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Tangail 50 MW (Hanwha) Solar Power Plant

  • 2 days ago
  • 3 min read

Current Status: Canceled

Representational Picture (Source: ThePictureBox, Pixabay)


Tangail 50 MW Solar Power Plant, is a canceled solar power plant situated in Ghosh Para, Tangail District of  Dhaka Division, Bangladesh (Location: 24.2844, 89.9179). It was proposed by the consortium of Hanwha 63 City Co Ltd and BJ Power Company Ltd of South Korea, and Solar City Bangladesh Ltd, as a private Independent Power Producer (IPP) for 20 years. The Cabinet committee on public purchase had given permission to the proposal on setting up the solar power plant on 1 March 2017 but later in June 2022 it was canceled.


Capacity

The installed capacity was set to 50 MW.


Context

On 1 March 2017, the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase approved proposals for the establishment of four solar power plants across the country. These plants, with a combined capacity of 258 megawatts, were set to be constructed at various locations including the powerplant in Tangail. The total cost for this initiative was BDT 9,158 crore, covering a span of the next two decades. The consortium of Hanwha 63 City Company, BJ Power Company and Solar City Bangladesh Power Company was involved to set up the 50MW solar power plant at Ghosh Para area, Tangail for 20 years of tenure (DT, 2017a, DT, 2017b).


The government was going to purchase electricity at BDT 10.40 per kilowatt-hour unit. Funding for the power plants was anticipated to be sourced from international banks and financial institutions, as per statements from officials in the power division. The selection of companies was based on their financial robustness and ability to secure credit, according to an official. However, the exact investment details from these companies would only be known after the projects were implemented. The agreements required the completion of the projects within 18 months from the signing date, but it appears that this may not have transpired as expected (Byron, 2017). In June 2022, the power plant was considered as canceled (GEM, 2023).


Finance

According to the project proposal, the total project cost was set to be $131 million USD (Byron, 2017). 


Sponsors

The consortium of Hanwha 63 City Co Ltd, BJ Power Company Ltd of South Korea, and Solar City Bangladesh Ltd, was involved to set up the power plant (DT, 2017a).


Environment

According to Section 12 of the Bangladesh Environment Protection Act 1995, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is obligatory for any industry (MOLJPA, 1995). The polluting industries, such as power plants, have to go through an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and EIA as directed in the Environmental Conservation Rules 1997 (MOEFCC, 1997). But unfortunately, no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was found of this project. According to the environmental conservation rule 2023 the project falls in the “Yellow” indicating it as a slightly harmful project for the environment (MOEFCC 2023).


References

 
 
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