Bangladesh Floats Tender for Rooftop Solar in Jute Mills

With the aim of boosting renewable energy goals and carbon reduction goals, the Bangladesh government has floated an international tender to lease around 63 lakh square feet of rooftop spaces on factory and warehouse buildings at 13 state-owned jute mills to install solar systems.

As per local reports, the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC), a government agency responsible for all public jute factories, has called upon interested parties to submit their proposals by 25 July.

As per tender documents, the lease will be for a duration of 20 years, with the option of extending the time-period based on the performance of the initial lease.

Once the tenure is completed, ownership of the solar parks will be transferred to the BJMC. “Usually, around 70,000 square feet of space is required to establish a 1MW solar rooftop facility,” said Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury, Director of the Centre for Energy Research at the United International University and a prominent renewable energy expert in the country.

It is expected to harness around 90MW of solar electricity from available spaces in the 13 jute mills in Chattogram, Khulna, and Rajshahi regions, said he.

BJMC Chairman Anis Mahmud informed, “The country has set a target to generate 10% of its total electricity supply from renewable energy sources. However, it is facing challenges in finding the open spaces necessary for installing solar energy plants. That is why the government is emphasising electricity generation by installing solar parks on the roofs of large buildings. As part of this approach, the decision has been made to lease the rooftops of the jute mills.”

The solar parks will be connected to the national grid, contributing to the country’s economy, said he. He further said that with this  initiative, it is expected to utilise the vast spaces prodcuctively and assist the government.

Currently, Bangladesh is getting a total of 154 MW electricity from 2,161 rooftop solar systems . Out of that, 84.588 MW comes from rooftop net metering facilities which meant that the facility can supply electricity to the national grid when it generates  more than it consumes.

As per the data from the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority, rooftop facilities of 69.934 MW were established without net metering. Now, the government is encouraging rooftop solar projects in the industrial sector and commercial areas amid land limitations resulting in the slow growth of renewable energy in the country.

As per local reports, on July 1 2020, the government had shut down all the mills operating under the BJMC due to heavy losses. Post closure, the government  decided to resume the operation of 17 mills in the private sector.

Currently, only three jute mills have returned to operation under private management, said the local reports, further informing that, the BJMC now has plans to lease out rooftop spaces to the private sector to produce renewable energy.