China-backed wind power plant goes into full operation in BD

With the last wind-driven generator installed, Coxs Bazar wind plant, the first centralized wind power project in Bangladesh that Chinese enterprises have constructed and invested in, was fully put into operation on Sunday.

The wind power project, located in Bangladeshs southeastern Coxs Bazar district, some 400 km away from the capital Dhaka, drew investment from Wuling Power Corp., a subsidiary of Chinas State Power Investment Corp., and was built by PowerChina Chengdu Engineering Corp.

Upon full operation, the project will provide Bangladesh with about 145 million kWh of clean electricity per year, reduce coal consumption by 44,600 tonnes and carbon dioxide emissions by 109,200 tonnes, as well as meet the electricity demand of 100,000 households.

Md. Abdul Kader Goni, the executive engineer of Bangladesh Power Development Board, said that with the plants establishment, Bangladesh has entered the era of commercial wind power.

Hei Zhao, general manager of the Bangladesh division of Wuling Power Corp., said this is the first time that Chinese enterprises have introduced wind power into Bangladesh as investors, filling the gap in the wind power field in Bangladesh.

"During the construction of the project, we used Chinese solutions, Chinese standards and Chinese equipment to promote the sustainable development of Bangladeshs renewable energy industry while training the first batch of practical talents in the field of wind power for Bangladesh and providing more than 1,500 local jobs," he added.

Manik Ahamed, a Bangladeshi engineer involved in the project, said that his country needs this kind of energy. "I have learned a lot from this project, such as how to produce more energy with wind and how to safely produce electricity in the grid of Bangladesh. Its hoped that I can do more for our power and energy development," he said.

Meanwhile, Goni expressed hope for further collaboration in energy between the two countries. "Now, the cooperation of the two countries in the energy field under the Belt and Road Initiative has achieved fruitful outcomes, such as this first-ever wind power project in Coxs Bazar. In the future, we hope that we can have more and more highly qualified cooperation like this to contribute to our energy field development."          —Xinhua