Commercial operation of another solar power plant may start on June 30 on the bank of Jamuna in Sirajganj.

The "Sirajganj 68MW Solar Park," which was financed by Bangladesh and China companies, will be the 12th operational commercial solar plants in the country.

Eleven such plants now generate 536 megawatts of electricity, according to the national database of renewable energy.

"We have already completed construction work of the plant. Now we are working for commissioning the plant."

— Tanvir Rahman, project director

When the Sirajganj plant supplies power to the national grid, the total production will be over 600 megawatts from renewable energy, said sources.

The solar park has been constructed in Soydabad area near Bangabandhu Bridge at a cost of Tk 880 crore. Bangladesh and China Renewable Energy Company Ltd (BCRECL) and North-West Power Generation Company Ltd (NWPGCL) funded the project, whose construction work began on January 9, 2023.

Following power purchase and implementation agreements, NWPGCL and China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) started implementing the project, Tanvir Rahman, project director of Sirajganj solar park, told The Daily Star.

A total of 1.56 lakh solar panels have been set up to produce 68MW of power.

"We have already completed construction work of the plant. Now we are working for commissioning the plant," Tanvir said.

Line commissioning and other work for the commercial operation have successfully been completed, the PD said, adding that they are hopeful of starting the commercial operation on June 30.

"We will supply power to the national grid at a cost of Tk 11.20per unit," said Tanvir.

Talking to this correspondent, Khandakar Mokammel Hossain, a member of Bangladesh Power Development Board, said the government is determined to increase solar power generation.

"We are getting only 536 megawatts of power from renewable energy sources, but we want to get a significant amount of power from this sector. So, the government is patronising solar plants," he said.