Prime Minister Tareque Rahman said Bangladesh aims to add three thousand to four thousand megawatts of solar power to the national grid before summer if implementation proceeds as planned.
Rahman said he had installed solar panels at his home and supplied surplus electricity to the national grid after meeting household needs.
He spoke on Tuesday, November 3, while opening a two-day solar expo at the China Friendship International Conference Center in Agargaon, Dhaka.
The expo, held under a theme encouraging rooftop use and income from solar power, opened to visitors after the ceremony. Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud chaired the event.
The prime minister said the government had enacted the Special Solar Power Installation Ordinance 2026 to simplify solar deployment.
It has also introduced policy support, tax and customs benefits, financial incentives and an initial one thousand five hundred crore taka fund to expand financing.
Rahman said unused roofs at government and private offices, schools, colleges, hospitals, factories, businesses and homes should be used to generate electricity.
Under net metering, the government plans by February 2027 to buy surplus power supplied to the grid at an incentive rate of Tk 10.50 per unit.
He called for public and private cooperation, lower equipment costs and support for domestic production and imports of panels, inverters and batteries. Reducing consumer electricity costs is also a priority, he said.
Rahman urged more than 8,000 new solar service-provider companies to ensure systems work properly, receive maintenance and deliver customer support. He asked distribution companies to remain in regular contact with entrepreneurs.
He said converting electric irrigation pumps to solar could cut farming costs, protect the environment and save grid electricity. Solar power could also support cold storage, crop preservation and rural small businesses.
The prime minister called on development partners to finance and provide technical support not only for large projects but also for local entrepreneurs and small businesses.
He said expatriate Bangladeshis also had opportunities to invest and called for the expo to produce new entrepreneurs, investment, bank links, training and jobs, and practical solar projects in every district and upazila.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report