The 5th Working Group Meeting of Energy Efficiency and Grid Integration of Renewable Energy (EEGIRE) project was held on 10 November 2020 on the topic “Q-Control and Power Factor Penalties Assessment and Mitigation and Technical Implications of Distribution Grid-connected Solar IPPs with Case Study of Mongla Floating Solar PV”. The meeting was organized by the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

The meeting aimed to draw lessons from the presentations of the local and international experts on the meeting topic. The tone of the meeting was set by Mr. Ali Zain, Team Leader of EEGIRE Implementation Partner GOPA-Intec. The first topic was on the subject of “Reactive Power control, i.e. Q-control and Power Factor Penalties Assessment and Mitigation”. It was presented by GIZ’s project implementation partner Energynautics from Germany. The other topic was the “Technical Implication of distribution grid-connected solar systems with a case study on the proposed 10 MW floating solar PV system at Mongla”. This was presented by Mr. Motiur Rahman, Sub-divisional Engineer, WZPDCL. The participants listened attentively to the technical issues raised and the solutions presented and recommendations. The participants asked various questions related to system stability, power quality and cost effectiveness of the proposed solutions in the context of Bangladesh. Special remarks were made by Mr. Al Mudabbir Bin Anam, Coordinator of GIZ Energy Programme in Bangladesh and Mrs. Salima Jahan, Member (Renewable Energy), SREDA.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Mohammad Alauddin, Chairman (Additional Secretary), SREDA. Representative from Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), Bangladesh Energy and Power Research Council (BEPRC), Power Division, Power Cell, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (DESCO), Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC), West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited (WZPDCL), Northern Electricity Supply Company Limited (NESCO), Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Dhaka University (DU), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA), Solar EPC Development Ltd., Teesta Solar Limited, Intraco-Juli Power Consortium, Rahimafrooz-Sunfeng Consortium, IBV-Fuwang Consortium Solar Park, PV Power Patgram Ltd., Symbior Solar and Holland Consortium, Consortium of Energon Technologies FZE & China Sunergy Co. Ltd., IoT for Bangladesh were present in the meeting.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing EEGIRE project in collaboration with SREDA on behalf of the Bangladesh Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).