Renewed emphasis on renewable energy

The scrapping of 42 power-plant projects including 37 renewable in the pipeline by the interim government could give a wrong message to both investors and the people here but for its evaluation. Now it has made the right choice for shifting to sustainable renewable energy policy. Under the previous regime, the governing motive, more or less, was to set aside lumps of personal benefits out of dubious deals on such projects. This has been perilously highlighted by the continuation of the non-transparent "Speedy Enhancement of Power and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010. The interim government did not have any option other than look at the issue of renewable power general afresh because under that much maligned provision, transparency was made a casualty. This also explains why power plants ---thermal and renewable---take a far longer time than in other countries for completion. Budget overrun and consequent more personal gains in such inordinately delayed project execution followed with the outcome of increased power tariff for the consumers.

In this context, the concern is that Bangladesh neither possesses the required technology nor have the capacity to invest in establishment of renewable energy plants. On the positive side, though, it has abundant sunshine almost throughout the year, a vast coastal belt fit for setting up wind power. But again, it is constrained by a lack of land on which large solar power plants can be set up. The interim government has cited public lands but some experts are of the opinion that large water bodies such as wetlands can be gainfully used for the purpose without disturbing the ecosystem there. In a land-scarce country, such innovative methods have to be found out in order to attract private investments ---both local and foreign. Overcoming the country's physical and spatial constraints is, however, no guarantee for investors beelining for accepting Bangladesh offers.

Something particularly lucrative has to be on offer for investors. Tax holiday or incentives are what exactly can do the trick. The government is moving to that direction in order to make the country's transition to clean energy generation. At a time nations are rushing for decarbonisation ---some by 2035, others by 2040-50, Bangladesh cannot stay behind. Some of the countries including a few in Africa and Latin America apart from the more advanced Nordic countries and a couple of West European nations, have made phenomenal progress in generation of renewable energy. Iceland heads the list by producing almost 100 per cent of its power. It is blessed with its geothermal energy source. Bangladesh can take cue from Morocco and Kenya where progress in generation of solar and wind power has been phenomenal. China, the largest global carbon polluter, intriguingly has become the global leader in renewable energy generation. Its transformation can also provide for a lesson.

Now the finance and energy ministries have agreed to the formula of issuing open tender but the tax rebate has to be endorsed by the National Board of Revenue (NBR). Happily, the NBR has already started processing the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) under which tax breaks can be given a formal shape. Now that the bureaucratic red tape appears to have disappeared, the procedural part of the matter would move fast to create a transparent environment for investment in the renewable energy sector.