23 May, 2019
In Bangladesh, renewable energy only accounts for 3.04% of the country’s total electricity generation, which has led the Government to aim to increase its installed renewables capacity to 3,168 MW by 2021.
The Technaf Solartech Energy Transaction won both ‘Best Bangladesh Deal’ at the FinanceAsia Awards 2018 and ‘Solar Power Project of the Year – Bangladesh’ at the Asian Power Awards 2018.
Our team in Hong Kong led the advice for Standard Chartered Bank, and a separate team in London supported GuarantCo’s guarantee coverage.
Technaf SolarTech Energy Transaction
The Technaf Solartech Energy 28 MW solar project is the first utility-scale, grid connected solar project to be installed in Bangladesh. At peak production, the project is expected to cover up to 80% of the present energy demand for the Teknaf region in Bangladesh, and will result in CO2 emission savings of up to 20,000 tonnes per year.
The Technaf Solartech Energy Transaction represents:
- the first utility-scale solar project in Bangladesh to be delivered and constructed as part of the 1.6 GW solar target that was announced by the Bangladesh Government in 2017;
- the first time that the finance structure utilised, which included US Dollar and Bangladeshi Taka tranches and involving both Bangladesh and international banks, has been adopted in Bangladesh for a renewables project; and
- the first time that GuarantCo, a subsidiary of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, has been involved in a project in Bangladesh.
150 MW projects
The Bangladesh Power Development Board (“BPDB”) recently invited bids from international participants to install three wind farms on a build, own and operate basis for 20 years. As part of the tender, the BPDB has issued a draft power purchase agreement and implementation agreement to be entered into with the BPDB for the former and the Government of Bangladesh for the latter.
The wind farms will be built in Kachua of Chandpur, Mongla of Khulna, and Inani beach in Cox's Bazar and will be connected to the Bangladeshi electricity grid. Each wind farm will have a capacity of 50MW ±10%.
There is a pre-bid meeting on 30 May 2019, while the deadline for bids is 30 June 2019. Any clarificatory questions, or requests for further information need to be submitted in writing no later than twenty days before the deadline for bids.
Jennifer Van Dale, Partner, Eversheds Sutherland
jennifervandale@eversheds-sutherland.com
