Coal news and updates

Bangladesh’s coal power miracle on the rocks

The government’s promise to deliver on the country’s energy needs is on shaky ground as just five of 23 approved coal-fired power plants have completed the paperwork to begin construction.

None of the proposed workhorses of the government’s energy miracle have actually been built yet. The 23 plants are expected to add 20,865 MW to the national grid.

The five on-track plants are scheduled to be commissioned between 2018 and 2024, and are expected to bring 4,927 MW to the national grid.

The remaining 18 projects have seen little activity after the initial signing of agreements with the government or of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between the government and its private and public sector joint venture partners.

Project directors have not even been appointed to several joint venture and public power projects, even though the plans were conceived three years ago.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid is scheduled to chair the “Coal-based Power Plant Project Implementation Progress Meeting” to be held at Bidyut Bhaban today.

The Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Abul Kalam Azad, who expressed dismay at the slow implementation of the projects at a meeting on Tuesday, is also expected to attend the meeting. 

Large and medium Independent Power Producer-operated power plants will also be under review at the meeting.

Experts doubt that the progress report on any of the projects, which are being set up under private, commercial, joint venture and public initiatives, will earn very high marks.

The Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry portfolio is held by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The government plans to set up series of coal-fired power projects to generate 20,000MW of electricity by 2030.

Good news

Five projects are currently on track. They are the joint venture projects Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant in Rampal and Payra Power Plant in Patuakhali, each with a capacity of 1,320 MW; the 1,200 MW state-owned Matarbari Power Plant in Cox’s Bazar; and private company Orion Group’s 565 MW plant in Rampal and 522 MW plant in Munshiganj.

The Maitree plant is a joint venture of Bangladeshi state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) and Indian state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd.

The Payra plant is a joint venture of Chinese power company CMC and Bangladeshi state-owned North-West Power Generation Company Limited. Bangladesh-China Power Company (Pvt) Limited Managing Director AM Khurshedul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “We have invited tenders for the Payra 1,320 MW plant and are determined to start producing power by 2019.”

The Matarbari plant is owned by state-owned Coal Power Generation Company of Bangladesh Limited. Abul Kasem, managing director of the Coal Power Generation Company of Bangladesh Limited that owns the Matarbari plant, said: “We have had two positive responses to our invitation for tenders and hope to sign one of them soon.”

Orion Group is a Bangladeshi-owned diversified business conglomerate with interests in a number of sectors. Orion Group’s chairman is Obaidul Karim.

Plodding enterprise

For the two projects undertaken by S Alam Group –  both 612 MW plants in Chittagong – only agreements with the government have been signed, no other action has been taken.

BSRM has not yet even signed an agreement with the government after getting approval to operate the country’s lone commercial power plant.

Commercial plants are power plants that supply most of their energy to their own industrial operation, selling a limited portion to the government to supply the national grid.

India’s privately held Adani Power Ltd has done little more than signing a memorandum of understanding with the government to generate 1,600 MW electricity.

The Orion Group has left three of its five projects –  a 635 MW plant and a 282 MW, both in Meghnaghat, and a 282 MW plant in Chittagong – idle, with little action taken other than signing agreements.

Orion Group spokesman Chowdhury Khaled Masud told the Dhaka Tribune: “Two of our projects are now in the pipeline and we are hopeful that the remaining three will rapidly follow suit.”

Many memorandums

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the PDB and Malaysia’s consortium of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Powertek Energy Sdn Bhd (PB)  to set up the 1,329 MW coal-based power plant in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar.

Similarly, a MoU has been signed between China Hudian Hong Kong (CHDHK) company and the PDB for a 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant in Anwara upazila in Chittagong district.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and PDB have signed an MoU for a 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant in Anwara upazila.

Anwara upazila is also the site of a Singapore-Bangladesh 1,320 MW coal fired power plant for which an MoU has been signed.

Rural Power Company Limited is currently seeking approval from the Power Division to sign a joint-venture agreement.

Public plans

The public sector plans to add an ambitious 6,135 MW to the national grid. But the follow-up to the planning has been disappointing.

Ashuganj Power Station Company Ltd is planning a 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant, but has not even decided on a site for the project. The company has another plan for a 1,200 MW plant specifically for northern Bangladesh, but this has not been sited either.

PDB has two projects planned for Chittagong, each with a planned capacity of 1,320 MW. Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh has a 1,320 MW plant planned for Cox’s Bazar.

The PDB is also planning the proposed Barapukuria 275 MW  (3rd Unit) Coal-fired Thermal Power Plant Project.

The status of the public sector projects? They are all in the planning stage. Barely anything has yet been done to take them forward.

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Professor Ijaz Hossain says the government’s conception of the projects is itself flawed.

He asks whether coal mining sites and the coal distribution network was adequately planned for when these mega projects were proposed.

source: http://www.dhakatribune.com