Bangladeshi fabrics maker Paramount Textile Ltd (PTL) has decided to invest in a solar power plant by acquiring a 49% stake in Dynamic Sun Energy Private Ltd, in Pabna district in northwestern Bangladesh.

Indian company Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Capital Company Pvt Ltd (SP Infra), the largest shareholder of Dynamic Sun Energy Pvt Ltd, and PTL will form a joint venture to set up a 100 MW grid-tied solar power plant in the region. The estimated project cost of the solar power plant is around $150 million, according to a stock exchange disclosure.

In making the decision to acquire the 49% stake in Dynamic Sun Energy, PTL said it was considering the business prospects as a part of its portfolio diversification. Dynamic Sun Energy has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to supply electricity to the national grid.

The BPDB will buy electricity from the plant at $0.1195/kWh.

Robiul Islam, company secretary of PTL, said that Dynamic Sun Energy had already started some land development work on the site, with fullfledge construction work set to start soon.“We are hopeful to complete the project by this year,” he told the pv magazine.

PTL, mainly involved in the textile business, is already engaged in the power sector and has been generating electricity at a 200 MW furnace oil-based power plant in Sirajganj district, under another joint venture initiative.

The company also owns a 29% stake in Intraco Solar Power, which is building a 30 MW solar power plant in the Rangpur district in northern Bangladesh. The plant is expected to go online in a month or two.

Bangladesh presently has the capacity to generate 787 MW of renewable energy, of which 553 MW comes from solar. The country is aiming to generate 40% of its total electricity from renewable sources by 2041.