Wind power in Bangladesh: extends bid submission deadline

The government has extended the bid submission deadline of three wind power projects by one month at the request of the bidders.

The plants, with 50 MW capacity each, will be set up in Chandpur’s Kachua, Khulna’s Mongla, and Cox’s Bazar’s Inani beach, reports UNB.

Official sources said state-owned Power Development Board (PDB), which invited the tender to implement the projects through private sector, rescheduled the closing date to July 30 from June 30.

“‘A good number’ of aspirant bidders, mainly from China and India, have shown interest in the projects,” said a top official of the Power Division, under which the PDB is working as a government entity.

They sought a deadline extension at a pre-bid meeting, he said, adding that the time was increased at their request.

Power Division sources said, the government has invited tenders from private sponsors to set up the wind power plants on build-own-operate basis in the next two to three years.

PDB will purchase electricity from the plants over a period of 20 years, they added.

Sources said the government had moved to implement a 100 MW wind power project in the offshore areas about eight years ago, but it has not yet been implemented due to the bidder’s failure.

Later, the government awarded a contract to an Indian consortium to set up a 30 MW wind power plant in Feni’s Sonagazi upazila.

Pros and cons of wind power

PDB officials said, wind power generation is one of the untapped sectors in Bangladesh.

The government’s move is part of its strategy adopted in its Power System Master Plan to produce 10 percent of the total power from renewable sources, they added.

Producing wind power requires no fuel, and hence, no harmful gas is produced.

Wind turns the turbines, which, in turn, drives the generator.

However, this green energy is not without criticism. It creates a loud noise, and a notable disadvantage is that power generation depends on the strength of the wind.

Therefore, no wind means no electricity.

About the project sites

Sites for the three projects were selected after a wind mapping exercise, with the financial support of the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

“Nine sites were explored, among which the three locations were selected, as wind speed, and velocity appeared very supportive for power generation,” said Mohammad Alauddin, joint secretary in-charge of renewable energy at the Power Division, reports UNB.

Officials said a wind power plant needs stable wind with minimum speed of 5 meters per second. Wind speed at the three locations was found to exceed that.

They said a number of wind turbines will be installed at each plant. Each of the turbines’ power generation capacity will be between 5 MW and 7 MW.

As per the study, the tariff of each kilowatt hour of electricity might be Tk 8-9, the officials added.