Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 39 2022

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Bangladesh looking to

Asian big guns to boost

renewables

BANGLADESH REPORTS from Bangladesh indicate that the Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid
government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently admitted to regional media that “to
Wazed in Dhaka is starting to look to some of its produce 40% of [electricity] from renewable
larger East Asian neighbours for aid in meeting sources, we need huge investment. We need
a pledge given at the COP26 Climate Summit in $80bn to $100bn” between the end of the current
Glasgow just under a year ago. decade and 2050, and as such “we have started
As the world watched, Bangladesh promised negotiating with China, Japan, the Asian Devel-
to source 40% of its electricity from renewable opment Bank [ADB] and the World Bank.”
energy sources by the year 2041. Targetting China as a one potential key inves-
To do so would mean a huge shift away from tor in the country’s bid to wean itself off coal, gas
its current energy sources of gas, coal and oil. and oil, and to help increase renewables infra-
But to get anywhere near achieving the pledge structure, though, is already being frowned
given in Glasgow, Dhaka needs to secure funds upon, particularly so given Beijing’s policy in
in the region of $80bn-100bn; a sum almost recent years to employ a debt-trap system, forc-
impossible to find at home in one of South Asia’s ing nations in the region unable to make loan
most impoverished nations. repayments on time to substitute real estate and
At present the national Bangladesh electric- militarily sensitive facilities to China.
ity generation plan is split into three parts, with At present in Tokyo, however, with Japan this
the first being seen as an potential indicator of week focused primarily on the funeral of assas-
the success of subsequent stages when the time sinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, no
comes. official announcements have been made by rele-
In stage one, total electricity generated from vant government bodies.
gas will be cut to 35% of the overall total, accord- One significant advantage China does have
ing to director-general of Power Cell, Moham- over Japan in any subsequent efforts to invest
mad Hossain. in Dhaka’s renewables plans is Beijing’s over-
As head of a part of the Ministry of Power, whelming domination of energy projects across
Energy and Mineral Resources, the Power Cell the country already in the pipeline.
executive notes that previous targets set in 2010 It is understood Chinese agencies, govern-
and 2016 have gas-generated electricity being ment and otherwise, already have financial inter-
cut by 70%, a figure now deemed over-ambi- ests in almost 90% of all existing energy projects
tious, according to local energy analysts. officially overseen by Dhaka.
At the same time, electricity sourced from Whether or not this will one day include a
renewable sources is projected to increase from turnaround of a number of ongoing coal pro-
the current 2% to around 10% of the total. jects China is backing has not been addressed
The 2% of present day power generation directly by the government of either Bangladesh
capacity provided by renewables comes from a or China.
combination of solar and hydropower with just One source at the ADB, Siddique Zobayer,
1% each. has come forward to claim that such an about-
The remaining 98% of the nation’s total 22.5 turn would bring the 2041 goal of 40% of all
GW of installed infrastructure is made up of gas, electricity coming from renewable sources much
with 51%, with oil, coal and diesel making up the closer.™
rest.
Meantime, Bangladeshi Minister for Power,

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