Industrial Tour to Karnaphuli Hydropower Station and Cox’s Bazar Wind Power Plant

We are delighted to inform you that the Department of EEE, Green University of Bangladesh has successfully completed the Industrial Tour to Karnaphuli Hydropower Station, BPDB, Kaptai, Rangamati and Cox’s Bazar Wind Power Plant, US-DK Green Energy (BD) Ltd. In order to broaden the horizon of practical learning and strengthen the theoretical foundation of our fourth-year students, it was essential for them to gain first-hand exposure to hydro and wind turbine power generation systems. The tour was guided by Mr. Kamran Ahmmed and Mr. Ridwan Abrar, lecturers of the department of EEE and were joined by 33 students from 221-batch.

Karnaphuli Hydropower Station is the only hydropower station in Bangladesh. The station is located at Kaptai, about 50 km away from the port city of Chittagong. Harnessing the potential and kinetic energy of flowing water, this power station is capable of delivering 230 MW of power to the national grid. There are 5 generating units in total: 2 units supply 40 MW and 3 units supply 50 MW. The station also hosts an array of solar PV panels along the riverbanks for backup power to the generating station in case of emergency.

Utah International Inc. was chosen as the general contractor. The dam’s building process began in 1957. The dam, spillway, penstock and two units of 40 MW Kaplan turbines and generators were installed in the power plant when the first phase of construction was finished in 1962. The power plant started its commercial operation on 26 February 1962. The third 50 MW unit was commissioned in August 1982. The fourth and fifth 50 MW units of turbines and generators were added in October 1988, increasing the overall generation capacity to 230 MW.

Cox’s Bazar Wind Power Plant is one of the few operational wind power plants in Bangladesh. This power plant is capable of supplying 60 MW. The plant consists of 22 nos wind turbine units, each with a capacity of 3 MW. Each tower has a height of 90 meters and a blade length of 60 meter. The wind turbine is a vertical axis wind turbine and has been developed by Envision Energy Ltd. China. The wind turbine has a rotating speed of 18 RPM and a generating voltage of 950 Volts. This 950 Volts is then converted to 35 kV with the help of a unit transformer at the base of each wind turbine. A step-transformer in the plant is used to convert the 35 kV to 132 kV. This 132 kV is then connected to the Cox’s Bazar grid substation. The wind turbine has a cut-in and cut-out speed of 3 m/s and 20 m/s respectively. The optimum wind speed is 9 m/s at which the maximum generation takes place. The annual electricity generation of this unit is 145,700,000.00 kWh.

This industrial tour serves as a testament to the department’s mission in providing students with real-world industry experience after consolidating their theoretical backgrounds.