A solar Bangladesh

The long term average sunshine data indicates that the period of bright sunshine hours in the coastal regions
of Bangladesh varies from 3 to 11 hours daily. These indicate that there are good prospects for solar
thermal and photovoltaic application in the country. With an estimated 40% of the population in
Bangladesh having no access to electricity, the government introduced a scheme known as solar home
systems (SHS) to provide electricity to households with no grid access. The World Bank has called it "the
fastest growing solar home system program in the world. The Bangladeshi government is working towards
universal electricity access by 2021 with the SHS program projected to cover 6 million households by 2017.

The solar plant is the first step towards the government’s target of producing 2,000MW of solar power by
2021.

Solar photovoltaic cells use panels to absorb sunlight and convert it directly into electricity.

The plant emits 20,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide each year than a similar sized diesel-run plant does.

Many of the solar systems are of a poor quality, contributing little to the solarization of the country,
say experts. High prices charged for inferior systems have emptied the pockets of consumers, but
have not had a lasting impact on the overall scenario of energy generation . According to a renewable
energy expert, the average home solar system installed in Bangladesh in the last decade merely had a
generation capacity of 20-50 watt, which is good enough for lighting only a few bulbs and fans.

The bulk of the solar home system installations in the country was undertaken either by the government-
owned Infrastructural Development Company Limited (IDCOL) and its partner organizations or by private-
sector companies. According to several officials of IDCOL partners, the commercial market which
expanded during the solar home installation boom of the last twenty years severely lacked government
monitoring and regulation, leading to a flood of poor quality hardware entering the market. Currently, new
installations of solar systems are encouraged by the government under a ‘Free of Cost’ program within the
framework of KABITA (Kajer Binimoye Taka) or Money for Work.

Meanwhile, 15% of electricity generation is expected to come from a combination of renewable sources
and imported power by 2041. This particular combination of energy sources makes it difficult to figure out
the exact share of renewable electricity from the energy mix.

SHS has been a successful story in Bangladesh. This sector has been creating green jobs and linkage
businesses. Hundreds of local youths are working as solar technicians. Rural women are assembling solar
accessories in village based Technology Centres. Solar engineers are increasingly employed in designing
SHS, working in battery factories, and other accessory related businesses. Bangladesh is on the verge of a
Solar Revolution. Increased aspirations, failure of grid electricity, growing machination and disposable
income have created huge potential for solar energy in throughout the Bangladesh.