Is energy security achievable in Bangladesh?
ACUTE shortage of electricity and natural gas has forced the government to resort to the establishment of rental power stations, bypassing official procurement procedures. For the moment the people are prepared to accept the government's compulsion to rent equipment and buy fuel at exorbitant prices, but they are aware that the crisis has arisen because of policy failures of past governments and the lack of readiness of the present one.
Unless a comprehensive energy policy that recognises the paucity of our natural resources and the need to invest in alternative energy sources and contemporary technologies is developed Bangladesh will not be able to achieve long-term energy security.
A much better and more permanent option would be to buy electricity from Nepal and Bhutan or, even better, to go into joint venture projects with them. This would, of course, depend on friendly relations and cooperation in South Asia. The government must be given due credit for actively championing this cause.
The projected establishment with Russian help of two commercial nuclear reactors in Rooppur has caused a lot of excitement and also some apprehension. When fully operational in the next seven to ten years these reactors will help to meet a substantial portion of our power needs and is, therefore, a welcome development.
Some valid concerns regarding cost, safety and security have been raised by many commentators in both the print and the electronic media. It is true that third generation nuclear reactors are much safer but they cannot be guaranteed to be failsafe, and Bangladesh is ill-equipped to manage a major nuclear disaster arising from leakage or meltdown. I expect that the government will review all safety concerns before signing the final agreement.
Although nuclear energy could fulfil some of our energy needs for the foreseeable future it cannot be a long-term solution as Bangladesh will remain dependent on others for enriched reactor fuel. Known reserves of uranium, contrary to what has been claimed, are expected to run out in the next few decades. It will be prudent to base our long-term plans on what is available in Bangladesh.
The coal and gas reserves in Bangladesh are national assets that belong to the people, and rights to these cannot be sold off for ridiculously low royalties to foreign companies. When local expertise and capacity are not available then the exploration and mining rights could be leased to foreign companies in return for payment of adequate resources tax; a better option would be to hire required expertise and equipment for a defined period.
Because of the very low reserves of fossil fuels and the huge domestic demand it would not be sensible to export even an iota of any gas or coal mined in Bangladesh before meeting domestic needs.
Bangladesh relies almost exclusively on natural gas for electricity production even though the known reserves of natural gas are very limited. There is no doubt that much more natural gas is required than is produced in Bangladesh. First, it should be established if existing gas wells are capable of producing more, and any imposed ceilings on higher production should be removed.
Secondly, there has to be a much bigger effort given to the discovery and mining of new wells, with preference for exploration given to local companies if they have the required expertise and capabilities.
Thirdly natural gas should not be wasted for the production of urea if alternative fertilisers can be found. Finally, the unrestricted supply of natural gas (CNG) at very low price to private cars, the owners of which can easily afford to buy gasoline, is another wasteful policy that needs to be stopped immediately.
Bangladesh has reasonable reserves of relatively good quality coal and there is no other option to using this valuable resource for economic development and employment generation, which are required for poverty alleviation.
Satisfactory solutions to the successful mining of each of the coalfields can be found through consultations and discussions with local residents, environmentalists and technical experts. Bangladesh should also seriously consider alternatives to mining such as in situ gasification and minimisation of atmospheric pollution through carbon capture.
Over the years, some local energy companies have built up valuable expertise, but much of it has been lost due to their under-utilisation and subsequent brain drain. Many of these home-grown experts, and NRB scientists and technicians that have been trained overseas, now hold important positions with multinational energy companies and academic and research institutions in other countries.
It would be best to create conditions to reverse the brain drain and, at the very least, to request NRB experts to volunteer their time to build up capacity at home. There are many NRB scientists and technicians who would gladly volunteer their time and valuable expertise during their annual holidays if the government and universities were prepared to look after their travel and local expenses. They could also form a pool of technical experts that could provide relevant and appropriate advice.
Bangladesh's known gas reserve will run out soon and the coal reserves will last for only the next few decades. Supply of enriched nuclear fuel, which is governed by geopolitical and security considerations, cannot be guaranteed for long as known uranium reserves are also expected to run out in the not too distant future. Moreover, fossil fuel-fired and nuclear power generation are technologies of the past, and we need to immediately start investing in environment-friendly and renewable energy technologies.
Large-scale production of bio-fertilisers from agricultural waste to replace urea would help to greatly decrease the pressure on the natural gas reserve. Lessening the use of urea will also decrease chemical poisoning of the soil and waterways.
The process is simple and the technology is already in place. All that is required is an active local government system to manage local agricultural and plant waste. Microbiologists and process biotechnologists in university and government research centres could help to improve efficiency and yield by speeding up the fermentation process.
Eco-friendly technology for the production of biogas is already available, and large-scale production from animal waste can be coordinated by local governments with the support of the BCSIR and the ministry of industry. Large-scale production of biogas in rural areas would decrease the dependence on natural gas for domestic purposes and also lessen the load on the electricity grid by powering irrigation pumps.
It has been suggested that Bangladesh could offset some of its oil import by producing bio-fuel from food grains and sugarcane. Diverting food to bio-fuel production is not sensible for Bangladesh. However, there are some innovative ways that can be adopted to produce ethanol from the breakdown of lignocellulose in plant material through newly discovered enzymes from wood-digesting insects and micro-organisms.
Large-scale biotechnological production of such enzymes could allow the conversion of agricultural waste into bio-fuel. Bangladeshi scientists should get involved in this type of research as production of bio-fuels from waste material has huge potential in our country.
The most promising renewable energy source is sunlight, which is available most of the year in Bangladesh. Although, on technological and cost considerations, solar energy
cannot match fossil fuels now there is huge potential for solar energy as elaborated in two excellent articles in the May issue of Forum.
In many parts of rural Bangladesh solar energy can form the major source of electricity. Now that solar panels are being assembled in Bangladesh the price will come down substantially and solar energy could become the cheapest and most abundant energy option. Further research to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic cells and decrease their cost of production should be a priority.
Because of low labour costs large-scale production of solar panels could attract substantial foreign investment, create jobs and become a major foreign exchange earner. This could pave the way for industrial scale solar thermal units.
The alternative and renewable energy sources that are likely to be a major part of our future energy plans are also friendly to the environment and an insurance against climate change. Their proper utilisation will require extensive investment in education, research and technology.
A substantial portion of the climate fund should be allocated to innovation and technology transfer related to the development of these new forms of environment friendly energy options that help to fight the adverse effects of climate change.
Ahmed A. Azad is TWAS Research Professor at the Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS), Dhaka University. Email: [email protected].
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