Focus on joint hydropower cooperation

Joint hydropower cooperation among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal could be a viable option for addressing the growing demand for energy in the region, experts said yesterday.

Hydropower has been exhausted in Bangladesh but it has tremendous potential in Bhutan, Nepal and northeast India, said Ainun Nishat, professor emeritus of Brac University's Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research.

Nepal has hydropower potential of 83,000 megawatts, Bhutan 40,000MW and northeast India 60,000MW.

“Joint hydropower initiative could be an emerging option,” he said at a seminar styled “New energy realities: building a resilient and low-carbon future”, which was held on the sidelines of the two-day Asia-Pacific Business Forum 2017 at the capital's Sonargaon Hotel. The opportunity for renewable energy is very limited in Bangladesh and there are safety concerns about nuclear power, he said.

But Bangladesh needs huge energy to grow at a 7 percent rate or more, so regional hydropower generation would be the optimum solution, Nishat added.

On the private sector's involvement in addressing the energy shortage, Abrar A Anwar, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, said it hinges on the regulatory framework and government policies.

Success in independent power production can be forwarded to alternative sources, Anwar added.

The Nepalese government has a target to harness 10,000MW of hydropower in 10 years, said Arbind Kumar Mishra, a member of Nepal Planning Commission.

He went to call for a regional grid and partnership for energy cooperation in the region. Energy partnership is crucial for a better future, said Arunabha Ghosh, chief executive officer of the Council on Energy in India.

Bhutan has so far harnessed only 7 percent of its hydropower potential, said Karma Tshewang, chief engineer of the department of hydropower and power systems in Bhutan. Nazimuddin Chowdhury, secretary of the energy and mineral resources ministry of Bangladesh, moderated the discussion.