1. Major Activities of the Month
Activities during the reporting month focused on document preparation and policy discussions at SREDA Project Office. It was especially because SREDA’s EE&C promotion strategy preparation in response to the updated and revised master plan was being prepared. SREDA’s other EE&C promotion activities such as the listing up of the designated consumers, accreditation of energy auditors, preparation for the energy manager certifications were also actively being pursued in parallel with the Project activities.
The PI consultant team members’ assignment during December was relatively dense, especially in comparison with the previous months. There were six international members who conducted the physical activities at SREDA Project Office, with virtually no gap period. It should nevertheless be noted that the international consultants’ despatch is affected due to the absence of visa formalities. SREDA has not issued any visa endorsement letters since January 2022, with the latest request for visa endorsement request dated April 2022 still awaiting process as of December 2022.
1.1 Support for the Development of Integrated Energy Master Plan
SREDA, having pursued the EE&C promotion activities based on the EE&C Master Plan up to 2030, is preparing for an updated and revised EE&C master plan which comprises a portion of the integrated energy and power master plan which is currently being drafted. The PI Consultant Team, in response to the demand from SREDA, has been supporting SREDA on how the master plan targets and action plans can be updated to match the latest global context as well as the situation in Bangladesh.
Through a series of discussion with the SREDA management and the PI Consultant Team’s expert Dr Yoshida, a simple action items and their roadmap charts and tables were prepared. These charts and tables are suggested to be reflected to the updated and revised EE&C master plan upon its preparation.
1.2 Energy Audit Guidelines Preparation
During the remaining period of this Project, the PI Consultant Team plans to complete the five industrial sectors’ (steel, chemical, power generation, building) energy audit guidelines, and the EE&C technologies album (or catalogue / manual). The first of the documents was the simple presentation-style document titled the guidelines for energy audit activities in steel making and rolling factories (Appendix 40-1). It contains the basic task items to be conducted by the energy auditors including the preparation and data collection as well as activity planning. There are also recommended standard formats for data collecting and processing. Examples are also attached onto the document making it comprehensive as well as reader friendly. The PI Consulting team is planning to enhance the series of documents by preparing the similar items for other sub-sectors.
1.3 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Meeting
It was on 1st of December that the second technical advisory committee was held. The aim was to obtain the experts’ endorsement for the enhancement of the eligible technologies and equipment. The major focuses of the enhancement were the inclusion of brushless DC motor, heat pump in general, various building energy efficiency improvement items. As the Project also aims at enlightening the market with the best available technologies in the global context, the eligible technology and equipment list positively includes those which are not yet commonly available in Bangladesh but is expected to penetrate. There was also a need to avoid discriminatory evaluation due to the absence of uniform performance measurement criteria. These requirements for the list were, however, not thoroughly shared with the committee member experts that the proposed enhancements were not wholly endorsed. The PI Consultant Team understands that there is a need for a separate dialogue with each of the committee member experts so that the aim of the TAC discussion will be clearly shared with the members for further processes.
There were various discussions additional to the proposed eligible list enhancement ideas. One of the topics raised from one of the committee member experts was on the suggestion to include heat recovery from compressors, citing the number of compressors installed all over the country, emitting unused heat. The PI Consultant, in response to the suggestion prepared a simple report on the possibility of heat recovery from air compressors in Bangladesh. It was found that the heat recovery from the compressors is common in Europe where the recovered heat is used for space heating in factories. The factories in Bangladesh, in most of the cases requiring cooling and ventilation throughout the year, may not be appropriate target for applying the idea. The PI Consultants’ report concluded that the compressor heat recovery is not a suitable technology to be promoted here in Bangladesh (Appendix 40-2).
1.4 Facilitating the Project Loan Utilisation
During the month of December, there were 2 new NOCs issued and were immediately registered on the Project MIS. The PI consultant team consulted with the SREDA PIU to confirm that all 43 NOCs have now been appropriately uploaded to catch up with all the MIS record keeping requirements. The Project MIS issues have now been solved, making the NOC issuing process on the MIS smooth and user-friendly. The PI Consultant Team is planning to further improve the Project MIS to facilitate the Project loan utilisation during the intensified MIS and DASH upgrading work starting from February 2023.
2. Appendices
Appendix 40-1: Guidelines for Energy Audit Activities in Steel Making and Rolling Facilities
Appendix 40-2: Waste Heat Recovery from Air Compressors