en.Wedoany.com Reported - Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has launched a tender for 95 MW of grid-connected solar power projects, which will be developed by private sector investors at two locations.

Among them, a 70 MW solar power plant is planned for Cox's Bazar district, while the remaining 25 MW will be developed in the hill district of Rangamati. AKM Mohiuddin Azamy, head of BPDB's Independent Power Producer Unit Two, stated that the government will not provide land or financing for these projects. Private sector investors, whether local or foreign, will be responsible for arranging financing and securing land for the projects. BPDB will purchase electricity from the plants under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The deadline for submitting project proposals is August 25.

However, local project developers have expressed concerns about the policy framework for solar development. Mostafa Al Mahmud, President of the Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA), said the tender is unlikely to attract strong investor interest. He noted that since the government neither provides payment guarantees nor signs implementation agreements with developers for these projects, investors have shown no interest. Mahmud added that BPDB only signs power purchase agreements with developers, and without government payment guarantees, no bank or foreign company is willing to finance these plants. He mentioned that BPDB's recent solar tenders have mostly received lukewarm responses, leading to repeated deadline extensions.

Bangladesh's current total installed clean energy capacity is 1,805 MW, of which 1,513 MW comes from solar power.