The Local Government Division has ordered solar power systems to be installed at all establishments, haats and markets under local government, by January 31.
Letters to this effect were sent by the Local Government Division to upazila parishad administrators and upazila nirbahi officers across the country.
The government has taken wide-ranging steps to expand renewable energy to ensure sustainable energy security, the ministry said. As part of this, the Local Government Division said solar power systems must be installed on the permanent sheds of every haat and market, and on the roofs of four- and five-storey buildings built by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in various markets, taking roof area into account. After meeting their own needs, arrangements must be made to supply the surplus to the national grid.
In addition, rooftop solar systems with batteries have been ordered for the existing main office buildings and other buildings of offices, agencies and institutions under the Local Government Division at the local, district and upazila levels.
Earlier, on Wednesday (September 23), state minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam said the government plans to install solar panels on the roofs of 6,544 local government institutions, and has allocated Tk 370 crore for this.
The target is to generate about 300 megawatts of electricity by installing solar panels at these institutions, the state minister said.
The 6,544 include local government councils, municipalities, union parishads, executive engineers’ and LGED offices, WASAs, public health offices and all the haats, markets and growth centres across the country, he said. “We are going to generate electricity through solar panels on the roofs of these institutions.”
“Instructions have been given in separate letters. The target is to implement the programme by January 27. A total of Tk 370 crore has been released for this work,” he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report