Category: Energy and Power

Arecent Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report by the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute found that air pollution reduces Bangladesh’s average life expectancy by 5.5 years, making it the greatest external threat to life expectancy and more impactful than smoking or malnutrition.

To address this critical issue, the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), in collaboration with the National Alliance on Cities for Children and Youth and Save the Children in Bangladesh, organized a two-day training program titled ‘Air Action Leaders: From Data to Impact – Training on Air Quality Monitoring and Report Writing’ on 28-29 August in Dhaka recently.

The workshop aimed to enhance the skills of youth in air quality monitoring and report preparation, combining important theoretical modules with practical, hands-on training.

The youth mobilization partners for this program included Prochesta Foundation, Amrai Agami, and the Youth Foundation of Bangladesh.

Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh’s solar energy sector claim the banks’ complex and conditional financing system is a major obstacle to the expansion ofrooftop solar system installation.

However, banks are calling the financing risk very high due to delays in returning investments, despite instructions from the central bank.

A discussion titled ‘Unveiling Solar Rooftop Finance: Towards a Sustainable Energy Future’ at a hotel in Dhaka recently highlighted challenges and prospects of this sector.

Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Nurun Nahar said the government will soon unveil a set of incentive programs to expand solar power.

Thediscussionwasjointlyorganizedby the Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable EnergyAssociation(BSREA) andActionAid Bangladesh. Naharsaid, ‘BangladeshBankhasbeen involved in solar plants since 2008.

Rooftop solar is now essential for our country.

A policy of 20 percent solar powerisbeing introducedinEPZs, EZs, and other economic zones. ‘New instructions are being issued for commercial banks and financial institutions.

The BPDB will take the initiative to launch cluster-based franchises in all divisional cities, including Dhaka and Chattogram. ‘An escrow system will be introduced to ensure payment security.’Efforts are under way to launch solar power projects in the public-private partnership (PPP) model using unused railway land,she added.

Alamgir Morshed, chief of Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), said the company will take the lead in financing rooftop solar projects, though banks’ participation could encourage mixed investments.

Everllence has been commissioned to supply the CO2 compression systems for Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) and the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) – two flagship projects within the UK’s government-backed East Coast Cluster decarbonization initiative in northeast England. NZT Power is poised to be the UK’s first commercialscale gas-fired power plant with integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS). NEP will provide the transportation and storage backbone of the East Coast Cluster, gathering CO2 from NZT Power and other industrial sources and permanently storing it in offshore geological formations beneath the North Sea – helping to decarbonize local power generation and industry on Teesside. Developed as a joint venture between bp and Equinor, NZT Power will generate more than 740 megawatts of dispatchable low-carbon electricity, equivalent to the average annual consumption of more than one million UK homes, while capturing up to 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan recently stressed the need for public awareness for sustainable development saying that citizens must adopt lifestyle changes and reduce overconsumption. ‘We must learn from our past mistakes and chart the course for our future,’ she said while addressing the ‘Bangladesh Sustainability Conclave 2025’ at the Dhaka North City C o r p o r a t i o n Auditorium in the capital.

She also emphasized the need for increased investment in food security, safe food, clean air, and safe water.

She said that it is urgent to formulate and implement time-befitting policies in these areas. ‘Bangladesh must transform into a beautiful, fertile, safe, and green country.

For that, we must move towards sustainability,’ said the adviser.

Mobile courts and drives were conducted recently, simultaneously in the capital and across several districts of the country.

A mobile court led by Sabrina Rahman, Senior Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Executive Magistrate, was conducted in Dhaka’s Bosila area. During the operation, one institution was fined Tk 20,000 for occupying roads and keeping construction materials in open spaces, while several building owners and contractors were cautioned.

Under the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, mobile courts in Feni, Sirajganj, Kishoreganj, Jhenaidah, Narayanganj, and Dhaka city’s Chawkbazar, Imamganj, and Swarighat areas conducted seven antipolythene drives.

These resulted in 15 cases, fines totaling Tk 62,000, and the seizure of 275 kg of banned polythene.

Additionally, electricity connections of three illegal polythene factories were cut off, and the factories were sealed.

BRAC EPL Investments Ltd (BEIL) has entered into a strategic partnership with Paramount Solar Limited (PSL) recently, with BEIL serving as the corporate adviser to support the solar company’s expansion in Bangladesh’s renewable energy sector.

The collaboration is expected to help PSL raise funds to scale its operations, invest in advanced solar technologies, and expand access to clean energy solutions across the country, according to a press release. “We are delighted to work with Paramount Solar Limited as they explore fund-raising options to further expand and grow their business operations,” said Syed Rashed Hussain, chief executive officer of BEIL.

Mohammad Jahidul Abedin, director and chief financial officer of PSL, described the move as a milestone for the company. PSL, one of the fast-growing renewable energy companies in Bangladesh, is focused on delivering clean, affordable, and efficient solar power solutions.

The company aims to empower communities and industries by expanding access to reliable solar energy, supporting the nation’s shift toward a low-carbon future.

Adani Power and Torrent Power have bagged orders to cumulatively set up 2,400 megawatt (MW) coal power plants from the Indian central state of Madhya Pradesh, the two companies said in separate statements.

MP Power Management Company has awarded a contract to Torrent Power to supply 1,600 MW from a new coal-based power plant that would require an investment of 220 billion rupees ($2.51 billion), according to a statement by the company.

Adani Power would supply power in the central Indian state from a new 800 MW thermal power plant with an investment of 105 billion rupees ($1.20 billion), its fourth major power supply order in the last 12 months, the company said in a separate statement. PrimeMinisterNarendraModi’s government aims to lift coalbased power capacity by 80 GW to more than 290 GW by 2032, an increase of over onethird, to ensure a reliable, round-the-clock supply.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) recently approved a series of import proposals, including the purchase of one cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the spot market and fertilizer imports for a total of Tk 2,000 crore. LNG will be purchased from TotalEnergies Gas and Power Ltd, United Kingdom, according to a proposal by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division placed at the meeting.

The cargo is priced at Tk 485 crore at a unit rate of $11.54 per MMBtu.

The government has reduced the price of LPG by Tk 0.25 per kg for September as international raw material costs stayed flat, according to the Bangladesh Energy R e g u l a t o r y Commission (BERC).

The price of LPG was set at Tk 105.87 per kg, down from Tk 106.11.

Accordingly, a 12kg cylinder – the most popular form – will now sell for Tk 1,270 instead of Tk 1,273.

A 15kg cylinder will sell for Tk 1,588, a 20kg cylinder for Tk 2,117, a 25kg cylinder for Tk 2,647, a 35kg cylinder for Tk 3,705, and a 45kg cylinder for Tk 4,764.

The price of reticulated LNG for homes has been set at Tk 102.12 per kg, while the Autogas price has been set at Tk 58.15 per liter.

Marina Tabassum, e m i n e n t architect, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Bangladesh National Museum, and Chief Consultant of the July Uprising Museum, has become the first Bangladeshi to win the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture this time for her innovative climate-resilient housing project, ‘Khudi Bari’ or climate-adaptive ‘Little House’. Designed to be lightweight and mobile, a Khudi Bari home can be built in three days and dismantled in just three hours, offering flexibility for families in vulnerable areas.

The Kudi Bari project gained momentum after 2022 with funding from the Swiss Development Corporation.

Tabassum initially tested the structures in Dhaka before expanding implementation to flood-prone districts, including Chandpur, Sunamganj, Jamalpur, Kurigram, and Meghna Char.