Bangladesh to grow coal power sector

Coal power generation capacity is expected to grow rapidly in Bangladesh over the next ten years, according to BMI Research, as the government seeks to take advantage of domestic coal resources and cheap imports.

Under plans to expand its power sector, the government expects generation capacity to grow to move than 30 GW. BMI Research estimates the country’s current power capacity stands at just 12 GW.

Gas will remain dominant in the energy mix – but coal power generation is also expected to surge to 24TWh in 2025 from just 3 TWh in 2016. The project pipeline for coal plants accounts for 40% of the total, behind on gas. Despite this, coal will remain behind gas, oil and nuclear power in Bangladesh’s 2025 energy mix.

Bangladesh will also see an increasingly role played in its energy mix by international firms, notable those from Japan and China.

The governments of both countries have adopted aggressive infrastructure export strategies recently and there has been growing competition between them within the infrastructure development space across Asia, BMI Research noted.

Japanese and Chinese firms are joined by others, including those from the US and India, although domestic companies will remain the dominant force in the industry with a 41% share of new power projects.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/power/10062016/bangladesh-to-grow-coal-power-sector-2016-939/