The BPDB has signed a power purchase agreement to buy electricity from a 68 MW solar power plant under construction in northwestern Bangladesh’s Sirajganj district. It has agreed to buy electricity at $0.102/kWh from the solar facility, which is currently under construction by Bangladesh-China Renewable Energy Company (Pvt.) Limited (BCRECL).

The project is scheduled to begin commercial operations by the end of 2023.

“We are now giving priority to renewable energy,” the board secretary of BPDB, Mohammad Selim Reza, told pv magazine, adding that BCRECL is also developing another solar power plant in Pabna district and a wind power plant in Patuakhali district, from whihc the BPDB plans to buy power upon completion.

Nirod Chandra Mondal, the joint secretary of the power division of the BPDB, said the PPA tariff was approved by the government.

“We are trying to lessen the power shortage by raising electricity from renewable sources,” he told pv magazine.

Chinese company Sinohydro was selected as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor last year. BCRECL is a joint venture of Bangladesh’s North-West Power Generation Company and China National Machinery Import and Export Corp.

Bangladesh currently has a 950 MW of renewable energy capacity, with 716 MW coming from solar.