Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy
Solar irrigation to help agriculture
The government’s policy support and the non government organizations’ (NGO) speedy operation are accelerating the rate of Solar Home System (SHS) installation outside national grid zones across the country. A total of 0.5 million installed SHS units are generating 25 megawatts of electricity, which is beyond the government’s expectation. Currently, about 20,000 SHS new units are being installed per month and Bangladesh has become an example of how quickly one can adopt green power to reduce carbon emission.
The NGOs working for renewable energy are helping the poor customers to go for SHS units at easy installments. Rural Services Foundations (RSF), one of the agencies run by Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy (RRE), is rapidly installing SHS units in the country’s coastal regions. The government has set a target for one million SHS units to be installed by 2012. But the rate at which such units are being installed by various agencies the target would be reached much earlier.
General Manager of RRE Sohel Ahmed said, now people living in islands and coastal areas can, in addition to other usages, recharge their mobile phone batteries, watch televisions, and use internet. In the hilly areas too people can work after dusk, clinic operators can use refrigerators to store life saving drugs and people in the rural market places can transact their businesses.
The RSF has established large number of offices in the country and is in a position to install SHS units anywhere in the country. As a result within a short period RSF has emerged as the second largest operator in SHS after Grameen Shakti, an agency of Grameen Bank. The RSF with increased number of offices and supporting staff is in a better position to provide extended services to the users of solar lamps, solar irrigation, and install larger number of SHS units and provide after sales services across the country.
According to Sohel Ahmed, the government is encouraging both the farmers to go for solar energy and entrepreneurs to provide services. This policy is also helping the entrepreneurs to get facilities at the customs and tax offices. As a result entrepreneurs are coming forward to invest their money in generating solar panel based electricity and adopt different ways of renewable techniques. RRE has installed the highest 20.6 kwhp (kilowatt hour pick) solar plant at the prime minister’s office and at Bangladesh Bank Bhaban in the capital and is also going to install another 33 kwph plant at the WAPDA Building. Demand for solar power-based transceiver stations for mobile phone operators’ is increasing.
He says in irrigation solar power is being used in many countries. RRE in this regard has come to solve this problem in Bangladesh where the farmers can not cultivate their lands due to irrigation problem. It has launched its first commercial solar irrigation pump in Bhola, the southern district with support from the Mutual Trust Bank (MTB). The Bangladesh Bank governor has inaugurated the Bhola solar irrigation pump. He said more trial based solar irrigation pumps are needed in the regions where water scarcity exists.
The Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy solar irrigation plant is a new avenue for bankers and willing entrepreneurs to invest in agriculture. This solar power generating operation is now being diversified. Now the company is to facilitate faster development of SHS by setting up a panel manufacturing plant in February 2011. The plant can manufacture solar panels to produce 18 megawatt of solar power when installed.
Sohel Ahmed pointed out that currently 60-70 per cent of the country remains outside the national power grid framework. People within the grid are also not getting enough power to meet their needs. The government’s decision of installing 2 units of 3 MW and 1 unit of 1 MW solar power plants under BOO (Build operate and own) basis would benefit the people to get electricity for their domestic use.
He said solar power always should be for domestic use. Large scale fossil fuel based power generation should be earmarked for industrial use. Bangladesh still has some potentiality of generating hydro power and such projects could be undertaken as PPP projects.
For wind electricity, the government needs to survey wind speed across the country. Map and necessary data of wind speed should be made available to the entrepreneurs to encourage taking up wind power generation projects. Besides, technological innovation is making it easier to install wind power plant to generate electricity at low wind speed.
The government has created a TK 2 billion fund for effluent treat plant (ETP) and renewable energy to encourage the new entrepreneurs. The central bank has used part of this fund for their roof top solar power plant. The rest is still unutilized. It should be used to introduce solar power in different government institutions.
For a 10kwhp solar power project at least 1,000 square feet solar panels are required which costs Tk4-5 millions. This figure is only for roof top power projects. For megawatt plants, the scale of economy would come into play and the investment would be less compared to roof top plants, he says.
