Taylor Engineering and ph-consulting group say they have entered a Power Purchase Agreement with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for a 60-MW wind facility to be built south of Cox’s Bazar in the Chittagong Division of the country.
The first wind farm in Bangladesh may look like this artist’s rendition.
The facility, named The Bay of Bengal Wind Project, represents the first effort to generate clean renewable wind energy in the country. Project development includes infrastructure modifications required to transport the turbines from the deep-sea harbor in Chittagong, to the site 100 km south as well as transmission lines from the project to the 230-kV substation 8 km north of the project.
The consortium of Taylor Engineering and ph-consulting group will develop, build, and own the Bay of Bengal Wind Project while BPDB will purchase the power generated under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The project anticipates partial commercial operations by the end of 2013 and full operation by mid-2014, and will be operated and maintained by a yet-to-be named third party.
“This project is of tremendous importance to the region and symbolizes Bangladesh’s efforts to power this area by clean abundant renewable power from wind turbines,” says ph-consulting group president Peder Hansen. “We are pleased to implement state-of-the-art turbine technology and provide BPDB and the people of Bangladesh with clean, renewable electricity.”
Google Earth finds Cox’s Bazar on the coast of Bangladesh on the Bay of Bengal.
“Today’s agreement is a step forward in reaching our long-term goals of developing and generating green energy in Bangladesh” said Jeremy Gathright, Vice President of Taylor Engineering. A few more details describing the project include:
Engineering, procurement, and construction: The consortium has interviewed and vetted two potential civil engineering companies to assist in site engineering. P&H Foundations of Bakersfield, Calif. will be the exclusive foundation designer, using Dutch data from beach installations. Several local crane companies are capable of installing the turbines under our control and the supervision of the turbine OEM.
Wind Data: Atmospheric models show an annual average wind speed between 6.7 and 7.2 m/s and estimate a capacity factor of about 35%. A U.S. anemometry company will be selected to start the full atmospheric modeling based on real data from the site. Anemometers will be installed in a few months. Hansen anticipates using NRG equipment and data loggers which will be installed on cell phone towers close to the site.
Permitting: All land rights and permitting have been obtained from local officials or are in the final stages of negotiation.
Interconnection: The Bangladesh Power Transmission Company is obligated to build the collections lines between the wind site and the substation. The project will be given a position in the queue when the PPA has been executed. However, by paying a deposit of $100,000 per km of power line, the project will be given preference. This amount will be reimbursed over time once the line is energized and the turbines produce power. Interconnection timeline can be managed to coincide with the commissioning of the wind turbines. The Bay of Bengal Wind Project currently has direct access to a 32 KV power line which runs along the eastern border of the site and can be used for temporary power and turbine commissioning.
Substation: The site is located about 8 km from the substation. The substation is a dual circuit, 230-kV unit capable of handling 500 MW of continuous power. At the moment, only 60 MW is being distributed through the substation from one 230 kV line and onto four 32 kV distribution lines and several 12-kV lines. Our project can be expanded up to 400 MW before major upgrades. Building permits are forthcoming.
The Bay of Bengal wind project will be a large part of the electricity production in the local area which is increasingly dependent on eco-tourism and large hotel complexes. The consortium will employ as many local people and contractors as possible to have the best possible outcome and impact on the local economy.
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