Bangladesh’s Power Development Board has issued a notice for a tender to select sponsors (companies that will fund and develop the project) for the implementation of two grid-tied solar projects of 50 MW capacity each.

The projects will be developed on a build, own, and operate basis for 20 years.

The projects are to be developed at the Chuadanga 132/33 kV and Netrokona (Netrokona District) 132/33 substations.

Interested bidders are expected to submit a qualification statement, commercial, technical, and tariff proposals for the tender by August 7, 2019. The bidders are also expected to furnish bid security for an amount of $250,000. A bidder can only propose one bid either individually or as a member of a consortium.

In March 2019, Mercom reported on the news of the Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (ECGB) and Alfanar of Saudi Arabia signing an agreement for the construction of 100 MW of solar power projects. The total capacity of 100 MW into two 50 MW solar projects would be developed as a joint venture project at Sonagazi in Feni district of Bangladesh.

In February 2019, the World Bank had approved $185 million to facilitate 310 MW of renewable energy generation capacity in Bangladesh to meet the growing demand for electricity in the country.

The funding was expected to encourage private sector participation in developing renewable energy projects in the country. According to the World Bank, currently, the share of the total installed renewable energy in grid supply is only 1.5% and has significant potential for scaling up. The project is expected to help provide better access to cleaner electricity as well as air by avoiding burning fossil fuels. It will help cut emissions by 377,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year.