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Report on Green Sector in Bangladesh

Background:

Bangladesh situated in the north-eastern part of south Asia is among the world’s most densely
populated nations (1252 people/km2) with a population of 163.18 million in 2016. Energy, and
more explicitly electricity, is a prerequisite for the technological development, higher economic
growth and poverty reduction of a nation. The future economic development of Bangladesh is
likely to result in a rapid growth in the demand for energy with accompanying shortages and
problems. The country has been facing a severe power crisis for about a decade. Out of various
renewable sources hydropower, geothermal, solar, tides, wind, biomass, and bio fuel can be
effectively used in Bangladesh. Solar energy is the most readily available and free source of energy
in the country and traditionally solar thermal energy has been utilized in different household and
industrial activities in Bangladesh. Several organizations have installed low capacity wind
turbines, mainly for battery charging in the coastal region of Bangladesh.

Progress in the wind energy sector of Bangladesh is not impressive. Micro Hydro Power Plants
can be installed in the north-eastern hilly regions and in the existing irrigational canal system
with a sufficient head. The only hydro power station of the country, the Karnafuly Hydro Power
Station with a generating capacity of 230 MW by 7 units, is located in Kaptai across the river
Karnafuly. There are scopes of integrated small tidal power plants in the coastal regions.
Biomass is the fourth largest source of energy worldwide and provides basic energy
requirements for cooking and heating of rural households in developing countries like
Bangladesh.

Green Energy Sources in Bangladesh:

Keeping pace with the global trend, Bangladesh has also attached due importance to
development of renewable energy. National plans — Five Year Plan, Power System Master Plan
— and policy documents including National Energy Policy, Industrial Policy 2010 underscored
renewable energy. Development of renewable energy has been identified as one of the programs
of Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. Renewable energy options are also
included in the Bangladesh National Building Code. A dedicated policy, Renewable Energy
Policy of Bangladesh, has been in force since 2009, which envisions having 10% power from
renewable energy sources by 2020. The government has established Sustainable and Renewable
Energy Development Authority (SREDA) to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.
To strengthen international cooperation, Bangladesh became one of the initial members of the
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the only inter-governmental agency working
exclusively on renewable energy. Those endeavors manifest Bangladesh’s commitment towards
development of renewable energy.

Sources:

1. Solar Power:

Bangladesh has a success story in developing off-grid rooftop solar power known as solar
home system (SHS) which has given electricity to a large number of people living in
rather remote off-grid areas and who would not have electricity otherwise. More than
four million SHS installed domestically have uplifted the lifestyle of these impoverished
people by providing small-scale power at their homes. But in the context of national
power demand and generation, the contribution of SHS is tiny, a mere 250 megawatt,
which is only two percent of the total power generation capacity in the country. In fact, in
the solar industry worldwide, large-scale solar power generation essentially means on-
grid solar (grid-connected). According to the government plan, renewable sources should
provide about 10 percent of the total power generation capacity by 2020, meaning
2400MW power generation from renewable sources.

The Government is now focused on development of utility scale solar power generation
and has targeted to award grid-tied solar power projects to the private sector with
capacities of 2000 MW by 31 December 2018 under Speedy Supply of Power and Energy
(Special Provision) Act 2010. The capacity of such projects will range between 5-100
MW with few of the projects being up to 200 MW. Infrastructure Development Company
Limited plans to finance at least 300 MW equivalent grid-tied solar power projects by
2019.
The World Bank has recently approved $55mn to expand the use of clean renewable
energy in rural areas of Bangladesh where grid electricity cannot reach easily.
The additional financing to the Second Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy
Development (RERED II) Project will install 1,000 solar irrigation pumps, 30 solar mini-
grids and about 4mn improved cooking stoves in rural areas.

The project, including the additional financing, will enable about 10mn people living in
villages, shoals and islands to access electricity and use energy efficient cooking stoves.
These interventions will help the country reduce carbon emissions.

Today, the country has one of the world’s largest domestic solar power programs,
covering 14% of the population. Building on its success in using solar energy to provide
electricity in rural areas, this financing will also scale up other clean renewable energy
options. The project has already built 10 solar mini-grids in remote areas, including
islands and shoals to provide grid-quality electricity. This additional financing will help
construct another 30 solar mini-grids. These will provide about 28,000 connections to
households and businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises.

Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) intends to develop a solar power zone
that will add at least 1,000 MW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity. The government agency
has taken steps to acquire about 4,000 acres (1,619 ha) of land in the village of Baher
Char in Chandpur district. Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) is willing to
install solar panels on a 1,000-acre site, while Power China has expressed interest in the
remaining 3,000 acres. The project will need to get the green light from the Prime
Minister's Office (PMO). If approved, power generation could be launched in phases
from late 2018

Solar based irrigation systems are innovative and environment friendly solution for the
agro-based economy of Bangladesh. The program is intended to provide irrigation facility
to off-grid areas and thereby reduce dependency on fossil fuel. Infrastructure
Development Company Limited has approved 629 solar irrigation pumps of which 607
are already in operation. The remaining pumps are expected to come into operation
shortly.

Infrastructure Development Company Limited has a target to finance 1500 solar


irrigation pumps by 2018. The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Bangladesh
Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF) are supporting this initiative.

2. Biogas-Based Power Projects:

Establishment of biogas based electricity plants in the poultry farms reduces dependency
on fossil fuel used forerunning captive generators. This also ensures bio-security and
proper litter management in these farms. Moreover, slurry produced in the digesters as
byproduct is a good bio-fertilizer.

According to the Livestock Department, currently there are more than 150,000 poultry
farms in Bangladesh with about 1,500 farms having more than 20,000 birds population.
So, Bangladesh has good potential for biogas based electricity projects.

In Bangladesh biogas is a proven technology. The plants constructed under Slum


Improvement Project (SIP), could show a very encouraging result. In order to extend
biogas program, it is suggested that based on field information biogas cell is to supply
design. The work must be supervised by some trained engineer, who will be responsible
for any default.

Infrastructure Development Company Limited has so far financed 9 biogas based power
plants, the largest one having a capacity of 400kW. Infrastructure Development Company
Limited has a target to finance 140 such projects with an average capacity of 50 kW by
2018. The World Bank, USAID and JICA are providing support to Infrastructure
Development Company Limited for these projects.
3. Biomass Based Power Projects:

Since Bangladesh is an agricultural country and rice is one of the main agricultural
products, rice husk is abundant in the country. Bangladesh produces about 6 million tons
of rice husk a year from about 30 million tons of paddy. Approximately 4 million tons of
rice husk are being used for rice parboiling, domestic cooking, poultry and fish feed etc.

Using gasification technology, rice husk can be used to generate producer gas, which can
then be used to run gas generators for electricity production. Furthermore, the by-
products of the gasification process can also be used to generate other valuable chemicals
such as precipitated silica, calcium carbonate as well as activated carbon.

Bangladesh's state-owned Infrastructure Development Company Ltd. has sponsored a


micro energy company called DreamsPower which, in collaboration with the World Bank
and the Global Environmental Facility, inaugurated the country's first advanced,
decentralized biomass power plant today. The facility, located in an un electrified town
named Kapashia (Gazipur district), is part of a rural electrification project that aims to
reach about 700,000 citizens through renewables.

The green power plant, the first ever its kind in Bangladesh, is a 250 kW biomass
gasification facility that generates renewable electricity from abundant agricultural
residues such as rice husks. Infrastructure Development Company Limited provided
concessionary loans and grants, sourced from International Development Association and
the Global Environmental Facility, for a total project cost of 25 million taka (€250,000)
of which the World Bank provided 60%.

Being located in an un electrified area, the plant is now supplying environmentally


friendly grid quality power to about 500 households and commercial entities for the first
time. The unique plant in the town supplies all the required energy in a decentralized
manner, without the need for backup from other sources. A total of 220 consumers have
been connected to the local grid, while another 2,300 applicants await connections.
Through the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Project,
commonly known as RERED, the World Bank is supporting these types of initiatives in
Bangladesh. Under this project, Infrastructure Development Company Limited is
installing thousands of solar home energy and biogas systems. The Rural Electrification
Board now wants to replicate the effort for biomass power plants.

Green transportation in Bangladesh

Government has increased taxes on private cars to encourage public transport. Compressed
Natural Gas (CNG) has been introduced as a fuel alternative of petrol and diesel. These steps can
be considered as important measures towards green transportation system. On the other hand, a
significant number of vehicles in this country are non-motorized at present times also, for
example- rickshaw, van, pulling-cart, bicycle, boats etc. These non-motorized vehicles also play
an important role in the way of greening transportation sector in the country although they are
slow and less efficient.

Green manufacturing operation:

Green manufacturing involves activities such as reducing and recycling whereas remanufacturing
involves activities such as reusing and product/material recovery. Reducing is a technique where
consumption of scare materials activities and/or energy is minimized whereas recycling refers to
the activities performed to recover materials from the product and reusing is the idea of using
intact parts of used products for manufacturing activities.

The potentiality on green financing in RMG sector of Bangladesh: There is also tremendous
growth potential for this sector in the future. However, a major environmental hazard present in
textile industries is the discharge of untreated effluent to the environment, causing pollution of
nearby soil and water. Therefore, textile and readymade garments (RMG) are crucial among
some specific sectors (sectors such as leather industry and brick) of Bangladesh that require
intervention in terms of providing green finance with a view to reducing pollutant and saving
water bodies and securing ecological balances.
Therefore, to be competitive and for the long term sustainability, there is no way for the sector to
implement or comply with international social and environmental standards. Under this
circumstance, entrepreneurs in the textile, RMG sectors have willingness to comply with the
international and national social and environmental standard but lack of finance has been
identified as a major hindrance to promote their factories in to green and compliance one. So,
there are huge scopes and opportunities of green finance in the RMG sector.

Conclusion:

The Government has made efforts to overcome the problems in the power sector. It is very much
possible to meet Bangladesh’s electricity demands in a sustainable way. However, by and large,
action-oriented national commitment from all stakeholders, including regulatory bodies, as well
as support from development partners, are the key to success in achieving the Government’s
declared vision of “Electricity for all by 2021”. Yet even with the best efforts of the Government,
the entire area of Bangladesh cannot be brought under national electricity grid connectivity.
Approximately 10 per cent of the remote areas will remain off the national grid. Therefore
Bangladesh has to depend on Green renewable energy for attaining sustainable energy targets in
Bangladesh.

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