Various renewable news websites reported in the middle of this April that Paramount Textile Ltd. (PTL) had acquired a 49% stake in Dynamic Sun Energy Private Ltd. and now plans to form a joint venture with Dynamic Sun Energy to develop a 100MW PV project in Bangladesh. As its name indicates, PTL is a Bangladeshi textile manufacturer, but it also operates power plants and is branching into other businesses. The majority stakeholder of Dynamic Sun Energy is India’s Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Co. (SPInfra).
The project will be located in Pabna District in northwestern Bangladesh and entail an estimated investment of around USD 150 million, according to the reporting by news outlets and a disclosure document that PTL submitted to the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Dynamic Sun Energy has already signed a 20-year PPA with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) for the project. The price is set at USD 0.1195 per kWh. PTL told news outlets that it hopes to complete the project by the end of this year.
PTL also holds a 29% stake in Intraco Solar Power that is now developing a 30MW PV project in Rangpur District. This project is expected to be connected to the grid within the next one to two months. PTL is pursuing a strategy of diversifying business interests. In addition to the two mentioned PV projects, it also co-owns a 200MW thermal power plant in Sirajganji District. This operating power plant burns furnace oil.
In November 2020, Robiul Islam, company secretary of PTL, told Indian newspaper The Business Standard that his company’s primary business was doing well. However, due to intensifying competition in the textile market, the company had made the decision to expand into other areas such as renewable energy.
Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star reported in October last year that its government aims to install around 4.1GW of renewable generation capacity by 2030. Solar PV will comprise 50% of that total with 2.227GW, followed by 1GW of hydropower and 597MW of wind power. Presently, the country’s renewable generation capacity is just above 750MW. The share of renewables in the country’s total generation capacity is targeted at 40% by 2040.
In related news, a subsidiary of China Engineering Group secured an EPC contract for the Bahar Chara Solar Power Project this March. The project, which is set to have generation capacity of 500MW, will be built in Chittagong District.