Governance of Solar Mini-Grid: A Case Study of Shourobangla Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini-Grid in Raipura, Narshingdi

Governance of Solar Mini-grid:
A Case Study of ShouroBangla Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini-grid in

Raipura, Narshingdi
The thesis work has been done for partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master in Development Studies (MDS) of United International University
School of Business & Economics

United International University
Dhaka
`
Raipura, Narshingdi
Submitted by
Sami Shahid Al Islam
ID: 125 163 003
Trimester: Summer 2017

United City, Madani Avenue,
Badda, Dhaka- 1212
`
Raipura, Narshingdi
Submitted by
ID: 125 163 003
Trimester: Summer 2017
Supervisor
Dr. Hamidul Huq
Professor

United City, Madani Avenue,
Badda, Dhaka- 1212
`
A Case Study of ShouroBangla Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini-grid in Raipura, Narshingdi
October 15, 2018
Dr. Hamidul Huq

Professor
Department of Economics
School of Business and Economics
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Subject: Submission of Thesis Report
Dear Sir,
As a part of Master in Development Studies (MDS) program of Department of Economics, School

of Business & Economics, UIU it is my great pleasure to submit herewith three copies of my thesis
report (MDS 698) on Governance of Solar Mini-grid: A Case Study of ShouroBangla Solar-
Diesel Hybrid Mini-grid in Raipura, Narshingdi for your kind acceptance. This thesis (MDS
698) is a requirement of my MDS program. In the course of preparation of this report, I have
collected primary data from interviewees. I have also collected secondary data from reports,
newspapers, journals, articles and information from internet. I have prepared this report by doing
analysis of both primary and secondary data that I collected during summer and fall 2017
trimester.
It has been a great opportunity for me to conduct this thesis work under your supervision. This
thesis work contributed enriching my research knowledge and skills. I have tried my best to make
this study relevant, informative and error free. Despite my best effort, there may remain some
error in the report.
I would be grateful to you for your kind acceptance of this thesis project.
Sincerely yours

ID 125 163 003
Master in Development Studies
1
Declaration
I sincerely declare that my thesis (MDS 698) work titled Governance of Solar Mini-grid: A Case
Study of ShouroBangla Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini-grid in Raipura, Narshingdi submitted to
Master in Development Studies program, Department of Economics at United International
University (UIU), Bangladesh, is an original work done by me under the guidance of Dr. Hamidul
Huq, Professor, Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, United
International University. This thesis report is submitted as a part of partial fulfilment of the
requirments for the degree of Master in Development Studies. The findings narrated in this report
have not been submitted to any other University or Institute for the award of any degree.

ID 125 163 003
Master in Development Studies
2
Certification of Approval
This is to certify that Thesis (MDS 698) report titled Governance of Solar Mini-grid: A Case
Study of ShouroBangla Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini-grid in Raipura, Narshingdi submitted to
Department of Economics at United International University (UIU) in partial fulfilment of the
requirement for the award of the degree of Master in Development Studies (MDS) is an authentic
and original work carried out by Sami Shahid Al Islam ID 125163003 under my supervision and
guidance.
To best of my knowledge, this is original thesis work of Sami Shahid Al Islam. I have accepted
this thesis report satisfactory in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of ‘Master in
Development Studies’. My student Sami Shahid Al Islam has not submitted this thesis to any other
University/Institute for the fulfilment of the requirements of any other course of study.
Supervisor
Dr. Hamidul Huq, PhD, WUR

Professor
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
3
Acknowledgements
I express my deep sense of gratitude to almighty Allah for giving me the scope to study and
complete my research work.
My foremost and heartiest thanks goes to my supervisor Dr. Hamidul Huq, Professor, Master in
Development Studies Program, Department of Economics, United International University for his
constant support, valuable guidance, valuable advice, supervision and constructive discussion
throughout the study, without which the work would not have been a success. I consider myself
fortunate to have worked with him. Without his dedicated guidance and valuable mentorship, it
was not possible for me to complete the work.
I am profoundly grateful to the Chairman of the Department of Economics for giving me permission
to work on this project work and providing all kinds of academic facilities for my research work.
Special thanks to my friends and senior students for their co-operation and hereafter my profound
gratefulness to my family who has given me continuous support through the study.
Last but not the least; I am indebted to my parents for inspiration and blessings, which made
possible the project work within time.
4
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 7
2. Objectives ............................................................................................................... 8
3. Methodology ........................................................................................................... 8
4. Findings ................................................................................................................... 9
5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 10
6. References ............................................................................................................ 10
7. Glimpse of the research area..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
8. Annexes ................................................................................................................. 12
5
List of Abbreviations
KWP Kilo Watt per Hour

MW Mega Watt
PV Photovoltaic
SHS Solar Home System
SREDA Sustainable and Renewable Energy
Development Authority
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
BREB Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board
SDG Sustainable Development Goals
IDCOL Infrastructure Development Company Limited
RE Renewable Energy
6
1. Introduction
With the increasing dependency of energy in every aspect of life, the world has inclined on to
more cost effective ways to generate energy. The race of producing energy recklessly has
brought upon the adverse effect of environmental damages it occurs. Producing electricity from
fossil fuel has impacted the nature dangerously which led us to risk of increasing global
warming beyond the minimum level. To address the issues of global warming, renewable
energy has emerged as a sustainable alternative and all around the globe it is introduced for
energy production in various forms. Among the various ways of renewable energy generation,
solar energy is leading the way with increasing number of developed technologies day by day.
One of the major barrier of solar energy production was the high price of solar photo voltaic (PV)
sheets which has been reduced in significantly in recent years.
Bangladesh has the ideal combination of both high solar insolation and a high density of
potential customers. Cheap solar can bring electricity to a major portion of people who still live
off-grid, bypassing the need of installation of expensive grid lines. Solar mini-grids offer the most
widely applicable and viable mechanism to provide electricity for under-served rural remote
areas, where sunlight is abundant through most of the year. The cost and availability of solar
photovoltaic (PV) technology has been steadily improving, and unlike a few years ago, solar
power systems now are modular and scalable based on the needs of the users.
Renewable energy-based mini-grids offer the benefits of boosting rural local economy and
enterprise development, thereby generating employment opportunities and raising household
income, while meeting their day-to-day energy needs. A well-planned and focused approach is
called for scaling up mini grids installations as per the needs of a developing country. Today, a
range of reliable RE technologies to generate, distribute and manage power for a wide variety of
applications are making the installation of mini grids popular.
Bangladesh government is promoting renewable energy in their policy in line with the promise to
fulfill SDGs. Bangladesh has been successful in becoming a role model in SHS with highest
number of installations in the world and intends to install 6 million SHSs across the entire
country by 2018.2 With the rapid increase of Solar home system in Bangladesh, the rural people
have accepted solar power as an affordable solution to meet their energy need instead of
conventional fossil fuel usage. Electrifying every individual household in this country is not
technically and financially feasible by extending the national grid. Currently, 2.86 percent of all
power generated in the country comes from renewable energy, including solar power, according
to power and energy ministry data.3 To electrify remote and off grid areas, SREDA (Sustainable
and Renewable Energy Development Authority) and BREB (Bangladesh Rural Electrification
Board) has signed a MoU identifying 1027 off grid villages eligible for development of renewable
energy based projects such as Solar PV where there is no conventional grid and less likely
future possibility of expansion by next 5 years. Bangladesh government has a target of 25 MW
electricity generation from solar mini-grids by 20214 and in this context, we need better
understanding of the governance issues of solar mini grid. In trying to achieve the goal of
creating renewable energy more affordable and accessible to remote areas, Bangladesh
7
government is encouraging private sector is involved with the process by offering them lucrative
financing options through IDCOL.5 Many private organizations already partnered with IDCOL
has started producing renewable energy through solar mini-grid projects. With increasing
number of these projects, it is high time to access the real scenario of these endeavors from an
academic perspective to find out scopes of improvement and document the actual success
stories. It will help to improve the current trend of such projects and at the same time,
encourage more enthusiasts to enter the market.
Considering all these facts, this paper was focused on the study of a solar mini-grid project to
document its governing system with a view to assess the critical aspects of the project and cope
for future expansion.
2. Objectives
According to the background of the paper, the objectives of the paper were-
1. To document the governance system of Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini Grid.
2. Assessing the critical aspects of governance of solar mini grid project.
3. Exploring the strategic options to scale up the mini grid project.
3. Methodology
To conduct the study, some stages were followed to maintain the proper flow. The stages
included:
3.1 Finalizing study area: ShouroBangla 141KWP Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini-grid in Raipura,
Narshingdi was selected as the research area. The reason behind selecting this project was
that it was one of the major commercially operated solar mini-grid project of the country which
helped to conduct interviews of different stakeholders of the study.
3.2 Selecting stakeholders for interview: For stakeholders’ consultation, criteria and
number of stakeholders were selected:
Type of people Number of

people
Mass people (subscribers of solar mini-grid project) 25
Project employees (people working in the project) 5
8
The study is focused on documenting the governance system of a solar mini-grid and for that,
interview of project employees were conducted. Interview of project manager, project planner and
field level workers were included among them. Also, interview of subscribers of the mini-grid
project were conducted which included diverse type of people to represent critical aspects of the
project from various perspectives.
3.3 Preparing Checklist: After selecting the stakeholders, checklists were prepared
comprised of appropriate questions. Different questionnaire was required for different type of
interviews. The checklists included perception based questions rather than statistical
questions, as the study is qualitative data based research.
3.4 Data collection and processing method: Individual interview method was followed for
the data collection of the study. The aim was to explore experience, perspective and
expectation of the stakeholders. Eventually, interviews provide insight beyond the prepared
checklists. After collecting qualitative data, the overall data was processed to get findings that
helped to document the governing system of a solar mini-grid and assessing the critical aspect
of such projects.
4. Findings
Findings of the study reveals-
4.1 Lack of adequate air ventilation system in mini-grid: In the mini-grid facility, there is
lack of adequate air ventilation system. This causes excessive heat in the inverter and battery
storage room while the mini-grid runs for longer hours.
4.2 Failure in demand-supply crisis mitigation: The study has found that the demand of
electricity has been increased in the research area rapidly due to solar mini-grid. As a result,
the supply of energy from solar mini-grid falls short than the increased demand. Existing
energy generation capacity is failed to meet the demand-supply crisis and needs capacity
extension on urgent basis.
4.3 Higher cost of production due to diesel dependency: To meet the increased
demand, diesel is used for more energy generation. In initial planning, diesel was supposed
to be an alternative for lack of enough sunlight. But, due to excessive use of diesel, production
cost is higher than it should be.
4.4 Load shedding due to lack of proper load management: Load shedding is a daily
phenomenon in the mini-grid connected area. It was not happening in the beginning of the
site operation, rather it has been started due to providing more connection than the actual
capacity.
9
4.5 Immediate planning for expansion is required: The mini-grid project owners didn’t
have any proper planning for expansion and reluctant about it. Although the field executives
are unable to meet the current demand with the existing production capacity. The mini-grid is
in dire need of immediate capacity expansion.
4.6. Risk of efficiency issues on equipment in the long run: There is a risk of efficiency
issues on equipment due to increased production load which will affect the mini-grid in the
long run.
4.7.Lack of knowledge on using solar energy responsibly: The general people have
lack of knowledge on responsibly using the solar energy. They use solar energy on high
power consuming electronic devices which is not recommended by the solar energy
producers.
5. Conclusion
Solar mini-grid is a viable energy solution for remote areas and it is a sustainable technology for
electricity production in comparatively lower cost. With the increasing number of solar mini-grid
projects throughout the country, it is high time to access the governing issues of such projects
with a view to improve its effectivity. On the other hand, it is also necessary to assess its quality
and capacity to meet the energy demand of a region, which is essential for the betterment of
newer projects.
This paper has focused on documenting the governing system of a solar mini-grid with a view to
assess critically and examine the scope of future expansions. One of the main limitations of this
paper is lack of technical data of solar mini-grid governing system which can be an area of further
research.
However, the findings represent greater opportunities for solar mini-grid projects. With further
improvements and creating scope of future expansion, solar mini-grid can be the next big thing
for renewable energy business in Bangladesh.
6. References
1. https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/177814/ban-making-renewable-
energy-success.pdf
2. https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/bangladesh-leads-clean-energy-use-1418806
3. http://www.sreda.gov.bd/index.php/site/page/8237-59ee-504b-dd46-c18b-d705-b93f-
7d35-a046-1f95
4. http://global-climatescope.org/en/policies/#/policy/4215
10
7. Snapshots of the research area
11
8. Annexes
Checklist 1: Subscribers of Mini-grid
1. Occupation:
2. Your approximate monthly household income:
3. What did you use before using mini-grid connection?
4. For how many days you are using mini-grid connection?
5. What is your monthly average usage?
6. What is your monthly average bill?
7. What is the quality of the connection?
8. Have you faced any power shortage?
9. Is the solar mini-grid electricity available throughout the year?
10. Have you face any difficulty in using mini-grid connection?
11. Have you received any training about using solar electricity?
12. Do you think the current production capacity of the mini-grid is adequate?
13. What improvement do you expect from the mini-grid connection?
14. Do you think mini-grid connection is cost effective for you?
15. Do you have any suggestion for improving the governance system?
12
Checklist 2: Employee of the project
1. Name:
2. Position/Designation:
3. Job Location:
4. How long are you working on this project?
5. Do you think there is enough manpower for this project?
6. What problems do you face in everyday operation of this project?
7. What is the most important governance issue of this site?
8. What has changed in the system after the operation has started?
9. What is the reason behind load shedding?
10. What is the current number of subscribers?
11. What is the current demand of connections?
12. What is the current cost of production?
13. What is the reason of increased cost of production?
14. Do you think immediate capacity expansion is required?
15. What is your suggestion to improve the current facility?
13

Governance of Solar Mini-Grid: A Case Study of Shourobangla Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini-Grid in Raipura, Narshingdi

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Governance of Solar Mini-Grid: A Case Study of Shourobangla Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini-Grid in Raipura, Narshingdi

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Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Governance of Solar Mini-grid:

A Case Study of ShouroBangla Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini-grid in

School of Business & Economics

School of Business & Economics

School of Business & Economics

October 15, 2018

Dr. Hamidul Huq

Subject: Submission of Thesis Report

As a part of Master in Development Studies (MDS) program of Department of Economics, School

Sami Shahid Al Islam

Sami Shahid Al Islam

Dr. Hamidul Huq, PhD, WUR

KWP Kilo Watt per Hour

1. To document the governance system of Solar-Diesel Hybrid Mini Grid.

2. Assessing the critical aspects of governance of solar mini grid project.

3. Exploring the strategic options to scale up the mini grid project.

Type of people Number of

Findings of the study reveals-

7. Snapshots of the research area

Checklist 1: Subscribers of Mini-grid

Checklist 2: Employee of the project

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