Harnessing power, water from rooftop devices

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Shahiduzzaman Khan
THE move is unprecedented, no doubt. The government now wants to address electricity and water crises by installing solar panel and building rain water reservoir on rooftops of high-rise buildings. It has been reported in a section of the media that through a circular to all concerned, the government made compliance with these provisions mandatory, prior to getting approval of the high-storied buildings from the appropriate authorities.
A report published in a national daily this week said that the government took the decision following an alarming deterioration in power supply situation in Dhaka city and across the country. Normal life and businesses in the country have been paralysed due to intermittent loadshedding with the advent of summer. There is no quick-fix for the government to generate additional electricity as per present demand. This needs a long-term implementation period. Water supply crisis has already gripped big cities following underground layer going more deep. With experts' advice, the government has found solar panel installation and rain water reservoir construction to have been effective tools in mitigating these problems.
Expansion and development of local industries and agriculture are being seriously hampered due to power supply shortage. In order to cope with the rising demand, generation of electricity through traditional way is capital intensive and time-consuming as well. If residents can get electricity from solar panel installed at their own buildings, pressure on supplies of power by conventional generation plants is likely to ease somewhat.
In the same way, the move to preserve rain water through reservoirs in the multi-storied buildings is also a laudable step. It has become increasingly difficult to extract water from underground source. In some Third World countries, including India, such reservoirs are being frequently built for collecting rain water in large cities.
Interestingly, more government moves to rejuvenate energy sector are in the offing. Thus, an initiative has been taken to replace traditional 'incandescent' bulbs with lower-wattage lights early next year in an attempt to save energy. Under the initiative, the government will offer energy-efficient 15-20 watt compact fluorescent lights (CFL) free of costs among 9.0 million households in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet cities to limit gas consumption.
The energy-saving lamp uses up to 75 per cent less power and lasts ten times longer, but they cost less than $1.0 each. By contrast, incandescent lamps are inefficient, requiring replacement every 1,000 hours or so. Through use of energy-saving lamp, the country will reportedly be able to save at least 350 megawatt of electricity. If the current plan is implemented, it will be as good as building a large power plant.
In addition to replacing normal bulbs, the government also took another initiative for setting up a $1.0 billion nuclear power plant to meet the growing demand for electricity. Normally, it needs eight to nine years to set up a 600-1000 megawatt (MW) power plant. The country plans to set up at least a 1000MW nuclear power plant within a decade. The government received initial proposals from three countries -- Russia, China and South Korea. The Russian proposal topped the list, as the nuclear-rich country is keen to move ahead with the Bangladesh project under a state-to-state bilateral agreement. Nuclear power plant operation is, however, a very sensitive work and needs highly skilled manpower. Bangladesh does not have such manpower available at present. Moreover, there are other international factors for consideration -- and related issues thereof have to be sorted out-- before any concrete action is to begin for setting up a nuclear power plant. Without a strong and effective move taken out at the earliest, development of skilled manpower may also become a binding constraint on operationalising such a project.
Bangladesh relies heavily on gas to generate electricity, but this fuel source is expected to dry up by 2015, threatening to halt power generation across the country. Nearly 90 per cent of the country's gas resources is used to generate power, making it the single largest fuel source. As such, the country needs to go for the development of solar energy and persuade more enlightened home-grown investors and advanced 'donors' to help finance sustainable energy projects. Such sustainable energy projects may be viable through proper utilisation of renewable energy sources.
The country's first renewable energy policy, that was approved sometime ago, envisages that the electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources like solar, wind, bio-gas and hydro will be purchased by power entities through mutual agreement. The renewable energy producers are allowed to use existing electricity transmission and distribution systems, if there is adequate capacity, to supply electricity to its customers through mutual agreement between the project sponsors and the owners of transmission or distribution facilities.
Until now, consumption of renewable energy in the country is limited to people mainly in remote areas under the assistance from a number of public, private and non-government organisations. Currently, the renewable energy contributes less than 1.0 per cent of the country's total electricity generation.
It was earlier envisaged that by the year 2020, 10 per cent of total electricity would come from renewable resources. The number of solar system installations in the country is on the rise. Biogas plants are otherwise popular now in rural areas. Initiative should be taken to popularise the proven solar water heating system, solar cooker or solar dryer. It requires proper planning from the government and the non-government organisations (NGOs) at the grassroots level. The country will require coordinated efforts to exploit renewable energy resources to generate electricity as much as possible.
With the government's recent move to install solar panels and rain water reservoirs atop high-rise buildings, the country is likely to witness some positive results on account of exploring variable options to generate electricity. If such initiatives are translated into actions, people's sufferings arising out of power crisis will, to some extent, be mitigated.
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com