Difference between revisions of "Bangladesh Energy Situation"
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Revision as of 13:29, 22 March 2011
Overview
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= Energy situation =
Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest and most densely populated nations (population of 154 million, 1,000 inhabitants/km²), with grand parts of its people living in poverty. Data from the last Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2005 revealed that 40% of the country’s population was classified as poor, with incomes below the upper national poverty line. In rural areas this rate is even higher, counting 44% of the population as poor (urban areas 28%). One fourth of the population is considered extremely poor (urban: 15%; rural: 29%), having incomes below the lower poverty line. Access to modern energy services is one of the reasons for poverty and low economic development. Energy SupplyAbout 80% of the population of Bangladesh live in rural areas. The rural economy is characterized by slow growth, high unemployment, insufficient infrastructure and widespread poverty. Due to the lack of electricity supply in rural areas, the rural population depends mainly on biomass as a source of energy. Over 70% of total primary energy consumption is covered by biomass, mainly agricultural waste and wood. ElectricityDifferent types of power plants generate electricity and synchronize it with the national grid. There are some isolated diesel power stations at remote places and islands which are not connected with the National Grid. Terminal voltage of different generators are 11 KV, 11.5 KV and 15.75 KV.In the Eastern Zone (eastern side of river Jamuna), electricity is generated from indigenous gas and a small percentage through hydro power. File:Bangladesh installed capacity fuel.jpg Bangladesh installed capacity fuel.jpg The installed capacity in Bangladesh is about 5,500MW (December 2008). Bangladesh´s electricity supply strongly relies on gas: More than 80% of the power plants are fired by gas. Hydro power is responsible for 4.4% of the total electricity supply. A list of all power plants is provided by BPDB here (16kB). According to reports, Bangladesh at present generates 3,800 MW power daily against its pick hour demand of 5,500 MW everyday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday (4.11.09) said the government has taken plans to set up solar power plants to generate 280 MW by 2013. She told the parliament that the country, which has now short of about 1,200 to 1,700 MW power, would get rid of the power crisis by 2011 as 1,487 MW of power will be generated and added to the national grid by then. Bangladesh has signed a protocol deal with Russia on Oct. 21 after series talks on cooperation in the field of peaceful usage of atomic energy as the country plans to install a nuclear power plant in Pabna district, some 216 km northwest of capital Dhaka. Energy ConsumptionEnergy demand in the household sectorMost Bangladeshi households in rural areas (99%) as well as urban areas (66%) use biomass such as wood, cow dung, jute sticks or other agricultural wastes for cooking. Inefficient and poorly ventilated clay stoves produce fine particles, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, dioxins and other carcinogens (ROUSE 2004). Housewives are exposed to high levels of these toxins between three and seven hours a day. Research revealed that this indoor air pollution (IAP) occurs not only in the kitchen but only slightly lower in the living area therewith affecting also other family members such as children. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that more than 46,000 women and children die each year as a direct result of exposure to indoor air pollution, while many more suffer from respiratory diseases, tuberculosis, asthma, cardiovascular disease, eye diseases, and lung cancer. Right behind unsafe water and inadequate sanitation, indoor air pollution is the second biggest environmental contributor to illness worldwide (WHO 2007).Although the estimated per capita consumption of timber and fuel wood is one of the lowest in the world, biomass is becoming increasingly scarce and costly. The natural growth of forests as well as afforestation measures are too low to meet the consumption of the population due to inefficient burning of biomass for cooking purposes and high population growths, putting pressure on the economic situation of biomass-purchasing households. Poor rural households have to spend a significant amount of time on biomass collection. Wastage of biomass is depriving the soil of nutrients, resulting in unsustainable low levels of organic matter in the soil. The figure shows the distribution of the energy consumption of rural households. Nearly one half of the total consumption is for firewood.
Annual Household Energy Consumption: All Divisions (average per household)
Source: BIDS Survey 2004 ElectricityThe government’s vision of electrifying the entire country by 2020 through grid expansion may not be realistic due to inaccessibility and low consumer density in many rural areas, as well as financial constraints. To reach the government’s vision of universal electrification, renewable energy sources, in particular solar energy will have to play a vital role for off-grid electrification. Within the reach of the national grid Bangladesh is still reeling under 600 - 1200 MW of ‘load-shedding’. A situation which deteriorates during irrigation seasons, when the demand-supply gap reaches up to 1500 MW. Domestic and industrial sectors consume about 43% and 44% electrical energy respectively, i.e. a total of about 87% of power consumption occurs in these two sectors. Out of this, a large part of electrical energy is consumed for lighting. All power sector experts acknowledge that the maximum power gap occurs primarily during the evening. A way to manage the evening load is the introduction of energy efficient lights/lighting systems.
Access rateBangladesh is one of the world’s lowest energy producers. Electricity, critical to economic growth, has reached only about one-third of households, despite the country’s successful rural electrification program. With the exception of kerosene, commercial fuels are beyond reach for many. Bangladesh’s reliance on biomass for cooking will continue for several decades; Today only 40% of the Bangladesh population is connected to the electricity grid and in the rural areas, where 80% of the population lives, only 22% have electricity. A mere 6% of the entire population has access to natural gas, primarily in urban areas. Biomass fuels, collected mainly from the local environment only two decades ago, are fast becoming a marketed commodity as access to local biomass becomes ever more difficult. The stark reality is that many rural residents are dependent on such fuels as agricultural residues, dung, and even leaves and grass for cooking. Market situation for different energy technologies and servicesSolar EnergySolar photovoltaic: Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are in use throughout the country with over 300,000 household-level installations having capacity of about 15 MW (November 2008). Scaling-up of solar PV systems assisted by the development partners are being implemented through Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), Rural Electrification Board (REB), Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), NGOs and Private Organizations implementing solar energy program. There is a strong potential for solar energy within the country. Solar Thermal Power/Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)': The technology involves harnessing solar radiation for generation of electricity through a number of steps finally generating mechanical energy to run a generator. This technology needs to be disseminated in the country to supplement the power supply. Wind EnergyWind Energy has also made some inroads but its potential is mainly in coastal areas, and offshore islands with strong wind regimes. These coastal settings afford good opportunities for wind-powered pumping and electricity generation. Presently there are 2 MW of installed wind turbines at Feni and Kutubdia. BiomassBangladesh has strong potential for biomass gasification based electricity. More common biomass resources available in the country are rice husk, crop residue, wood, jute stick, animal waste, municipal waste, sugarcane bagasse etc. This technology can be disseminated on a larger scale for electricity generation. BiogasBiogas mainly from animal and municipal wastes may be one of the promising renewable energy resources for Bangladesh. Presently there are tens of thousands of households and village-level biogas plants in place throughout the country. It is a potential source to harness basic biogas technology for cooking, and rural and peri-urban electrification to provide electricity during periods of power shortfalls. Hydro PowerMicrohydro and minihydro have limited potential in Bangladesh, with the exception of Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill tracts. Hydropower assessments have identified some possible sites from 10 kW to 5 MW but no appreciable capacity has yet been installed. There is one hydro power plant at Kaptai established in the 1960s with present installed capacity of 230 MW. Other renewable sourcesOther renewable energy sources include bio-fuels, gasohol, geothermal, river current, wave and tidal energy. Potentialities of these sources are yet to be explored. Key problems of the energy sectorBangladesh is an energy-starved country:
Policy framework, laws and regulationsPoverty Reduction StrategyAll mentioned problems related to inefficient biomass and indoor air pollution use are addressed in the Bangladesh Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), chapters 5.H.1 ‘Conservation of Nature’ and 5.H.2 ‘Combating Pollution’:
General Energy policy, Energy strategyThe Bangladeshi Energy Strategy of 1996 with its actualisation in 2002 is the main document of the promotion of RE It focusses on energy supply in rural areas. In December 2009 the "Renewable Energy Policy for Bangladesh was ratified. It was intended to integrate this policy paper into the New Energy Policy (NEP). The NEP was developed in 2006 by the "Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme" in cooperation with the UNDP. The Renewable Energy Policy (Download PDF; 83 kB) contains the following parts:
Specific strategies (Biomass, renewable energies, rural electrification, energy access strategy etc.)
Important Laws and regulationsThe Private Sector Power Generation Policy (Download PDF; 135kB) shall attract private investment for installing new power generation capacity on build-own-operate (BOO) basis. Number of Fiscal Incentives are provided in the Policy for the private power companies. Some of them are as follows:
Furthermore a lot of procedures will be simplified and investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects will be facilitated. Short explanation to what degree EnDev activities are consistent with the national poverty reduction and energy policy
Institutional set up in the energy sector, activities of other donorsPlease confine your explanation to areas relevant for the intended project activities Governmental institutions
Private sector (enterprises, NGOs)
Activities of other donors, activities of NGOs
Short explanation to what degree EnDev activities will be coordinated with other donor activitiesThe ADB as the mayor donor took the coordinating role and acts as the chief negotiator. All international donor activities in the energy sector are coordinated by the Local Consultative Group in the ADB. Other important international actors in the energy sector are
Short explanation to which degree EnDev will be in line with capacity development needs of the partner
Other major activities in the country financed by BMZ or DGISActivities on governmental level
Private sector activities
Activities of NGOs
Reference to the planned EnDev activities
Planned cooperation
Further Reading
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