The government has installed the biggest solar power plant on the rooftop of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics building in Dhaka.

The plant with a 200 kwp (kilowatt peak) generation capacity, equivalent to lighting up 5,000 bulbs of 40 watts, will meet a significant portion of the building's demand for electricity.

On Thursday, Planning Minister AK Khandker inaugurated the plant, which has been installed at a cost of more thanTk2.93 crore.

"We have installed the solar plant as using solar energy in offices can reduce pressures on the national grid and can directly help in protecting the environment," said Golam Mostafa Kamal, director general ofthe BBS.

The solar plant, installed by InGen Technology Ltd, will save around Tk 2 lakh in monthly electricity bills, hesaid.

The plant comprising 670 panels of 300 watts will meet around 40 percent of the electricity demand of the building in Agargaon popularly known as Parishankhyan Bhaban, according to Akhtar Hamid Khan, chief executive of InGen Technology.

The 11-storey building requires around 500 kwp electricity a day to

run lights, fans, air conditioners, computers and data servers, he said. "Of the total, around 200 kwp will come from the solar plant."

The solar plant has a grid-tie system to connect the electricity generated from renewable sources to the main power grid.

The plant, expected to last about 20 years, can save electric bills worth

around Tk 4.5 crore and fuel costs worth Tk 16 crore during the period, hesaid.

This project will also help the national statistical organisation comply with the Kyoto Protocol Agreement on Carbon Emission as the plant will reduce carbon emissions of 20 tonnes a month, Khan said.

The BBS building has now turned up as one of the largest prestigious green power buildings in Bangladesh, he added.

The government-run 57-kilowatt plant at Kaliakoir Hightech Park, a 50 kilowatt plant on the rooftop of Bangladesh Bank's main building and the privately owned 100-kilowatt one in Sandwip are the three other big solar power plants. The country produces 6,000-6,500 megawatts of electricity against a daily demand for 7.000MW on average, according to official estimates.

Seventy megawatts of power is already being generated from renewable energy sources with plans to produce an additional 49 megawatts from solar power, according to the budget document ofthe government.

suman.saha@thedailystar.net