jobs, effected an annual fuel subsidy saving of $39 million, promoted the development of local support industries and reduced annual CO2 emission by more than 450,000 tonnes.

http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2014/04/30/idcol-wins-asia-power-and-electricity-award

 

[Nilgiri]

To avoid the high real estate cost - industrial solar grids are sometimes built in areas which normally wouldn't provide any real estate value.

That is wise and prudent. How much of such land exists in BD in total? Any number for that?

BD is so densely populated pretty much everywhere that transmission costs must be minimal and off grid point generation like you mention is a big game changer.

For now as you mention, solar is mostly end-consumer focused, mostly for household use.....rather than commercial and industrial. Thats why off grid capacity development for the poor is indeed a very dynamic one for the region.

 

[Bilal9]

That is wise and prudent. How much of such land exists in BD in total? Any number for that?

BD is so densely populated pretty much everywhere that transmission costs must be minimal and off grid point generation like you mention is a big game changer.

For now as you mention, solar is mostly end-consumer focused, mostly for household use.....rather than commercial and industrial. Thats why off grid capacity development for the poor is indeed a very dynamic one for the region.

I would differ in saying that "transmission costs" are actually not "minimal". Setting up new transmission towers and substations are anything but inexpensive and require install locations and funding (more expensive than India for example), both of which are scarce.

The population density in Bangladesh is much, much higher in urban areas of course and may be one of the highest in the region. Rural areas are populated but not as much - and offer plenty of scope for installing off grid solar arrays.

Certain uninhabited char (river island) and wetland areas of various types (called baor, haor, jheel and beel) may offer areas for industrial solar arrays.

Per wiki,
"A beel is usually a depression or topographic low generally produced by erosion or other geographical process. These are generally smaller and seen all over Bangladesh. These are marshy in character. Sometimes beels are remains of a river that has changed its course. Many of the beels dry up in the winter but during the rains expand into broad and shallow sheets of water, which may be described as fresh water lagoons."

Beels are mostly located in north eastern Bangladesh which used to be swamp forests with water resistant trees, like Ratargul in Sylhet, which still exists.

But majority of mini-grid solar arrays in Bangladesh will be built in areas where the grid cannot be extended to.

A huge number have already been built,

http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/energy/news/bangladesh-powers-ahead-on-off-grid-solar.html

http://en.sma-sunny.com/en/electrif...adesh-with-green-energy-and-smart-technology/

This is a mini-grid in Kutubdia Island off the coast a little North of Cox's Bazaar.

Here's a map showing some areas of smaller solar mini-grids, as can be seen they are along mostly off-grid corridors within river islands and newer coastal areas. This map is for only one (of several hundred) NGO's (CER) currently involved in solar off-grid mini arrays.

SN ----Project Location---- Capacity(kWp)------ Project

1. Raipura, Narsingdi 141 ShouroBangla Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Operational sinceFebruary, 2015
2. Bagha, Rajshahi 141 Hydron Bangladesh Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Operational sinceFebruary, 2015
3. Narayanpur, Kurigram 158.25 Gramer Alo Ltd. Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
4. Monpura, Bhola 177 Solar Electro Bangladesh Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
5. Godagari, Rajshahi 148.5 AVA Development Ltd Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
6. RupshaChor, Sirajgong 130 SolarGao Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
7. Daulotpur, Kustia 183.75 Parasol Energy Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
8. Islampur, Jamalpur 162 G-Tech Solution Ltd. Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
9. Chorsolmari, Kurigram 247 Uttaranchal Renewable Energy Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Approval stage
10.. Doulatpur, Manikgonj Superstar Renewable Energy Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Approval stage

The project locations are shown in the map of Bangladesh according to the above serial numbers.



11 mini-grids projects implemented or under implementation stage are designed by CER, UIU.

Each of these plants is expected to supply green energy to a 500 – 1200 rural households, 100 – 300 rural village market shops, 10 – 20 irrigation pumps, schools and the rural community clinic with energy efficient appliances.

 

[Bilal9]

Three more bonus shots....

A great overview of Cox's Bazar airport and city, Notice the construction work going on to extend the runway.

Two more visitors from sometime ago - now rare.

Bangladesh’s hidden story: A booming economy

A significant piece of news emerged from Bangladesh recently that received little notice outside the country. Last year for the first time, foreign direct investment from other countries into Bangladesh surpassed $2 billion, a 44 percent increase from the year before.

In other words, investors increasingly see Bangladesh as a smart place to put their money. And they aren’t alone.

According to a March poll by the U.S.-based International Republican Institute, 83 percent of Bangladeshis surveyed said the security situation in Bangladesh is very good or somewhat good and 77 percent believe the country is politically stable. In addition, 72 percent are optimistic that their personal economic situation will improve.

Top sectors for direct investment last year in Bangladesh included the ready-made garment industry, of course. But investors also poured money into oil and gas, banking, telecommunication and power generation. One reason is, unlike many of its neighbors, Bangladesh has a liberal investment regime that allows 100 percent foreign investment in many sectors and an unrestricted exit policy.

In recent years, Bangladesh’s economy has grown at a consistent, blistering rate of more than 6 percent, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Over the past nine months, that pace accelerated to 7 percent. Today, the Bangladeshi economy stands at about $180 billion. According to the World Bank, that will rise to $322 billion by 2021, creating many more scalable investment opportunities.

Growth is driven by the already-well-known ready-made garment industry. But it’s a more dynamic industry than most people know. In fact, it’s a mistake to continue to think of Bangladesh as t-shirt maker to the world. Bangladesh garment manufacturers produce high-end clothing that sells in Europe’s best boutiques.

The garment industry has fostered more than pure economic gains. Demography has also been a winner. Garment factories have become the great gender leveler in society. Most employees and managers are women, which has led to their economic empowerment and rise in stature in society.

At the same time, the Bangladesh garment industry is developing an international reputation for being smart and nimble. “Bangladesh offers ease of doing business, importing-exporting is faster. R&D on new styles is faster as you can import fabrics in three days. In India, it would take 10 days,” Vijay Mathur, an official with the Indian Apparel Export Promotion Council, recently told the Business Standard.

As a result, Bangladesh garment exports are likely to hit $27 billion this year, up 10 percent from 2015.

The economic success story of Bangladesh has also improved the health of its citizens.

Twenty-five years ago the average Bangladeshi could hope to live only to age 56. Today, that figure is over 70, which is among the most notable improvements in modern history, according to the Asia Foundation. In fact, expected longevity in Bangladesh is more than four years longer than in neighboring India and Pakistan.

Between 2000 and 2010, the number of poor in Bangladesh dropped 26 percent from 63 million to 47 million. Today, the overall rate of poverty in the country is 22 percent, down from 40 percent a decade ago.

The World Bank reports that labor income has risen while birth rates have dropped, leading to lower dependency ratios and higher per capita income. The World Bank recently ranked Bangladesh as a lower middle-income nation for the first time.

The economic surge started after the Awami League, the nation’s ruling party, won in a 2008 landslide. The impressive growth has been nurtured and sustained by smart government programs, savvy foreign investment and the entrepreneurial spirit of Bangladeshis, especially its young people who are increasingly English speaking and digitally savvy.

The bottom line is that Bangladesh is a legitimate – if underreported – economic success story, and one that is only in its beginning.

 

[Nilgiri]

I would differ in saying that "transmission costs" are actually not "minimal". Setting up new transmission towers and substations are anything but inexpensive and require install locations and funding (more expensive than India for example), both of which are scarce.

The population density in Bangladesh is much, much higher in urban areas of course and may be one of the highest in the region. Rural areas are populated but not as much - and offer plenty of scope for installing off grid solar arrays.

Certain uninhabited char (river island) and wetland areas of various types (called baor, haor, jheel and beel) may offer areas for industrial solar arrays.

Per wiki,
"A beel is usually a depression or topographic low generally produced by erosion or other geographical process. These are generally smaller and seen all over Bangladesh. These are marshy in character. Sometimes beels are remains of a river that has changed its course. Many of the beels dry up in the winter but during the rains expand into broad and shallow sheets of water, which may be described as fresh water lagoons."

Beels are mostly located in north eastern Bangladesh which used to be swamp forests with water resistant trees, like Ratargul in Sylhet, which still exists.

But majority of mini-grid solar arrays in Bangladesh will be built in areas where the grid cannot be extended to.

A huge number have already been built,

http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/energy/news/bangladesh-powers-ahead-on-off-grid-solar.html

http://en.sma-sunny.com/en/electrif...adesh-with-green-energy-and-smart-technology/

This is a mini-grid in Kutubdia Island off the coast a little North of Cox's Bazaar.

Here's a map showing some areas of smaller solar mini-grids, as can be seen they are along mostly off-grid corridors within river islands and newer coastal areas. This map is for only one (of several hundred) NGO's (CER) currently involved in solar off-grid mini arrays.

SN ----Project Location---- Capacity(kWp)------ Project

1. Raipura, Narsingdi 141 ShouroBangla Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Operational sinceFebruary, 2015
2. Bagha, Rajshahi 141 Hydron Bangladesh Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Operational sinceFebruary, 2015
3. Narayanpur, Kurigram 158.25 Gramer Alo Ltd. Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
4. Monpura, Bhola 177 Solar Electro Bangladesh Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
5. Godagari, Rajshahi 148.5 AVA Development Ltd Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
6. RupshaChor, Sirajgong 130 SolarGao Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
7. Daulotpur, Kustia 183.75 Parasol Energy Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
8. Islampur, Jamalpur 162 G-Tech Solution Ltd. Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Implementation stage
9. Chorsolmari, Kurigram 247 Uttaranchal Renewable Energy Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Approval stage
10.. Doulatpur, Manikgonj Superstar Renewable Energy Limited Households -Village shops -Small Industrial -Irrigation Pumps – Approval stage

The project locations are shown in the map of Bangladesh according to the above serial numbers.



11 mini-grids projects implemented or under implementation stage are designed by CER, UIU.

Each of these plants is expected to supply green energy to a 500 – 1200 rural households, 100 – 300 rural village market shops, 10 – 20 irrigation pumps, schools and the rural community clinic with energy efficient appliances.

I mean if you are setting up a lot of on-site generation (household rooftops) it saves on transmission.

But yeah looking at my sentence, its poorly worded, my bad.

Yah committing to transmission at high unit cost and relatively low distances (to recompense the advantage of AC transmission conversion) is pricey for small high density population like BD.

Are solar panels for minigrids like you show, financed by public (govt, public banks etc) or private banks mostly? Is grameen getting involved in the financing?

 

[Bilal9]

I mean if you are setting up a lot of on-site generation (household rooftops) it saves on transmission.

But yeah looking at my sentence, its poorly worded, my bad.

Yah committing to transmission at high unit cost and relatively low distances (to recompense the advantage of AC transmission conversion) is pricey for small high density population like BD.

Are solar panels for minigrids like you show, financed by public (govt, public banks etc) or private banks mostly? Is grameen getting involved in the financing?

They are financed both by public (govt.) and private entities such as banks.

However there are criteria and conditions to fulfill of course.

Renewable energy funding is provided by local as well as foreign grant sources such as world bank and GTZ (Germany).

Here are a few snippets from IDCOL (Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd.), the largest govt. lender.

 

[Bilal9]

Under construction superstructure - span for Padma Bridge

The padma bridge structures were carried to site by a transporter.

 

[Russell]

The padma bridge structures were carried to site by a transporter.

yup...but the pieces are then welded together in the purpose built construction yard