3m more families to come under renewable energy system in 3-yr: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that the target has been fixed to bring 3 million more families under renewable solar energy system through Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) in the next 3 years. ‘We’ve fixed target to provide solar energy facility to 3 million more families in the next 3 years through IDCOL,’ she said while inaugurating the celebration programme of reaching the landmark of installing 3m solar home systems, at a city hotel on Wednesday. Hasina said there is huge potential of solar based irrigation pumps in Bangladesh. At present, the number of diesel-run irrigation pumps in the country is 1.4m. ‘For these, we’ve to import huge quantity of diesel spending valuable foreign exchange,’ she said. Besides to run the 150,000 electricity-powered irrigation pumps the national grid has to bear immense pressure. ‘If a portion of these pumps can be put under the solar based irrigation system, the import of diesel will decrease significantly and the pressure on the grid will lessen.’ Finance Minister AMA Muhith, PM's adviser for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Affairs Dr Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, World Bank Country Director Johaness CM Zutt and IDCOL executive director and CEO Mahmood Malik, also spoke, according to a news agency.