Staff Reporter:
University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) has taken an initiative to set up new solar projects with private investment to ensure supply of solar power to the country’s public universities at a cheaper cost.
As per the plan, a target of generating about 60 megawatts of rooftop solar power has been set in 31 public universities in the first phase, said a press release.
The decision was announced at a review meeting on the installation of rooftop solar power in public universities at the UGC on Thursday.
It was informed in the meeting that currently the cost of each unit of electricity produced from solar power in the country is about Tk15. However, it is possible to reduce it to less than half in the operating cost (OPEX) model.
A feasibility study has already been completed in 47 public and one international university. The study has mentioned that initially 31 public universities can generate 52.5 MW of solar power, which will be increased to about 60 MW after infrastructure expansion.
UGC Chairman Prof Dr Mamun Ahmed presided over the meeting. Daffodil International University Dean Prof Dr M Shamsul Alam highlighted the technical and commercial aspects of rooftop solar power generation.
He said in the experimental OPEX model, the tariff per unit of electricity was Tk7.5.
“When the project capacity was increased to 3.5 MW, it came down to Tk7,” he said.
If policy support, customs and tax adjustments are made, it is possible to reduce the production cost to Tk6.5, he said.
At the meeting, Mamun Ahmed said, “The private investor will be fully responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of solar power plants in the OPEX model. As a result, there will be no need for any initial investment from the government. The universities will only pay for the electricity they use.”
He said if tenders are invited, supervision and quality control are ensured centrally, private investment will increase further.
This will result in a big saving in the electricity bills of the universities and the country’s overall dependence on energy imports will also decrease, he said.
Commission members Prof Dr Mohammad Anwar Hossen, Prof Dr Md Saidur Rahman, Prof Dr Masuma Habib, Prof Dr Mohammad Ayub Islam and Prof Dr Abdullah-Al-Mamun, UGC Secretary Dr Md Fakhrul Islam and 31 vice-chancellors of public universities were present at the meeting, among others.
