Bangladesh to continue relying on gas power: report

This is despite its 30% renewable energy target by 2030.

The power mix of Bangladesh will continue to be dominated by gas even as it set a 30% renewable energy target by 2030, Fitch Solutions reported.

According to Fitch, the Bangladeshi government will likely prioritise energy security amidst rising power consumption.

“Historically, Bangladesh relied heavily on gas power generation for its electricity supply. We expect this trend to continue through to 2031,” the report read in part.

The consulting firm also noted that with only 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of solar wind power projects, compared to the country’s total installed capacity of 25.3GW, it is unlikely that Bangladesh will meet its target.

Moreover, Fitch sees nuclear power will emerge in the market as the government pushes to diversify its power mix.

At present, Bangladesh expects some 2.4GW installed nuclear capacity from the Rooppur Nuclear Plant in 2023. Fitch, however, raised a downside risk as the nuclear plant has the Russian Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs as its financier, whilst Russian-owned Rosatom is its contractor.

“Whilst Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary, Masud Bin Momen, expects the Russia-Ukraine situation to pose no impact on Bangladesh’s projects, we retain our forecast of a staggered and delayed commissioning of Rooppur Nuclear Plant’s two reactors,” Fitch said.

It noted that it projected that 1.2GW will come online in 2024 and another 1.2GW in 2025. Fitch added it does not expect the plant to be cancelled or be subjected to major delays.