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Gazipur 52 MW (RPCL) Dual Fuel Power Plant

  • 15 hours ago
  • 4 min read

Current Status: Operation

Source: RPCL


Gazipur 52 MW Dual Fuel Power Plant, also known as RPCL Gazipur Power Plant, is a reciprocating engine-based power plant situated in Gazipur Sadar Upazila in Gazipur District of Bangladesh (Coordinate: 23.9933, 90.3435). It is sponsored by Rural Power Company Limited (RPCL), a State-owned Enterprise (SOE) under the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), as a Public Power Plant (PPP) for 20 years. RPCL declared its Commercial Operation Date (COD) on 12 July 2012 and according to the schedule, it is to retire on 11 July 2032.


Capacity

The installed and net capacity of the Gazipur Dual Fuel Power Plant is 53.54 MW and 52 MW, respectively.


Context

On 27 June 2012, RPCL and BPDB signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the establishment of a 52 MW Dual Fuel Power Station. The PPA was later updated on 24 September 2013 (RPCL, 2015). The EPC contract was signed with Concord Pragatee Consortium Ltd (CPCL) on 24 August 2010 and issued on 23 September 2012 (CPCL, 2012). The project officially began on 23 March 2011.


Meanwhile, an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract was signed with Concord Pragatee Consortium Ltd (CPCL) on 24 August 2010 which was issued on 23 September 2012, after 2 years of the contract signing (CPCL, 2012). Then, the project officially began on March 23, 2011. The Commercial Operation Date (COD) of the power plant was 12 July 2012 (RPCL, 2019).   Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) have a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with the Gazipur 52 MW Power Plant for consistent supply of power to the grid.


Land Acquisition

The RPCL Gazipur power plant occupies 3.15 acres (Google Earth) of the complex's total 60 acres, which also includes one 132/33 kV substation and three power plants.  


Finance

The estimated cost of the project is BDT 3060.66 million (Euro USD 35.75 million) (CPCL, 2022) which was financed by Rural Power Company Ltd. and Prime Bank Ltd (RPCL, 2019).


Sponsor

Rural Power Company Limited (RPCL), a State-owned Enterprise (SOE) under the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), sponsored it as a Public Power Plant (PPP).


Contractors

Concord-Pragatee Consortium Limited (CPCL) was appointed as an Engineering, Procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor.


Fuel Supply

Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines are optimised for running on gaseous fuels, with liquid fuel, including HFO used as backup fuel operation; the engine produces the same output regardless of which fuel is used, and switching between fuels takes place seamlessly during operation without loss of power or speed. (Wärtsilä, n.d.) The document's designation of HFO as the primary fuel therefore reflects actual operating conditions under gas supply constraints in FY2022–23, not the design intent of the engine. In FY2022–23, a total of 231.59 tonnes of HFO was consumed annually to run the plant at 50.8% PLF (BPDB, 2023).


Power Generation

The scheduled Commercial Operation Date (COD) of the power plant was 30 November 2011 (BPDB 2010). The Power Plant, powered by six reliable W20V32GD engines manufactured by Wärtsilä Corporation, Finland, generates 52 MW of electricity (RPCL, 2015). Each of the V-type engines generates 8924 kW, contributing significantly to the region's energy infrastructure. The power plant generated 231,585,768 kWh at 50.8% PLF in FY 2022–2023 (BPDB, 2023). 



Environment

According to Section 12 of the Bangladesh Environment Protection Act 1995, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is obligatory for any industry (MOLJPA 1995). Polluting industries, such as power plants, must undergo an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and EIA as directed in the Environmental Conservation Rules 1997 (superseded by ECR 2023) (MOEFCC 1997). But, to date, no IEE or EIA report has been conducted for the power plant. Besides, HFO power plants often require water for cooling purposes. Discharge of heated water back into water bodies can disrupt aquatic ecosystems and harm marine life. Additionally, leaks or spills of HFO can contaminate water sources, leading to pollution and ecosystem damage. According to the environmental conservation rule 2023 the project falls in the “Red” indicating it as a potential harmful project for the environment (MOEFCC 2023).


References

 
 
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