Electricity from the first commercial project of rooftop solar power generation is expected to be available in the city from the June next as Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd (DPDC) has awarded contract to a private contractor.
DPDC officials said the rooftop solar project now in progress and they are expecting to get electricity from June next year as per schedule.
“We’ve already signed power purchase agreement (PPA) with Bengal Group to buy electricity from the maiden project at Tk 9.80 per unit”, Ramiz Uddin Ahmed, executive director of DPDC told UNB.
The capacity of the DPDC rooftop solar project is 750 kilowatt. Matsaya Bhaban at Ramna and Shikkha Bhaban at Abdul Gani Road, Shilpakala Acedemy in Segunbaghicha are among the six government buildings which will be brought under the project.
Under the project, the DPDC has arranged the rooftosp of these buildings under a long term rent and handed over those to the sponsor to set up rooftop solar panels. Only Shilpakala Academy building is yet to be handed over. “We received approval of the Cultural Affairs Ministry to use
their building’s rooftop. We hope we can sign contract with Shilpakala Academy soon”, said the DPDC official.
Bengal Group will implement the project on build-own-operate basis (BOO). It means the private firm will set up solar panels the rooftop of the six buildings at its own cost and operate the plants. The DPDC will purchase electricity at Tk 9.80 per unit.
Many believe that the project will be commercially viable as commercial rate of electricity tariff is almost same. Ramiz Uddin, also informed said the DPDC has undertaken another project to use its own office and sub-station buildings in the city to generate another 750 kilowatt electricity in the same way. The DPDC earlier installed a rooftop plant at Bangladesh Secretariat’s Cabinet Division building on a pilot basis. Desco, another distribution company operates in north-western and eastern part of the city, has undertaken another project to generate rooftop power from the government’s buildings.
The buildings include Uttara Haji Camp, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) Building and Indoor Stadium in Mirpur. Officials said the power distribution companies have moved for such rooftop solar projects as part of the government’s plan to generate 10 percent electricity by 2020 in line with United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (MDGs).
The goal No-7 of the MDGs is to ensure access to green and modern energy for the people. Uunder the theme, the government has already finalised a national plan to generate 3,168 MW power from renewable energy sources by 2021. Of this, officials believe, about 1000 MW electricity will easily come from the rooftops of buildings in Dhaka city.
