Category: Energy and Power

Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) has cancelled its long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract with Summit Group, almost a year after scrapping the company’s second floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) project. Bangladesh had signed four long-term LNG supply deals effective from 2026 – with Qatar Energy Trading LLC, Oman’s OQ Trading Ltd, US-based Excelerate Gas Marketing Limited Partnership, and Summit Oil and Shipping Company Ltd. Summit Oil and Shipping Company Limited (SOSCL), a subsidiary of Summit Group, was notified about the cancellation on 1 September this year, according to official sources.

under a 15-year Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) signed on 30 March 2024, SOSCL was to supply 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, about 24 cargoes annually, at $10.428 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) starting in October 2026.

earlier, on 7 October last year, Petrobangla cancelled the second Summit FSRU deal, citing failure to deposit the performance bond within 90 days as stipulated in the agreement. Petrobangla said the supply deal was tied directly to the commissioning of Summit’s second FSRU, for which the Terminal Usage Agreement (TUA) and Implementation Agreement (IA) were cancelled last year over failure to deposit the performance bond. ‘Since the TUA and IA with the second Summit FSRU have been cancelled, Article 3.3 of the LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement is no longer binding,’ it stated.

The Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA) and the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently at CIRDAP headquarters in Dhaka.

This agreement marks the first-ever partnership between a regional intergovernmental organization and a national renewable energy association to jointly promote rural development through clean energy across Asia and the Pacific.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mostafa Al Mahmud, President of BSREA, stated, ‘This partnership is both timely and significant.

Together with CIRDAP, we aim to empower farmers, cooperatives, and rural entrepreneurs by replacing diesel irrigation pumps, promoting solar households and villages, and introducing wind turbines in coastal areas.

This MoU will accelerate our shared commitment to sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience.’

Five members of a family, including three children, suffered burn injuries in a fire caused by an explosion of accumulated gas that had leaked from a cylinder at a building in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon upazila recently.

The victims are Manab Chowdhury, 40; his wife Bacha Chowdhury, 38; and their three daughters – Munni, 14, Tinni, 12, and Mouri, 6.

The injured are currently undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said Shawon Bin Rahman, a resident surgeon of the institute.

He added that Manab suffered 70 percent burns on his body while his wife had 45 percent burns.

Munni had burns on 28 percent of her body, while Tinni sustained burns on 22 percent and Mouri 36 percent.

The incident occurred in a ground-floor room of the threestorey building at Kanchpur BSCIC industrial area.

Ammonia and methanol are being promoted as low-carbon fuels and hydrogen carriers to support the global energy transition.

They are currently being evaluated as alternatives for clean shipping, power generation, and longdistance hydrogen transport.

However, despite strong interest, their large-scale adoption remains slow due to uncertainty in the demand outlook in a pricesensitive market, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s Strategic Intelligence report, ‘Ammonia and Methanol in Energy Transition,’ reveals that countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, and members of the European Union are backing low-carbon projects, while companies including Yara, Maersk, CF, and Mitsubishi are exploring large-scale investments to boost their production. Low-carbon ammonia capacity is estimated to grow to nearly 250 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2030, with more than 460 upcoming plants globally. Low-carbon methanol is projected to follow a similar path, with plant numbers approaching 150 by 2030. Yet many projects are in early stages of development, with some hydrogen-linked initiatives already seeing delays or cancellations.

Bangladesh’s renewable energy goals are at risk due to the country’s continued expansion of fossil fuel use, according to a new study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). ‘Without a clear fossil fuel phase-outplan,the countrymay struggle to achieve its clean energy targets, despite setting a 30% renewable energy goal by 2040 under the newly drafted Renewable Energy Policy,’ the report warned. Launched in Dhaka recently, the report titled ‘Revisiting Targets Set for Renewable Energybased Power Generation by 2040: Projection of ‘SMART’ Target and Required Investment,’ highlighted that fossil fuel capacity is projected to exceed actual electricity demand by over 4,000 MW in 2030, creating inefficiencies and reducing space for renewable integration.

By 2040, Bangladesh will need 35,713 MW of renewable power capacity to meet its 30% target, yet current trajectories fall short.

However, CPD warned that fragmented policies and the absence of a fossil fuel exit strategy create uncertainty for both public and private investors.

The partners claim this collaboration could provide enough energy to power the equivalent of approximately 60 new data centers as artificial intelligence (AI) drives unprecedented growth in electricity demand.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has signed an agreement with ENTRA1 Energy (ENTRA1), which plans to develop up to six gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power generation in TVA’s seven-state service territory.

ENTRA1 is a strategic partner of NuScale Power, a small modular reactor (SMR) developer.

ENTRA1 would drive the deployment, financing, investment, development, execution and management of ‘ENTRA1 Energy Plants’ that have NuScale’s SMRs inside.

ENTRA1 aims to develop and own six ENTRA1 energy plants and sell the output to TVA under power purchase agreements (PPAs).

The partners claim this collaboration could provide enough energy to power the equivalent of approximately 60 new data centers at a time when artificial intelligence (AI) and other e n e r g y – i n t e n s i v e technologies are driving unprecedented growth in electricity demand.

The government will provide funds from the public exchequer for setting up solar panels on the rooftops of all state-owned buildings, aiming to generate 2,000 -3,000 MW of electricity.

However, the state-owned entities, which generate their own income, will have to fund the installation of solar systems on their building rooftops using their own earnings, according to the National Rooftop Solar Implementation Guidelines.

According to the Renewable Energy Policy 2025, the government has set a target of meeting 20 per cent of the total electricity demand from renewable sources by 2030 and 30 per cent by 2040. Presently, only 5.6 per cent (1,563 MW) of the country’s total electricity is generated from renewable sources.

On the other hand, about 56 per cent of the country’s electricity is generated by using natural gas, the reserves of which are rapidly decreasing.

In this situation, the Power Division has formulated a “National Rooftop Solar Program” to ensure energy security and prioritize renewable energy, according to the guidelines.

The program received approval from the Advisory Council in June, targeting the generation of 2,000 MW to 3,000 MW of electricity across the country by utilizing the rooftops of governmentowned offices, hospitals, and educational institutions.

Under the initiative, all the government entities would install solar panels on the roofs of their respective buildings with funds to be provided by the government, officials said.

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.