In Pubail, Gazipur, batteries of all kinds including that of auto rickshaws are being charged at solar station, established by the government in 2016.
Every day, auto rickshaws, bikes and easy bikes are being charged here. As a result, pressure on power consumption is falling.
Specialists feel that if such initiatives are spread across the country then this will create much potential. The station in Pubail was established at a cost of Tk 5.8 million on 1,500 square feet area of one of the roofs of Zaman Filling Station. A 220 square feet room is used for control room.
As per agreement, 50 per cent of the income goes to Zaman Filling Station, while 40 per cent goes to Rural Electrification Board, REB. The remaining ten per cent is used for the operation cost of the station.
In the last few years, more than 15,000 auto rickshaws and easy bikes were charged here. The charge per auto-rickshaw is Tk 70 and for vans Tk 50.
Every month, the earning is on average TK 22,000 to Tk 25,000.
Assistant engineer of Zaman Filling Station, Sajib Hassan, said: “in this 21 kilowatt plant, solar power is converted to DC power and then transferred to the batteries.”
Engineering and technology professor Anwarul Abedin commented: “Many auto rickshaws and easy bikes are titling towards illegal electric charging and to prevent this, more solar powered charging stations are needed.”
Calling the project profitable, he added: “The maintenance cost is low and once more stations are in operation, pressure on power will reduce.”