The electricity situation has improved further in Gaibandha as country's largest solar power plant the Teesta Solar Ltd has gone to production recently.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the plant located at Latshalar Char under Sundarganj upazila of the district as she addressed a mammoth public rally on Rangpur Zila School ground on Wednesday.
The prime minister also witnessed the plant from the helicopter on her way back to Dhaka.
The construction work of the plant started in 2017. Beximco Group and its subsidiary Beximco Power Limited constructed it. Around five lakh solar panels were installed in the plant
The plant has been supplying power to the national grid experimentally since December 2022.
This 200-megawatt plant is expected to play a significant role in the solution of power crisis in the northern region including Gaibandha district.
To connect the plant to the national grid via Rangpur, a 35-kilometre long 132-kilovolt transmission line has been set up with 122 towers. Substations and inverters have also been set up.
The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Teesta Solar Limited have signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy electricity from this plant.
The people of the district already started getting the benefit of the plant.