Amid the gas crisis, the pressure of fuel imports and the rising cost of generating electricity, solar power is opening a door to new possibilities. Solar panels are spreading rapidly across the rooftops of factories, government institutions, homes and markets. Rooftop solar capacity at 239 large factories has already reached 667 megawatts. Now the government has taken steps to generate about 300 megawatts more by using unused government rooftops. From the Prime Minister’s Office, the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban and government hospitals to local government institutions, no important establishment is being left out.
According to the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), the country’s solar generation capacity currently stands at 1,852.06 megawatts, of which 1,473.5 megawatts is connected to the national grid and 378.56 megawatts is off-grid. The government aims to generate at least 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 30 percent by 2040.
To promote renewable energy, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will begin using solar power at his Gulshan residence on October 1, state minister for local government Mir Shahe Alam said recently. An initial Tk 370 crore has been allocated for the programme to install solar panels on the roofs of local government institutions, haats, markets and growth centres. It will cover 6,544 establishments, including LGED, city corporations, district and upazila parishads, municipalities, union parishads, WASAs and the Department of Public Health Engineering. The institutions will use part of the electricity generated, and the surplus will be supplied to the national grid through net metering. About Tk 120 crore has been allocated for union parishads.
It is not only government initiatives: solar is also spreading rapidly in industry. A recent IEEFA report says rooftop solar capacity at 239 large factories is 667 megawatts. Including large and small installations, the country’s rooftop solar capacity is about 1,000 megawatts. Industrial groups including Akij, PRAN-RFL, Abul Khair, DBL, BSRM and Kazi Farms have already gone rooftop solar. While production costs have risen in the gas crisis, solar is supplying electricity at comparatively low cost.
Consumers’ rooftops are now also set to become generating stations. The government will buy surplus solar electricity at Tk 10.50 a unit after consumers’ own use. Consumers who install battery-backed rooftop solar by February 28, 2027 will get this benefit.
Superstar Renewable Energy has installed 100 to 150 megawatts of rooftop solar at 150 factories over the past five to seven years, and demand is growing day by day. The company’s chief executive, Tofael Ahmed, told Bangladesh Pratidin that rooftop solar costs far less per kilowatt-hour than electricity from diesel generators in factories.
Meanwhile, steps have been taken to draw up a policy on importing quality equipment for solar projects. People in the energy sector say it will be hard to make full use of solar’s potential unless low-quality panels are kept out and skilled technical services are ensured. But because it allows electricity generation without the pressure of fuel imports, solar is rapidly growing in importance in the country’s power system.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report