The push on the government to enhance clean energy generation has been growing, with fossil fuel prices having risen significantly in recent months amid their short supply caused by foreign currency scarcity, officials said.
Last week, a visiting team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) inquired about the government's plans to expand renewable energy generation to reduce fossil fuel use, they added.
Earlier this year, another team from the IMF discussed with the Power Division Senior Secretary Habibur Rahman about the government's efforts to raise power generation from renewable sources.
In January this year, the IMF granted Bangladesh $4.7 billion in loans to help preserve macroeconomic stability, protect the vulnerable segment of the population and foster inclusive and green growth.
Of this total sum, about $1.4 billion came from the IMF's newly created Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), which focuses on building climate resilience and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
When receiving the credit from the IMF, the government made a commitment "not to increase subsidies on fossil-fuel-based energy as a percentage of GDP during the programme period and will consider different options for gradually reducing them."
Bangladesh's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) implementation roadmap outlines plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 6.7 per cent below business-as-usual levels by 2030 and up to 21.9 per cent with international support.
The policy priorities to support these targets include scaling up renewable energy, promoting electric vehicles and clean public transport, enhancing energy efficiency in buildings and industrial facilities, and measures to reduce emissions from the agriculture, land-use, and forestry sectors.
Bangladesh has also set a target to generate at least 40 per cent of total electricity from renewable energy sources by 2041 and is therefore preparing a new integrated energy and power sector master plan that prioritises renewable energy generation.
Power Division sources said the IMF team has been briefed on the latest measures taken by the government for electricity generation from renewable sources, including the approval of a number of solar power projects in recent months.
Officials also informed the team that in the last six months, the government approved proposals for the setup of more than 1,000 megawatts of electricity from renewables.
Lately, the government has made it mandatory to set up net-metred rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at residential buildings, schools, hospitals, industrial and commercial buildings as a prerequisite for getting new grid connections.
Newly built buildings with at least 1,000 square feet of space on the rooftop must set up net-metred solar power to be eligible for connections from the grid line.
Industrial and commercial buildings with up to an 80-kilowatt load capacity must install a PV system of 15 per cent of their approved load. Buildings requiring a power load between 80 kilowatts and 500 kilowatts must establish a PV system up to 12 per cent of their load capacity, while customers needing over 500 kilowatts of load must install rooftop solar up to 10 per cent of their required load.
If any existing customers want to enhance the load capacity of their grid connection, they will also have to set up an additional rooftop solar system according to the new rate.
Muhammad Hasnat Morshed Bhuyan, a senior assistant secretary at the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), told the FE that in the past, residential customers had to install a PV system of at least 3 per cent of their grid power load capacity, but net-metring was not mandatory.
"Now we have made net-metred rooftop solar a must for anyone seeking a grid power connection. This will significantly enhance clean power generation," he said.
Dipal C Barua, former president of the Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association, appreciated the new order that mandates the installation of net-metred rooftop solar systems. "This new provision will lead to the generation of hundreds of megawatts of electricity from rooftop solar each year," he said.
Bangladesh currently has the capacity to generate a total of 1194.63 MW of green power, of which 960.64 MW comes from solar and 230 MW from hydro sources, among others.
syful-islam@outlook.com