Beximco’s Teesta Solar powers the national grid with 443.8 million units

Bangladesh’s largest solar power plant, Teesta Solar Ltd, has transmitted around 443.8 million units of electricity to the national grid in the last fifteen months.

The 200 megawatt (MW) plant, spread over 650 hectares on the banks of the Teesta river in Gaibandha’s Sundarganj upazila, was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 2 last year.

A recent visit to the site revealed that Teesta Solar Ltd, a subsidiary of Beximco, had installed approximately 550,000 solar panels.

Unlike conventional power plants that rely on gas, coal or fossil fuels, the plant generates electricity without the need for fuel or incurring raw material costs – a capability that is expected to last until 2043.

To connect the plant to the national electricity grid, a 35 km electricity transmission line with 122 towers was constructed. The line operates at 132 kilovolts and extends from the factory to Rangpur.

To protect the factory from natural disasters such as flooding and river erosion, a dam and a seven-kilometer road were built, which now also benefit the local community.

The total cost of the project exceeded Tk30 billion, with Tk22 billion financed through Beximco’s Sukuk bonds. This initiative marks an important step for Bangladesh in generating cleaner electricity and promoting environmental responsibility.

A study shows that adding 2,000 MW of rooftop solar capacity could help the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) save between Tk 52.3 billion and Tk 110.32 billion per year from dependence on expensive power generation and purchases of reduce inputs.

Engineer Md Tashikul Alam, who manages strategic planning and government affairs at Teesta Solar Ltd, said: “About 65 percent of our technology and equipment is imported from China. The remaining 35 percent comes from India and other countries, including those in Europe.”

He said it is possible to investigate whether suitable agricultural products, such as nuts, can be grown under the solar panels.

Gautam Das, in charge of projects at Beximco Power Company Limited, explained the benefits of solar projects in Bangladesh compared to traditional options that rely on heavy fuel oil (HFO), coal or gas.

“Solar energy is cheaper to maintain, more efficient in the long run and does not pollute the environment,” Das said.

He noted that as more solar projects are built, economies of scale will reduce costs.

However, he said, building solar projects in Bangladesh still remains expensive compared to countries like India, mainly due to logistics and infrastructure issues.

Shafiqul Alam, principal analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said Teesta Solar Ltd accounts for about 50 percent of the country’s total installed utility-scale solar capacity.

“Green sukuk was used to finance the solar project, which was the first in the clean energy sector,” Mr Alam said. “This paves the way for investors in renewable energy projects to use similar instruments, such as green bonds, to mobilize private funds.”

He added that such instruments have the capacity to streamline the implementation of sustainable energy projects and strengthen local entrepreneurship in the coming years.

According to IEEFA’s chief analyst, green sukuk can also be a viable option when attracting international investors for independent power producer (IPP)-based renewable energy projects proves to be a challenge.

The use of green sukuk proceeds in this project is innovative as this is the first such case in Bangladesh, Mr Alam said. “This success story may encourage other property developers to consider green sukuk as a financing option in the future.”

(email protected)