‘Govt targets 10,000MW solar power in five years’

The government has set a target of generating 10,000 megawatts of solar power within the next five years as it seeks to reduce dependence on gas, electricity and furnace oil amid the ongoing energy crisis said Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology and Science and Technology Minister Fakir Mahbub Anam.

The Minister disclosed the plan while inaugurating a 1MW rooftop solar power plant at Bangladesh Cable Industry Ltd (BCIL) in Khulna on Wednesday.

The minister said solar power generation should be expanded wherever suitable space is available, including rooftops of homes and unused land on government and private premises.

He said the government has also assured a payment of Tk 10.50 per unit for surplus electricity supplied to the national grid.

The BCIL solar project was implemented under the 180-day programme announced by the prime minister, Anam said.

The plant went into operation about a month ago and is already supplying surplus electricity to the national grid after meeting the factory’s own demand.

The 1MW plant meets around 900 kilowatts of the factory’s electricity requirement, while the surplus is fed into the grid.

Built at a cost of around Tk 5 crore, the project is saving the factory approximately Tk 15 lakh a month. The investment is expected to be recovered within three to four years, officials said.

The plant can also be upgraded to 2MW in the future, they added.

The minister said solar power is a natural and sustainable source of energy and its use must be expanded in view of the country’s current energy challenges.

The government is encouraging people to install solar systems and has taken an initiative to provide loans at an interest rate of just 1 percent, repayable through monthly instalments, he said.

Importers of solar power equipment are also receiving tax and duty benefits, he added.

According to the minister, around 30,000 acres of land have been acquired for solar power projects under the prime minister’s directive. Initiatives are also underway to generate electricity from wind power.

Solar projects will be installed, where feasible, at facilities under the Posts and Telecommunications Division, including BTCL, Teletalk, submarine cable facilities and hi-tech parks, he said.

BCIL faces growing market competition
Bangladesh Cable Industry Ltd has long played an important role in the country’s telecommunications and power infrastructure.

The company began its journey in 1967 as a joint venture between the then Pakistan government and West Germany’s Siemens AG. It became fully government-owned in 2005 after the government acquired the shares of the foreign investors.

Over the years, the company has diversified its product portfolio. It started commercial production with copper-based telecommunications cables and later expanded into optical fibre cables in 2010, HDPE silicon-core ducts in 2016, overhead conductors and power cables in 2019, and, more recently, super-enamelled copper wire.

Its products are being used in several major national projects, including the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the metro rail and Bangladesh Railway projects.