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Cox’s Bazar 200 MW (SunEdison) Solar Power Plant

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  • 3 min read

Current Status: Shelved

Source: Representational Photo


Cox’s Bazar 200 MW (SunEdison) Solar Power Plant was an expected solar power plant in Teknaf. Southern Solar Power Ltd, a Bangladesh-based subsidiary of SunEdison from the United States, has intended to construct this solar power facility with a capacity of 200 MW in Teknaf, located in Cox’s Bazar. The projected cost for this initiative is around 240000 million. Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has agreed to purchase electricity from the solar plant to contribute to the national grid. The cost of this electricity was set at 13.6Tk for every kilowatt-hour (Stain and Partners ,2017). But at last that was not implemented because of various issues.


Capacity

Southern Solar Power Ltd, a company affiliated with SunEdison based in the United States, has aimed to establish a 200-megawatt solar power facility located in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar.


Context

On 9 January, 2017 the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Southern Solar Power Ltd (SSPL) for the establishment of a solar power plant. SSPL is a subsidiary of the US-based SunEdison and operates in Bangladesh. Additionally, the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited (PGCB) joined in this agreement, as it will be tasked with transmitting the generated electricity to the national grid.

Under the agreement, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) will buy electricity from Southern Solar Power Ltd (SSPL) for a period of 20 years, following a "no electricity, no payment" arrangement. According to officials, the power plant has gained approval from the government's purchase committee and was supposed to be established on a parcel of land spanning approximately 800 to 1,000 acres ( Energy Bangla , 2017).

Southern Solar Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SunEdison Energy Holding (Singapore) Pte Ltd, expressed its intention to finalize the project within a span of 18 months, in accordance with the established agreement (The Daily Star ,2017).


Land Acquisition

Approximately 800 to 1000 acre area was proposed to establish the power plant.


Finance

Southern Solar Power Ltd, a Bangladesh-based subsidiary of the US company SunEdison, signed an agreement to develop a 200 MW solar power plant in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar with an estimated investment of around US$300 million. The project was planned under a 20-year power purchase agreement with BPDB and the tariff will be on a "no electricity no payment" (The Daily Star, 2017). 


Sponsor

Southern Solar Power Ltd (SSPL)  would sponsored this power plant 


Contractor

JINKO Solar, a Chinese firm, has been proposed to  implement the project under an engineering procurement contract.


Fuel Supply

Solar energy  was expected to be used to operate this power plant .


Power Generation

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) agreed to purchase electricity generated from the plant for the national grid at a tariff of US$0.17 per kilowatt-hour. The Teknaf project is among a number of major initiatives planned under the government’s strategy to achieve 2,000 MW of renewable energy capacity, which was targeted to account for about 10% of the country’s total power generation capacity by 2020.(Daily Star.2017)


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 2017 (MOEFCC 1997). However, no EIA report was found for this power plant. A large amount of unused land could be used if this power plant could be successfully implemented.


Criticism

This power plant could add extra electricity and proper utilization could be possible but it is shelved now. According to the environmental conservation rule 2023, the project falls in the “Orange” category indicating it as a moderate harmful project for the environment (MOEFCC 2023)


References

 
 
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