Member Info for Searcher

Nice positive way to start a Monday morning

As a result, if the price of electricity from Payra is calculated at Tk 12-13 per unit including the cost of coal, the price of per unit electricity from Adani plant will be about double at Tk 20-22 per unit, he added.

https://www.businessinsiderbd.com/bangladesh/news/32661/adanis-costly-electricity-to-come-to-national-grid-in-march

Just crazy!!!

https://www.newagebd.net/article/190841/mega-power-projects-create-2b-debt-a-year

The government must, in such a situation, purge the plan of all flaws and inadequacies for affordability and sustainability of the master plan. And, it must rise above all other interests to protect the interest of ordinary people in energy and power planning.

Experts say that such a highly ambitious goal for a technical document is flawed. It should, rather, focus on the near future so as to avoid any mistake that could add to fiscal burden in the long run. The document envisages 90,000MW of power in maximum demand in 2050, which is viewed as highly ambitious, that could benefit vested interests rather than ordinary people. The Awami League-led government has increased the installed power generation capacity five times to 25,826MW from 4,942MW in 2009 when it assumed office, but power generation ranges between 12,350MW, in the winter, and 10,250MW, which was the average in November. Wrong economic growth projection has already left the country in a situation with 60 per cent overcapacity in power generation. The plan does not talk of ways to reduce subsidies in the power sector without increasing tariffs, which experts believe is possible. The plan undermines renewable energy potential while it prioritises coal. It does not make any target-oriented plan to develop renewable capacity, the cost of which is rapidly declining. Experts say that Bangladesh could produce 22,000MW from renewable sources. It does not talk of domestic gas exploration and extraction and puts an accent on liquefied natural gas, which means import. What remains a worry is that the plan talks of advanced technologies such as hydrogen power which has yet to be settled as a reliable energy source.

Will we find out more by March 2023?

https://www.newagebd.net/article/189780/govt-must-purge-energy-power-master-plan-of-flaws

Govt must purge energy, power master plan of flaws

THE draft of the Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan, the document that the Japan International Cooperation Agency has prepared with three scenarios in focus predicting energy requirements up to 2050, has raised a fresh round of concern as experts believe that the plan is ambitious and unrealistic. Experts also believe that the plan, which has been in discussion since its submission to the power ministry in June, once implemented as it is, would add to fiscal burden and serve vested interests. Economists and experts, therefore, rightly put forth a call for an early revision of the document before it is put into a final form in March 2023. The Centre for Policy Dialogue presenting an evaluation of the master plan draft, which plans to establish 18 coal-based power plants for the generation of about 15,000MW altogether, at a press briefing in Dhaka on December 22 described the plan as flawed, especially in the promotion of fossil fuel and negligence to renewable energy ‘in pursuit of a highly ambitious growth.’ A former Power Cell director describes the document as being reminiscent of the 2016 Power Sector Master Plan, which has so far been viewed as disastrous, noting that the new plan pushes for dirty fuel such as coal when the world is moving away from it.
A basic premise of the master plan is to pursue a per capita income of more than $12,500 by 2041, suggesting a massive energy demand while the per capita income in the 2021 financial year was $2,824.

Proposed power master plan to create more idle capacity, add to subsidy burden: CPD

40% of clean energy, which includes coal, is now the target, and not 40% from renewables..

https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/energy/cpd-raises-question-about-power-tariff-enhancement-proposal-556230?amp

BANGLADESH TO RAISE COAL LIFTING AMID ENERGY CRISIS

We need energy. We have to survive,’ Nazmul Ahsan, chairman, Petrobangla, the government-owned national oil company, told New Age, after sharing their decision to lift coal from the Dighipara coal mine in Dinajpur.

https://ep-bd.com/view/details/article/ODI1Mw%3D%3D/title?q=bangladesh+to+raise+coal+lifting+amid+energy+crisi

In the same way, high quality bituminous coal estimated to be a billion tonnes in Barapukuria, Dinajpur awaiting extraction while Bangladesh imports low quality Indonesian coal.

Strategising resource mobilization

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/editorial/strategising-resource-mobilization-1671639586

Well how refreshing, this has to be, imo, one of the most detailed and positive RNS's we have ever seen, obviously the SP does not agree though lol, either way, this has given me a lot more confidence that we are moving forward, and that hopefully the end goal is finally in sight ....

Good to see the pressure is building to remove Hasina ….
The Bangladesh people are starting to shout louder than ever, her removal can’t happen soon enough!!

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/12/16/bangladesh-economic-downturn-and-authoritarianism-spark-wave-of-protests_6008017_4.html

To be honest, one of the reasons that I posted the whole article is because I did read it as being negative news short term for GCM, yes it’s positive that the government want to use more coal, but if they do go down the route of more underground mining first then it will mean more delays before Phulbari is looked at again….
So many mixed messages coming through at the moment, a couple of weeks ago when Phulbari was discussed by MPs in parliament, I was feeling more positive than I have for years, but the article tonight just brings back the reality of the situation, if you believe the Bangla press in the conformation many have felt for years imho, in that until Hasina has gone we are not going anywhere with open pit mining at Phulbari … let’s just hope I’m either wrong, or that this is her last year in power!!!!

The analysis warned that power shortages, factory closures and social unrest in ****stan and Bangladesh might extend into the next decade.
Given that Bangladesh plans to add 600 mmcfd from domestic sources by 2026, the country will still have a deficit of 1,000 mmcfd against a projected demand of 4,207 mmcfd.
Energy expert Mohammad Tamim is optimistic about the global energy crisis easing after 2026, with Russian energy finding its way to the Asian market in some way or another.
‘Still, this is just an assumption. Nobody knows the course the Russia-Ukraine war is going to take,’ he said, adding that a lot also depends on how the current dollar crisis turns out.
Studies have exposed how coal poisoning affects the environment, polluting water, air, soil, and eventually the food chain.
‘To think that fossil fuel use offers the only exit out of the current problem is sheer stupidity,’ said economist Anu Muhammad.
‘Coal mining expansion will have unimaginable impacts, further enhancing Bangladesh’s financial burden and health and environmental risks,’ he said.
Fossil fuel projects were never feasible and always marked by irregularities and corruption, benefiting only a small group of people, explained Anu Muhammad.
‘Expanding the fossil fuel footprint will be suicidal. Bangladesh should tap its gas resources and invest in renewable energy,’ he said.
Authorities said domestic gas also offers no immediate solution as gas fields take at least eight years to be developed.

Coal mining was not an option to meet Bangladesh’s energy demand until the latest energy crisis struck the country, especially after a 2006 protest against open-pit coal mining saw several people get killed at Phulbari, Dinajpur.
Still, coal is set to dominate Bangladesh’s energy mix through 2026 after about 4000MW worth of power plants relying on imported coal will come into operation in a month.
Rising coal prices cast doubt on increased coal capacity resolving Bangladesh’s energy crisis.
Coal currently accounts for only 10 per cent of Bangladesh’s primary energy demand, and its contribution is set to double in a year.
Bangladesh met 90 per cent of its annual coal demand of over 76.36 lakh tonnes in 2019–20 through imports, mainly from Indonesia.
Bangladesh’s proven coal reserve is some 313.9 crore tonnes, with roughly one million tonnes extracted underground annually, about 65 per cent of which is used for electricity generation while the rest goes to brick fields and other uses.
Natural gas meets 60 per cent of the primary energy needs.
With infrastructure primarily designed to use cheap domestic gas, Bangladesh sought to meet rising demand by importing LNG beginning in 2018 and diversifying its energy sources by increasing reliance on coal.
According to a November 8 analysis by BloombergNEF, a strategic research provider covering global commodity markets, economies such as Bangladesh and ****stan cannot compete on price with Europe, and Europe’s LNG imports may increase by 60 per cent through 2026.

We will opt for underground mining,’ he said, adding that coal lifting from the mine might take six years to start.
The Dighipara coal mine is expected to produce 3,500 tonnes of coal daily.
Energy and power state minister Nasrul Hamid said that coal could have minimised the energy crisis had they developed coal capacity earlier and green activists not opposed its expansion.
‘International energy prices might start coming down by the time we get coal from the new coal mine,’ he said.
Located in Dinajpur’s Nawabganj, the Dighipara coal mine is still considered shelved by the San Francisco-based Global Energy Monitor, a non-government organisation tracking fossil-fuel projects globally.
In 2020, a feasibility study found 70.60 crore tonnes of reserves in the coal mine.
Bangladesh currently operates one coal mine with an average daily production of 3,000 tonnes despite sitting on a proven and probable gas reserve of 12.26tcf.
Densely populated Bangladesh is strongly opposed to coal mining, particularly open-pit coal mining, for its potential economic, environmental, and health consequences.

Bangladesh has decided to increase coal lifting in the coming years as the persisting energy crisis that has continued to plague life and business is unlikely to ease anytime soon.
The decision came as Japan, the world’s leading LNG importer, announced that long-term Liquefied Natural Gas contracts until 2026 have been sold out.
However, the decision to lift coal from newly-opened mines will take time to impact the country’s energy supply, as new coal mines need several years to be developed, officials said.
With only two long-term LNG supply contracts, Bangladesh saw dozens of its power plants go out of operation and production to halve at factories because of a gas shortage after being priced out of the LNG spot market.
‘We need energy. We have to survive,’ Nazmul Ahsan, chairman, Petrobangla, the government-owned national oil company, told New Age, after sharing their decision to lift coal from the Dighipara coal mine in Dinajpur.

https://www.newagebd.net/article/187921/bangladesh-to-raise-coal-lifting-amid-energy-crisis

https://www.newagebd.net/article/187921/bangladesh-to-raise-coal-lifting-amid-energy-crisis

Well done Hasina … Not!!

PDB gets 1,400MW coal power from Dec at double the cost

Due to the high cost of coal in the international market, the power cost from both plants will be much higher than estimated earlier.

Whereas Rampal's per kilowatt hour (or a unit) was originally estimated to be Tk7.7, it will now cost Tk14. Similarly, the Godda power will cost Tk15 per unit instead of the original estimation of Tk8.71.

Currently, furnace oil-based power costs around Tk15 per unit.

The government turned to coal-based power to increase energy security and save costs.

https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/energy/pdb-gets-1400mw-coal-power-dec-double-cost-538570?amp

Private power plant operators cry for unpaid bill worth $2.5b

https://en.prothomalo.com/business/local/si1afeik6n

Ouch!
This debt is just not sustainable…..

Importance of skills development in the energy sector

https://www.thedailystar.net/drivers-economy/importance-skills-development-the-energy-sector-1364845

Similarly, in spite of having vast amount of energy reserve in the form of coal, the promising Phulbari coal project namely had to be called off depriving the nation from potential electricity generation. The project, as reported by GCM, a London-based resource exploration and development company, was set to make use of 572 million metric tonnes of superior quality coal to add about 4000 MW of electricity in the national grid. Furthermore, the project could have potentially contributed to an amount equal to about one percent of the GDP and could also have generated as many as 17,000 jobs. However, inadequate local technical expertise and absence of good governance led to termination of this project. Moreover, the government had to hire technical expertise from India which was also against the public sentiment of local people. Had Bangladesh managed to ensure sufficient supply of skilled labour, such manpower import would not have to be considered.