Energy storage key to reach Bangladesh's ambitious 'decarbonisation' goals: EU Ambassador

Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley on Sunday said energy storage is a key instrument to reach Bangladesh's ambitious "decarbonisation" goals to ensure a reliable and uninterrupted power supply for all.

He also said energy storage is a concrete means of improving energy efficiency and integrating more renewable energy sources into electricity systems.

The European Union (EU), in collaboration with the Power Division, Ministry of Power Energy and Mineral Resources (MoPEMR) conducted the first of a three-day final workshop to disseminate the results of the study "Options for Energy Storage" in Bangladesh.

The opening event brought on board at a Dhaka hotel 130 people, among which high-level power sector government stakeholders, EU Member States and like-minded and international development partners.

Secretary (Power Division), Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Habibur Rahman attended the event as the chief guest.

Habibur Rahman emphasised that the present state of Bangladesh power system is conducive to the deployment of energy storage technologies which promises to result in significant advancement in the power sector.

The study was organized within the framework of "Team Europe Initiative on Green Energy Transition," as part of the "EU Global Gateway" strategy, aims at achieving as key objectives to assess available energy storage technologies for potential application in supporting the green energy transition in Bangladesh; assess current grid conditions and the role of energy storage in potential ancillary services; identify possible locations of energy storage solutions, including different levels of renewable energy integration; and develop the key steps for an energy storage roadmap for Bangladesh.

Besides sharing the study's outcomes and recommendations, this final workshop was also an occasion to build capacity on techno-economic-financial modelling of energy storage systems -through three parallel capacity building sessions, disseminate knowledge on business models and commercial structures applicable, obtain broad stakeholder awareness and buy-in for the Energy Storage Roadmap.

The study dissemination sessions were conducted by the study team leader Arbaaz Mohammad Nayeem, complemented by a keynote presentation on energy storage examples in Europe by the key expert Nikos Sakellariou.

The event will be followed during the next two days by a series of skills transfer technical sessions to deep-dive into techno-economic-commercial models, and by a high-level closing session.

Launched in June 2021, the "Team Europe Initiative on Green Energy Transition" aims at supporting Bangladesh to build a power system that leads to maximum coverage of the country's energy demand through renewable energy, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and demand through energy efficiency.

The initiative co-chaired by the European Union and Germany counts with support from Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, the European Investment Bank (EIB), Norway and Switzerland.