Energy

By Emilio Godoy Reprint Villa De Zaachila, Mexico, Aug 2019 (IPS) – Reyna Díaz cooks beans, chicken, pork and desserts in her solar cooker, which she sets up in the open courtyard of her home in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of this town in southwestern Mexico. Read More »

Jeneponto, South Sulawesi — About 90 kilometres (km) south of Makassar and near the Flores Strait, 20 new wind turbines, with 80-ton rotating blades 63 meters long and 5 meters wide, are spinning fiercely on flat green fields in the Jeneponto District of Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province. Read More »

Dhaka, Aug 8 – The government is planning to invite international bidding within a year for oil and gas exploration in both onshore and offshore areas of the country, said State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid on Thursday. Read More »

Dhaka  – Bangladesh signed a nuclear fuel supply agreement with Russia on Tuesday for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) project. Read More »

Dhaka, Jul 30 (UNB) – Bangladesh Railway (BR) is going to set up rooftop solar plants in its stations, office buildings, junctions, workshops and staff quarters across the country as part of government’s plan to promote green energy across the country. Three major stakeholders — Power Division, Bangladesh Railway, and state-owned financing agency IDCOL (Infrastructure Development Company Limited) — have ... Read More »

The Government of Bangladesh approved Russian nuclear fuel deliveries for the Rooppur NPP. As a year has passed since the first concrete pouring, the construction goes as scheduled. Read More »

Dhaka, July 21 (UNB) – Power supply to Shahajala International Airport restored after seven hours of disruption on Sunday afternoon following a power-line disconnection in the morning. Power outage and disruption in water supply hit the airport in the morning, causing sufferings to passengers. Group Captain Mehbub, director (security) of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said power connection got partially disrupted ... Read More »

Dhaka, Jul 17 (UNB) – Bangladesh is likely to sign a nuclear fuel supply agreement with Russia in September next for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) project. According to sources at the Ministry of Science and Technology, a proposed agreement has already been sent to the Law Ministry for its vetting after it was approved by the Cabinet Committee on ... Read More »

Brussels, Jul 16 (AP/UNB) — European Union foreign ministers on Monday turned up the pressure on Turkey after approving an initial batch of sanctions against the country over its drilling for gas in waters where EU member Cyprus has exclusive economic rights. The ministers said in a statement that in light of Turkey’s “continued and new illegal drilling activities,” they ... Read More »

Dhaka, July 7 (UNB) – Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon on Sunday alleged that the recent gas price hike was aimed at creating a market for LPG in the country.Speaking in Parliament standing on the point of order, he also said such hike in the gas price without discussion in the House is a disregard to the House by ... Read More »

Russia celebrated the 65th anniversary of the world’s first nuclear power plant, which was connected to grid for commercial purpose. On June 27, 1954, Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant with just 5 MW capacity was commissioned by the then Soviet Union in the city of Obninsk, approximately hundred kilometers southwest of Moscow. The plant operated successfully for almost five decades until ... Read More »

Dhaka, July 7 (UNB) – A number of left-leaning political parties are trying to enforce a half-day hartal to protest against the recent hike in prices of gas for retail consumers. Supporters of the Left Democratic Alliance (LDA) brought out processions in the city’s Paltan and Mirpur on Sunday morning. The LDA announced the shutdown programme on July 1, a ... Read More »

Dhaka, July 5 (UNB) – The BNP on Friday extended its moral support to a half-day hartal to be enforced across the country on July 7 protesting against the gas price hike. The decision was taken at a meeting of BNP standing committee members at the party chief’s Gulshan office. “We’re extending moral support to the July 7 hartal called ... Read More »

Dhaka, Jul 5 (UNB) – Transport Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday said that there is no scope to reconsider the decision of gas price hike. The minister was speaking at party president’s political office in Dhanmondi in the morning. He said that the gas price hike was logical.  “There’s no scope to review the decision,” he added. The average gas ... Read More »

Dhaka, July 5 (UNB) – BNP on Friday alleged that the government has raised the gas tariff unfairly only to facilitate those ruling party leaders and businessmen who import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). “The only reason behind the gas price hike is to create a scope for making quick buck by their (govt’s) people who import LNG,” said BNP secretary ... Read More »

Dhaka, July 4 – Gonoforum on Thursday extended its support to the Left Democratic Alliance’s (LDA’s) half-day hartal to be enforced across the country on July 7 protesting the gas tariff hike. The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s presidium members, said a press release. Besides, the party announced some action programmes to register its protest against ... Read More »

Dhaka, July 04 – A writ petition was filed yesterday with the High Court challenging the legality of government notification of increasing the gas price without giving any prior notice. Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Eunus Ali Akond filed the writ petition with the related branch of the HC seeking a stay order on the government decision of hiking gas price. ... Read More »

Beijing, Jul 4 – Bangladesh and China on Thursday signed nine instruments for further strengthening cooperation on power, water resources, culture and tourism sectors as well as providing 2,500 metric tonnes of rice for the displaced Rohingyas. The instruments, including two loan deals, were signed in presence of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang after ... Read More »

Dhaka, Jul 1 (UNB) – BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday alleged that the government has raised the gas price to make the pockets of corrupt elements and businessmen heavier. “The gas price per burner has been increased by Tk 175. It’s aimed at only giving privileges to those businessmen importing LNG gas. They (govt) also did ... Read More »

Dhaka, Jun 30 – Describing the government’s decision to raise the gas price as an unjustified one, BNP on Sunday warned of waging a street movement if it does not back off from the move. In a statement, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir issued the warning. “The gas tariff has been increased at the consumer level illegally only ... Read More »

Dhaka, Jun 30 (UNB) – The average gas price has been raised by 32.8 percent for the retail consumers in the country with effect from Monday (July 1). Chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Monwar Islam announced the decision of the commission at its office on Sunday. As per the new price hike, the household consumers having single ... Read More »

Leaders have agreed on a climate deal similar to the one struck in Argentina in 2018. The US has again refused to commit to tackling climate change. World leaders attending the 2019 G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka on Saturday agreed to a climate change deal similar to that signed in Argentina last year. Speaking at the conclusion ... Read More »

By Frank Bainimarama SUVA, Fiji, Jun 27, 2019 (IPS) — Are the most climate-vulnerable nations of the world right to demand that developed and major economies commit to carbon neutrality by 2050? Should the poorest nations of the world insist that the “haves” put their significant economic and political resources behind aggressive efforts to combat climate change? Do we have ... Read More »

Dhaka, June 28 (UNB)— The government’s decision to set-up a coal-fired power plant at Rampal goes against the constitution, National Committee for Saving the Sundarbans (NCSS) President Sultana Kamal said on Friday. “Although the constitution says that every decision will be made according to the people’s choice, the government didn’t seek public opinion before approving the Rampal project. It makes ... Read More »

Dhaka, Jun 22 – The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) incurred the highest loss of Tk 10,271.58 crore (Tk103 billion) among 49 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the outgoing 2018-19 fiscal year (till April 30), according to the Bangladesh Economic Survey (BES) 2019. Thirteen other SOEs suffered a loss of Tk 13,068.62 crore (Tk130 billion) during the period against their previous ... Read More »

Dhaka, Jun 18 (UNB)– The proposed coal-fired power plant adjacent to the Sundarbans will not do any harm to the world’s largest mangrove forest, claims Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin. “Fears about damage to Sundarbans are unfounded,” he said a press briefing on World Environment Day at the Secretariat on Tuesday. He said that they visited ... Read More »

Dhaka, June 17 – Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Monday urged the government to stop all ‘controversial projects’ including Rampal power plant which might pose a threat to largest mangrove Sundarbans. Expressing concern over the UNESCO’s recent proposal of listing Sundarbans under the category of ‘World Heritage in Danger’, which will be placed at the 43rd session of the UNESCO ... Read More »

Most of the 23 solar projects that received “approval” from PM Office remain unimplemented Dhaka, Jun 16 — Bangladesh’s goal to generate 10 percent of its electricity from renewables by the next year will be a tough one to achieve as many solar power projects are yet to take off. The government had set a target to generate about 2,000 ... Read More »

Moulvibazar, June 14 (UNB) – Today marks the 22nd anniversary of possibly the first real man-made disaster affecting the environment to occur in Bangladesh, as a consequence of contracts signed between the government and the powerful set international oil companies, or IOCs.   On June 14, 1997 a destructive gas well blowout occurred close to midnight at the Magurchhara gas ... Read More »

by Kris Hartley, Asit K. Biswas Singapore/Hong Kong – The United Nations expects 68% of the world’s population to live in urban areas by 2050. As governments scramble to manage this flood of urban migration, they must address not only basic needs such as housing and employment but also issues impacting liveability and public health – including air pollution. Nowhere ... Read More »