A subsidiary of China Engineering Group (CEEC) has entered into an EPC contract with Beringia Energy Global for the Bahar Chara Solar Power Project in Bangladesh. The signing ceremony was held at Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on March 19 local time. CEEC made the announcement on March 23, and the story was first reported by other renewable news outlets. The project is another significant contribution to the growth of the PV market in Bangladesh.
Beringia Energy Global has offices in Bangladesh and the US. It is a developer and a consultant of energy and infrastructure projects. Besides PV and wind projects, the company is also involved in gas-fired power plants, roads and railways, etc.
The Bahar Chara Solar Powr Project is located in the town of Bansu Sukkari, which is about 45km from the center of the port city of Chittagong. The generation capacity of the project is set at 500MW. CEEC said that a “rolling development model” will be adopted for the construction the PV power plant. Specifically, the power plant will be built over multiple phases. CEEC will be responsible for the EPC and trial operation of the power plant and the accompanying electrical substation.
Bangladesh is one of the major markets for CEEC in the region of Southeast Asia. Data from IRENA show that renewables accounted for 31% of the country’s primary energy supply in 2018, and hydropower accounted for 99% of the country’s renewable energy supply in the same year. Unfortunately, climate change has led to prolonged droughts in the country and impacted the generation performances of its hydroelectric dams. CEEC is working with the Bangladeshi government to vigorously promote the development of other renewable projects including PV power plants and wind farms so as to optimize the country’s energy mix.
According the reporting from the other news outlets, the Bahar Chara Solar Power Project is in an area that is rich in solar resources. Once up and running, the PV power plant will add to the share of renewables in the country’s energy supply.