The 60-megawatt windmill, the country’s largest windmill set up at Khurushkul union in Cox’s Bazar, started commercial power generation on Thursday.
The wind power plant was formally inaugurated at a function held at International Convention City Bashundhara in the capital.
However, 15-18 MW electricity is being added to the national grid right now because the power station is not fully ready yet.
Power Division officials said the Cox’s Bazar wind power plant project started in March 2022 with financing and technical support from China. The cost of the privately-owned project has been estimated at Tk 900 crore.
Ten turbines produce, on average, 15-18 MW electricity per day. Another 12 turbines are expected to come into generation within next month, said Project Director Mukit Alam Khan.
He said there will be no problem even if the wind speed increases a lot during natural calamities. Power generation will automatically stop when the wind exceeds a certain speed.
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen at the inauguration event said that China will continue support for Bangladesh to fulfill 40 per cent of its renewable energy target by 2041.
After the success of wind power experience, global investors are looking forward to invest in Bangladesh’s energy sector, speakers said at the ceremony.
According to Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), a 1 MW wind power project was commissioned at Sonagazi upazila in Feni on a trial basis. But due to technical reasons, the power plant was closed.
The total power generation capacity in the country is now 24,911 MW. Maximum 47.1 per cent of electricity is generated from natural gas, 26.38 per cent from furnace oil, 17.02 per cent from coal, 1.99 per cent from diesel, 0.93 per cent from hydro power, 1.87 per cent from solar and 4.71 per cent imported from India, according to BPDB.
The authority concerned has considered the coast and shallow sea as potential for wind power. Many foreign companies are showing interest to invest in the energy sector. Last June, Denmark expressed interest to produce 500 MW of offshore wind power, said BPDB.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told reporters recently that Bangladesh has given special importance to renewable energy. The 1,262 MW 30 power generation projects are underway and 8,668 MW power generation projects are under process. That is 9,930 MW power generation from renewable energy is in the pipeline.
