Context
Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and set to earning middle income status by 2021. Within this same timeframe, Bangladesh is committed to providing electricity for its 165 million citizens. Currently the country has sufficient electricity supply capacities. However, there are still voltage and frequency fluctuations in the power grid.
Regarding the grid infrastructure the country is facing additional challenges with the growing number of electric vehicles (primarily battery-powered rickshaws) as well as the integration of power from fluctuating renewable energy sources (mainly solar power) into the distribution grid.
A major barrier for stakeholders to integrate solar power into the electrical grid and improve efficiency is inadequate general and technical framework conditions.
Objective
The technical preconditions for further expansion of grid-connected decentralised solar power plants have been improved.
Approach
The project supports respective organisations to increase the integration capacity of the grid for decentralised renewable energy sources by strengthening the grid management capability. It also aims to reduce greenhouse gas emission in a tangible manner. The project is helping the industry, public buildings and private households to increase the use of renewable energy. The project comprises three components reflecting three levels of intervention.
The project enables selected distribution companies to operate their electricity grid more reliably with an increasing share of decentralised solar power plants and more efficiently through increasing digitalisation.
It systematically evaluates of innovative instruments, processes or technologies to increase the share of decentralised solar power systems at energy utility.
It enables the transmission company in Bangladesh (Power Grid Company of Bangladesh) to promote the stability of the transmission grid as a prerequisite for further increase of the grid-connected decentralised solar power plants.