An Indian company, appointed by the Power Development Board, has found little potential for tapping wind power for electricity generation at two important locations alongside the sea shore, officials said. Regent Powertech found an average wind flow with less than 5 kilometres per hour speed at Muhuri Dam point of Shonagazi in Feni and at Mognama Ghat in Chittagong, they said.
‘But for commercial electricity generation using wind power requires more than 8 kilometres per hour speed on an average,’ power division deputy secretary Mohammad Alauddin told New Age.
Recently, Regent submitted a primary report based on data accumulated over nine months to the power division’s renewable energy wing in this regard. It will collect data of the pattern of wind flow at the two points for three more months, he said.
Alauddin said, ‘We will get the entire picture of the potentials of wind power at the important locations after the completion of wind-mapping for one year.’
When asked, he said that the government would continue conducting wind-mapping along the coastal areas.
Regent has been collecting data of the pattern of wind flow of a 100 metre height.
The finding of Regent was quite frustrating as the government was planning to generate five per cent of the total power from renewable sources by 2015 which would be 10 per cent by 2020, officials said.
The power board has planed to generate 100MW of electricity using wind power in the country’s coastal belt.
Regent was employed to set up a 15MW wind-power plant at either of the locations in Feni and Chittagong if they found to be technically viable for tapping the wind power.
Regent’s wind-mapping is the highest-range
study in the country as earlier studies did not collect data over 30 metres, officials said.
At least two wind-power projects located in Kutubdia and Shonagazi of Feni have been left inoperative for a few years.
-With New Age input
