Govt to ask non-govt schools, colleges in city to install solar panels
Thursday, 13 August 2009
FHM Humayan Kabir
The government would ask the non-government and private schools and colleges in the capital city to install solar panel in an effort to ease pressure on grid power, officials said Tuesday.
A top education ministry official said the ministry would issue an order in this connection by next week.
"We would issue DO (demi official) letters within a week to the Dhaka city's schools and colleges asking them to install solar panel," Education Secretary Syed Ataur Rahman told the FE.
"In parallel, we would undertake a project to light up the government high schools, colleges and madrassas in the country with solar power for the sake of reducing pressure on the grid power," he said.
The education ministry called an inter-ministerial meeting Wednesday to decide on how they could undertake a project for installing solar panel at government educational institutions.
The move comes as the supply of grid power across the country worsens due to surging demand and inadequate generation capacity, while solar panels are making inroads into thousands of off-grid villages.
The education secretary said they are hopeful that the non-government and private schools and colleges would install solar panel at their institutions after issuance of DO letters by the ministry.
He said three renowned non-government schools and colleges in the city have already taken initiatives to install solar panels that would meet their electricity demand.
Another official of the education ministry said if they could undertake their planned projects, some 35,000 high schools, colleges and madrassas in the country would come under the solar power supply system.
The plan will be implemented under the newly launched public-private partnership (PPP) investment programme and the country's largest solar energy provider Grameen Shakti has been tasked to conduct feasibility study in this connection.
The official said the government is now analysing how the scheme could be implemented across the country.
"Once the project is implemented, the country's educational institutions would get uninterrupted power supply. It would significantly reduce pressure on the conventional power supply system," he said.
According to the renewable energy leader, Grameen Shakti, more than 3,25,000 homes in rural areas now have solar home systems (SHS), lighting up households and markets for at least three million people.
Many educational institutions to be covered under the programme do not have any access to electricity due to absence of distribution lines while many others get supply only for a few hours a day.
The government would ask the non-government and private schools and colleges in the capital city to install solar panel in an effort to ease pressure on grid power, officials said Tuesday.
A top education ministry official said the ministry would issue an order in this connection by next week.
"We would issue DO (demi official) letters within a week to the Dhaka city's schools and colleges asking them to install solar panel," Education Secretary Syed Ataur Rahman told the FE.
"In parallel, we would undertake a project to light up the government high schools, colleges and madrassas in the country with solar power for the sake of reducing pressure on the grid power," he said.
The education ministry called an inter-ministerial meeting Wednesday to decide on how they could undertake a project for installing solar panel at government educational institutions.
The move comes as the supply of grid power across the country worsens due to surging demand and inadequate generation capacity, while solar panels are making inroads into thousands of off-grid villages.
The education secretary said they are hopeful that the non-government and private schools and colleges would install solar panel at their institutions after issuance of DO letters by the ministry.
He said three renowned non-government schools and colleges in the city have already taken initiatives to install solar panels that would meet their electricity demand.
Another official of the education ministry said if they could undertake their planned projects, some 35,000 high schools, colleges and madrassas in the country would come under the solar power supply system.
The plan will be implemented under the newly launched public-private partnership (PPP) investment programme and the country's largest solar energy provider Grameen Shakti has been tasked to conduct feasibility study in this connection.
The official said the government is now analysing how the scheme could be implemented across the country.
"Once the project is implemented, the country's educational institutions would get uninterrupted power supply. It would significantly reduce pressure on the conventional power supply system," he said.
According to the renewable energy leader, Grameen Shakti, more than 3,25,000 homes in rural areas now have solar home systems (SHS), lighting up households and markets for at least three million people.
Many educational institutions to be covered under the programme do not have any access to electricity due to absence of distribution lines while many others get supply only for a few hours a day.