Sadrul Hasan, UNB Staff Writer
Dhaka, Mar 4 – Some 5,000 consumers in nine remote islands of the country are now receiving electricity for 24 hours from locally-installed solar PV–based mini-grid projects to light up their houses and other establishments.
Even small and medium industries and irrigation pumps are being operated with the electricity coming from the renewable energy source.All these mini-grids having capacity from 60 to 250 kilowatt peak (KWp) have been set up by private investors with financial support from Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), a state-owned financing agency.
The operators of the solar system directly sell electricity to consumers and collect their bills through a pre-paid system. Consumers of such mini-grids have to pay Tk 30 for the use of electricity per unit. Each of the mini-grid has 800-1000 customers.
Official sources said private firms are investing 20 percent in the project while IDCOL is giving the remaining 80 percent where loan accounts for 50 percent and non-refundable grants is 30 percent. IDCOL is charging 6 percent interest for the loan. A 100 KWp project involves a cost of Tk 4 to 6 crore.
IDCOL officials claimed though the tariff seems to be higher compared to the rate of conventional electricity, at the end of the day consumers do not feel it as they use energy efficient appliances like LED bulb, LED TV and LED fans which ultimately make their cost affordable. “A common consumer in rural areas has to pay Tk 500 on average per month as bill,” an IDCOL top official told UNB.
IDCOL has planned to set up a total of 50 such solar-PV based mini-grids where each grid will have 10-15 km long distribution lines with 220 to 440 volt lines. “We’ve taken up plans to set up these 50 mini-grids in different remote islands across the country by 2018,” said IDCOL CEO Mahmood Malik.
He said 26 projects have already got approval for implementation of which nine came into operation while 17 are under implementation and the remaining ones in the pipeline.
The nine projects in operation are 100 kWp at Sandwip, 100 kWp at Kutubdia in Cox’s Bazar, 141 kWp at Bagha in Rajshahi, 141 kWp at Paratoli Island at Raipura upazila in Narsingdi, 158 kWp at Narayanpur in Nageshwari, Kurigram, 149 kWp at Char Asariadaha in Godagari, Rajshahi, 177 kWp at Monpura Island, Bhola, 228 kWp at Baghutia char in Doulatpur, Manikganj, and 188 kWp at Chilmari in Daulatpur, Kushtia.
IDCOL’s head of renewable energy Enamul Karim Pavel said all these solar-PV mini-grids are supported by standby generators. “If any disruption occurs in power generation and supply, these generators are kept ready to provide service. So, the consumers are getting uninterrupted power supply,” he said.
He also said these grid lines have been built overhead and each of the distribution lines are equipped with feeder system in every two kilometers.
