The foreign direct investment proposal for the offshore wind facility was submitted by Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Copenhagen Offshore Partners in partnership with Bangladesh’s Summit Group in July this year
CIP, COP, and Summit Group get approval for their proposal of a 500MW offshore wind project in Bangladesh. (Credit: NiseriN/Summit Power International Limited)
The Bangladesh government has approved the $1.3bn Danish green investment proposal for the development of a 500MW offshore wind energy project in the South Asian country.
The foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal for the offshore wind facility was submitted by Denmark-based Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP) in partnership with Bangladesh’s Summit Group in July this year.
Under the approval, the consortium can execute a detailed feasibility study and carry out the first phase of development with site exclusivity for the project in the next three years.
Located off the coast of Cox’s Bazar district, the planned offshore wind energy facility will generate clean energy that will be transmitted directly to the national grid, providing power to homes and businesses through an onshore substation.
It is expected to be the first utility-scale offshore wind energy project in Bangladesh.
According to the preliminary study findings, the proposed clean energy facility will generate hundreds of direct and indirect jobs during the construction phase.
Besides, the offshore wind energy project will create dozens of high-skilled permanent positions for its 30-year operational phase.
The new offshore wind project is also expected to contribute towards the development of Blue Economy for Bangladesh by maximising the utilisation of coastal resources.
Summit stated: “The project comes at a crucial point in time for Bangladesh as despite ambitious clean energy targets, the country remains heavily reliant on fossil fuel imports, a comparatively costly power source due to global inflation-related price shocks.
“Bangladesh therefore needs to rapidly develop utility-scale renewable energy projects, while simultaneously adapting to climate resilience technologies, to support continued economic growth and eliminate ‘absolute poverty’ by 2041.”
Last month, CIP secured a $1.2bn tax equity package along with Avangrid for the 800MW Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm in the US.